Change Template on a Camera??

[Kim Armstead]

There are several cameras in our system that need to be updated.  Seems simple enough, right?? They are 2600s (via logging on to the camera) and VSOM is showing on the General Information tab that they are 2500s.  So, the Template, the Model and the Firmware Version aren't correct.  Of course these aren't the fields that are available for update via the General Information tab.  Looks like the Template can be modified via the Streaming, Recording and Events tab, however when you click the button to update, all you get is a list of the same template that's in the box already.

Does anyone know of a way to correct the camera Template, the Model and the Firmware Version??  Since these aren't open fields, why doesn't VSOM automatically "read" these values from the camera??

Thanks.

ka 

[Scott Olsen]

Are there actually any other templates that have been created that are applicable to that cameras location within the Location hierarchy?

Also, was this a fresh installation of 7.X, or was it a migration from 6.X?

[Kim Armstead]

Scott, We do have the appropriate template for the camera model that I need to modify in place.  Also, we migrated from 6.3.2.

Thanks.

ka 

[mcwalter]

Hi Kim.

I had a similar issue for another customer when we migrated to 7.x. We could replace a 253x with a 2630 but not a 253x with a 2620. VSM6 did not care as much as VSM7 on camera types as you well kinow.

If memory serves the only way to fix this is to add the correct cameras as new ones and then delete the old ones once your archive retention requirements expire. In fact I believe you can delete the cameras and still retain the archives for the retention time.

Do you guys have SNT on this? If so you may be able to get Cisco to help if you have remote access.

Best of luck.

[Branden Varney]

Kim,

   Can you double check that when you added the camera that you selected that it is a 2600 rather than a 2500? it is a small mistake that i have done myself and had the same issues only to find that when i added the cameras i clicked through the menus too fast.

[Scott Olsen]

Just curious;  If the cameras have been brought into VSM 7.X under an incorrect model type (and thereby wreaking havoc with a lot of other things, as it appears), what's the best remediation path for something like this?  

If I was to guess, I'd say Kim could add all the cameras again (hopefully in a somewhat automated fashion), then use the "Replace Camera" facility, replacing the previous camera entry with the incorrect model type, with the newly added camera of the appropriate model type, even though in actuality, they are the same physical endpoint.

Would this work?

Scott Olsen

Solutions Specialist

Bulletproof Solutions Inc.

http://www.bulletproofsi.com

[Kim Armstead]

I guess this is worth a try.

Thanks, Scott.

ka 

[Kim Armstead]

Ok...well the "replace camera" isn't possible.  You get an error that you can't replace a camera with itself.  So, even though I was trying to avoid this route, I will delete the cameras and add them back with all the right info.  

Why doesn't VSOM communicate with the camera for the info that it keeps track of?  This type of editing shouldn't even be necessary.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.

ka 

[Jonathan Young]

You may already be aware of this, but 7.x has some excellent tools for importing and exporting cameras. 

You can use the reporting features to export a list of your cameras, clean up the data, and then import it using the formatted excel spreadsheet. It gets a little trickier if you have a mix of analog cameras, encoders, and IP cameras, but only because you will need a seperate excel sheet for both.

As always, I'm a firm believer in doing everything in a test environment first, including testing the import/export tools. 

[Kim Armstead]

Thanks, Jonathan!

ka

[Kim Armstead]

I actually didn't add any of the cameras.  So, it's not a matter of having added them incorrectly.  This system was installed via contractor.  I'm just the full time support staff, trying to deal with all of it now that the contractor is gone.  

Thanks.
ka

[Jonathan Young]

It could be a matter of installing them correctly. Contractors aren't immune to mistakes, as we've learned numerous times. Scott's instructions should get you to where you need to be.