What is Storage Backup?
The Nx Witness Storage Backup feature allows users to back up archived footage from system servers to secure NAS, DAS, or even offsite cloud-based locations such as FTP sites:
- Backups can be configured to back up captured high-resolution streams, captured low-resolution streams, or all streams.
- Backup can also be configured for all cameras or selected cameras.
- Backup can also be configured for specific types of recording, including motion/objects/bookmarks or any combinations of the above.
- Backup can be configured to be executed with different bandwidth settings on different schedules.
- Backup can roughly estimate how long the backup queue is.
If the backup process can't be executed or some unexpected failure (Hardware, Network, etc.) stops the backup process, Nx Witness will tag the time, and restart from the position where it had been stopped.
If the failure can be fixed on the scheduled day, then the backup will resume. Otherwise, the backup procedure will be pending until the unexpected issues have been solved, then backup will restart from the position where it had been stopped.
Once a backup has been executed, Storage Backup archives can still be directly played and accessed via the Nx Witness Client. For example, you might have local storage for 7 days footage and a backup storage for 30 days. If you back up your local storage once per week, you can still playback video from all backed up video.
Each server only backs up archived recordings from its own storage archive. In a multi-server environment Backup Storage should be specified for every server in the system in order to back up footage from all cameras.
To Configure Storage Backup
- Right-click on the server in the Resource Tree and click Server Settings.
- Go to the Storage Management tab.
- Find the path or storage location (local, NAS) you would like to use for Backup and click on the down arrow next to Main and change to Backup.
- Press Apply.
- Click on the Backup tab to access backup configuration settings. Apply all changes when done with configuration.
A. Backing Up Specific Cameras
Select the cameras to backup by toggling the switch on the right side. Toggle the New added devices option to automatically begin backing up a device once it has been added to the Nx System.
Nx Witness provides the ability to allow the user to back up either all recording or video clips from the whole archive. The function can help the user to back up the motion clips, object-included clips, bookmarked clips and/or any combination of them.
B. Backing Up Specific Content
Use the What to backup menu to select what aspect of each camera's archive should be backed up:
-
- All archive
- Motion
- Objects
- Bookmarks
- Motion and Objects
- Motion and Bookmarks
- Objects and Bookmarks
- Motion, Bookmarks, and Objects
C. Backing Up Specific Streams'
The user can also select the stream which needs to be backed up. Nx Witness now provides two options, the user can back up both streams (Primary and Secondary streams) or only the Low Resolution stream (Secondary stream).
Use the Quality menu to select which streams to backup:
-
- All streams
- Low-res
D. Backing Up Future Footage
If Skip Current Queue is clicked, the backup process will ignore existing footage and only backup recordings from that point forward.
E. Changing Bandwidth Settings
Click Bandwidth Limit tab and select a bandwidth mode:
-
- No Limit – The entire archive will be backed up immediately and use the fully available bandwidth. The footage will be written to the main and backup storage immediately and simultaneously. The footage will be backed up since the last time backup finished or since the very beginning if this is the first time backup occurs. Afterward, the server will continuously
back up live streams.
- Fixed – The backup will be performed immediately but with network bandwidth usage control (i.e. the bandwidth remains a specified Mbit/s across all days and times.). The footage will be backed up since the last time backup finished or since the very beginning of the archive if this is the first time backup occurs.
- Scheduled – The backup is performed only during the selected days and hours. Fill in the cells
of the schedule using the following options: Unlimited, No backup, and Limited to (limit to
a certain Mbit/s, but remember that too tight a bandwidth constraint can cause the entire
backup to fail). Note that the footage will be backed up since the last time backup was
completed or since the very beginning if this is the first time backup occurs.. If network bandwidth is insufficient, the backup may not be fully completed
within the specified time frame. In this case the date and time of the footage that was
backed up will be clearly indicated (Archive backup complete until...).
- No Limit – The entire archive will be backed up immediately and use the fully available bandwidth. The footage will be written to the main and backup storage immediately and simultaneously. The footage will be backed up since the last time backup finished or since the very beginning if this is the first time backup occurs. Afterward, the server will continuously
Questions
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Comments
12 comments
can set the backup storage give 31 days video file?
If 4TB can storage 40days data. How the backup work?
reach 31days data will override the old data or continues backup till 40 days than override?
Will real time backup have a detrimental effect on server performance? Do you recommend doing backup on a schedule (LAN not WAN)
Hi Tim,
I don't think real-time will create a huge load to servers, however, it creates loads to your network and the HDD of backup storages. So the bottleneck might be the throughput of network and physical HDDs, not the performance.
Yes, we recommend scheduled backup via LAN.
Hi CMChiu -
can set the backup storage give 31 days video file?
It depends on your storage. If your storage can store more than 31 days, then it can give you 31days.
If 4TB can storage 40days data. How the backup work?
It keeps writing into the HDD, until space is full.
Then Nx will start to recycle and start to discard the oldest files.
reach 31days data will override the old data or continues backup till 40 days than override?
Backup, until space is full.
The only option I see is Network Shared Resource
Is this SMB only? How can I enter ftp credentials? what other protocols are supported?
Thank you
Whilst the release notes for v2.5.0 says;
I don't think there is a way to actually configure a FTP or cloud-based storage location.
I think what the release notes is referring to, badly, is the fact that the Storage API/SDK could allow someone to develop their own storage integration. Apparently there is an example FTP server application: https://support.networkoptix.com/hc/en-us/articles/202856206-Where-can-I-find-the-Nx-Witness-SDK-API-
For me, I am investigating the best path to get secondary storage setup in AWS. So something like AWS Storage Gateway would be the easiest for those looking to get off-site storage working without having to develop or support anything custom.
Is there a way yet to archive data to a NAS after so many day on the local server? So i want 2 weeks of High and low rez stored on the recording server, but on day,15 i want o move only the high rez off to a NAS for long term storage.
I am not sure what the settings are for this...
Hi Matthew Fox
My apologies for the delay in our response to your question.
Currently, there are no settings to achieve this.
Although it is under discussion internally, there is no outcome yet if this will make the roadmap or not.
Hi Michael Pasqualone
Also, my apologies for the delay in our response.
Your assumption is correct. With the storage SDK we enable people to develop their own storage integrations. In the (near) future we will offer cloud storage as a part of our Nx Cloud platform.
Norman,
Will you be selling cloud storage direct or just provide the s3 plugin?
Thanks
Hi Matthew Del Salto
We will sell the cloud storage. The exact outlines are not clear yet, nor is the pricing.
Don't you think by cutting out 3rd party and essentially going direct to the enduser with cloud storage will cut out the integrator from the equation?
The same could be said if you natively integrate analytics and offer that directly to the enduser you would be cutting out half the 3rd party integrations partners worked hard on.
I hope the path forward on this doesn't cut your partners and installers from the model.
Wondering if you will be charging by day or by TB.
Hi Matthew,
I didn't write we would cut out anyone. I only wrote that we would sell the cloud storage opposed to giving away a s3 plugin.
The same applies for analytics, sure we have some in-camera analytics we natively support, but these can't be compared with the awesome applications people create within our Nx Meta VMP. A platform we have invested a lot of time and money on and where it is totally up to the creator of the solution what to charge, we don't get any cut of these integrations since it only helps us to sell our VMS and vice versa.
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