Great videos Alex, I stumbled upon them because I am looking to do something similar. I'm in the process of planning a NAS build to mainly manage my Plex library and Surveillance Camera NVR but hope to use the box for more in the future. I am planning to use Ubuntu Server with Zoneminder. I actually have an old laptop running both for testing purposes because I splurge on the new build. You mention in one of your videos that you have virtual machines for various things you have running rather than having a separate machine for each. Can you elaborate more on why you have virtual machines and not just the software/apps running within one Ubuntu server? For instance if I wanted to run a plex server and zoneminder on the same physical machine, would you install two virtual machines for each or run them on the same serer? I'm asking because every aspect of this project is new territory for me although I'm capable, it's just all new at once. I've never built my own machine, I've never used linux and I've never used a program like Zoneminder, like how you have to configure many little details to get the cameras to work. What I did get working is the Ubuntu server and Zoneminder running on that old laptop. I have one camera, a Dlink DSC-2630L that I got to work in zoneminder last night though I don't think it's working as well as it can. I have the res. set to 1920x1080 and while it shows on my screen, I am only getting about 3fps and no audio. Lastly, before my body shut down last night, I took a crack a ZMNinja for my iphone and ran into an API issue. Quick research led me to your videos which I've watched once but haven't dissected yet. Saving that for when I can concentrate more. I just wanted to throw a few questions your way but know that I will probably be asking a lot more once I get my real server built. Thank you so much. ~Jerry
Hi Jerry, I'm glad to hear you are branching out into unfamiliar territory. I often stumble upon things that I never thought I would want to do, merely by working on a different project. I've outlined a couple points here, let me know if I don't answer your questions fully. Physical vs Virtual Debate: I, for one, prefer virtual machines. Professionally I am responsible for a mid size virtual environment(100+ servers, under 20 physical hypervisors). As a computer enthusiast, I wanted to mimic this at home. I find the technology, and theory, very interesting. Especially starting from nothing, and going through the entire process, A to Z. There's many benefits when scalling this to large environments, i.e. smaller TCO (Total cost of ownership,,, buying the equipment, paying for power to run it, cooling it, etc.), smaller footprint, less noise. If you want to dabble in virtualization, I have previously had good success with "proxmox" and "XenServer", which are hypervisors that installed directly onto the hardware, like windows or linux. They're both open source, and free. Separte machines for seperate purposes: while not necessary, I find it easier to troubleshoot things if they are separate. Also, storage was previously an issue for me. For example, I have a large plex library, and also want to have plenty of space for my zoneminder footage. Since I hate to buy stuff, I piece together servers from what I find laying around. Large capacity hard drives are hard to come by in "recycle piles". This led me to grab a few 500GB hard drives and dedicate one to each. Now, I still find myself making separate servers for each project. It just seems cleaner to me. Low FPS with high resolution camera feed: 1920x1080 is NICE! I love a good crisp image. However, that does take a bit of bandwidth on your network. I hate to say it, but you may want to lower the resolution on your camera. I'm running 640x480 on each of my cameras at home. That's the max my cameras will do, and I find it a pretty good resolution to balance out with the bandwidth I have available to them(Some on wifi, some wired at 100Mbps). At work, We have really high resolution cameras on a gigabit network. We use "Avigilon" and "Cisco VSOM" as the DVRs. It works well, but i can see that large amounts of bandwidth are being utilized for these systems. I have one camera that is on another campus, reporting back to that VSOM system. I look at our monitoring program, solarwinds, and every day the biggest "conversation" is between that camera and VSOM. That one camera uses more bandwidth than anyone else on campus. Even more than people watching netflix. Just for Fun, I've build a zoneminder server at work that pulls footage from 7 or 8 cameras at 1920x1200. Zoneminder loads up about 6 of them, and then appears to be completely saturated network wise. The remaining few camera's never load, because zoneminder is having such a hard time displaying the first ones. I dont think it is a ZM issue, but rather a networking issue. I dont know how proprietary DVR systems get around this, unless they do some sort of compression camera side before the data is sent. Audio and zoneminder: I dont think Zoneminder does audio. I dont think it acually does video either, but rather saves a bunch of jpegs in order. here's a forum::: forums.zoneminder.com/viewtopic.php?t=18410&start=15 ZMNinja API Issue This could be many things, but I would start by checking ZMNinja (ZM API URL option) is pointed to ZM_SERVER_ADDRESS/zm/api . And obviously, you need to have the PHP API installed that is outlined in this video. It's just one or two extra steps. Follow the guide linked in the desc if you dont want to watch through my lengthy video. =)
Hey Jerry, Just replying to another comment on this video and read through yours again. Did you have any success with your zoneminder install, and zmninja? j/w Best, -Alex
+Alex Shrewsbury Alex not at all. My wife is about to give birth and work has been super busy. This is a project I need to get going. When I do I'll update you!
CONGRATULATIONS JERRY! I'm really happy for you guys,,, even though I dont know you! I have yet to have any children. Hoping to sometime soonish, God willing. Praying for all of you. =)
Does not show how to view a camera .... would be useful to know how it works with a web cam. I am looking at different ways to have a small linux box with a usb camera and video surveilence for the back garden. Does this even work without an expensive ip camera? And how?
Hi John, Sorry for my delay in responding. It's been a pretty busy week at work. In the past, I have successfully configured zoneminder to work with a locally attached usb webcam. I just tried to replicate that though, and am running into some issues. Might just be the webcam I have on hand,,, a Microsoft lifecam cinema 720p. I think it's too fancy. It's totally possible though. When configuring the monitor, you need to specify "local" instead of "remote" as the source type, then on the source tab, you need to specify where the webcam is,,, probably at /dev/video0,,, a format, then a color pallet, and a resolution Last time I got this working, I had a low res PlayStation 2 camera. That seemed to work without a hitch. So,, short story here, find a cheap or old webcam to use. Here are some links to get you started: major.io/2015/02/07/using-zoneminder-logitech-c270-webcam/ www.linuxwolfpack.com/zoneminder.php Also,,, regarding IP camera's. I can get a dlink DCS930L from amazon for about $30 USD. That's really not that expensive. Sure, with IP cameras, they can get expensive, but I prefer the cheaper ones for use at my home. Night vision is a plus if you want to go to 50-70$. Also Also,,, Check out the linux package "motion". Basically a streaming JPEG server for local USB cameras. I dont think it saves video, but saves/streams jpegs, kind of like what zoneminder does (before it combines them all into a video for export). Motion supports FTP upload, etc. Also, motion is supported with zoneminder. So, essentially, you take a computer and a webcam, and turn it into an IP camera,,, Then you can pump add that to a zoneminder server like it was an IP camera. Works well with a raspberry pi. You can install it by issuing "sudo apt-get install motion". I've got a video on that also. ua-cam.com/video/t20TJ7ppCLg/v-deo.html Hope this info helps you! =) -Alex
Hello Please I need you help to connect my mobile camera as IP security camera in ZM My phone is Galaxy Note5, and running Ubuntu 17.04 with ZM 1.30.04 I tried many settings but it is not working at all, and now goes as blue screen Also, I edited cgi as you mentioned in the video but nothing work. Thank you
Hey There - So sorry for the delayed response. Ive been quite busy. This is really easy on android,,, not sure about ubuntu. For android I use "ip webcam". Start the stream on the phone and then in zoneminder make a new remote monitor. Pretty much the only settings you need are the IP address, port number, "/video" as the path, and then the resolution you have set in the "IP Webcam" preferences. If you're running a full version of ubuntu(i dont know anything about mobile ubuntu) you can always install "motion" (sudo apt-get install motion) and use that as the streaming service. I think the path for that is just "/" Hope this helps. =) -Alex
please note that this version has a security hole allowing others to bypass authentication. Either install the newest or update! seclists.org/bugtraq/2017/Feb/6
Great video. How can I set as a DVr. Log into zone minder it's very technical. It's there a way to set up with xbmc? Or a way to compress the video files and upload to cloud provider like mega or Dropbox? Thank you
Hi Knowledgea, Thanks for commenting! Here's an outline of your questions::: How can I set as a DVR: I'm not sure exactly what you mean... If you want to use zoneminder to record tv shows, etc,,, keep looking. Zoneminder would be terrible for that. MythTV might be a better choice. If you're asking how to enable recording, like a tradition security camera DVR, set the "function" to "Modect, Record, or Mocord" upon logging into your zoneminder install. Log into zone minder it's very technical: It is confusing, yes, especially if you are not used to doing things like this. You can make it easier for yourself by trying some of the following things: Make a DNS entry on your router/DNS server. name it something like, zoneminder.mydomain.com or something. Make a redirect in the sites-available config(within apache) so that you dont have to type in the /zm Just bookmark it. It's there a way to set up with xbmc?: Yes apparently:::: click this link below,,, there is a plugin for xbmc. Kodi/XBMC plugin: forums.zoneminder.com/viewtopic.php?t=23738 Or a way to compress the video files and upload to cloud provider like mega or Dropbox?: Video, not really. Still images,, yes. Click this link: Dropbox sync tutorial: bkjaya.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/a-simple-method-to-make-zoneminder-alarm-events-remotely-viewable-using-dropbox-syncing-ubuntu-14-04mint-17/
+Alex Shrewsbury 🙆🙆🙆thank u so much. I have 2 camera and I want my parents to check it out like dvr how it shows the video in easy format. Kind like mythtv. Could u implement on ur set up. Your video has help me so much. ☺️☺️☺️
Wow I havent played with an analog card of any type for quite a few years. Anyways, I see this hardware FAQ(URL at bottom) for a "WinFast TV2000 XP" that uses a bt878a chipset. Give it a read through, specifically the bottom part that has the zoneminder settings. In my unprofessional opinion, I would think as long as you can see the card when you run "lspci" then zoneminder should have no problems receiving it with the proper configuration. Drivers may be an issue... If your server has a GUI then you could install VLC and possibly verify that the card is working correctly. wiki.zoneminder.com/WinFast_TV2000_XP
+Mario Rosario Hi Mario, I've stayed on the Debian side of things for most of my linux experience. Take a look at this page though. It may get you off in the right direction. github.com/pliablepixels/zmNinja/wiki/Configuring-ZoneMinder-with-API It has a few notes for Centos.
Thanks Alex been trying zoneminder for years and always gave up your vid got me up
Thanks greatly for doing this.
thanks from Chile... I need this tutorial!!! Bye.
Very nice video chap.
Great videos Alex, I stumbled upon them because I am looking to do something similar. I'm in the process of planning a NAS build to mainly manage my Plex library and Surveillance Camera NVR but hope to use the box for more in the future. I am planning to use Ubuntu Server with Zoneminder. I actually have an old laptop running both for testing purposes because I splurge on the new build. You mention in one of your videos that you have virtual machines for various things you have running rather than having a separate machine for each. Can you elaborate more on why you have virtual machines and not just the software/apps running within one Ubuntu server? For instance if I wanted to run a plex server and zoneminder on the same physical machine, would you install two virtual machines for each or run them on the same serer? I'm asking because every aspect of this project is new territory for me although I'm capable, it's just all new at once. I've never built my own machine, I've never used linux and I've never used a program like Zoneminder, like how you have to configure many little details to get the cameras to work.
What I did get working is the Ubuntu server and Zoneminder running on that old laptop. I have one camera, a Dlink DSC-2630L that I got to work in zoneminder last night though I don't think it's working as well as it can. I have the res. set to 1920x1080 and while it shows on my screen, I am only getting about 3fps and no audio.
Lastly, before my body shut down last night, I took a crack a ZMNinja for my iphone and ran into an API issue. Quick research led me to your videos which I've watched once but haven't dissected yet. Saving that for when I can concentrate more. I just wanted to throw a few questions your way but know that I will probably be asking a lot more once I get my real server built.
Thank you so much.
~Jerry
Hi Jerry, I'm glad to hear you are branching out into unfamiliar territory. I often stumble upon things that I never thought I would want to do, merely by working on a different project.
I've outlined a couple points here, let me know if I don't answer your questions fully.
Physical vs Virtual Debate:
I, for one, prefer virtual machines. Professionally I am responsible for a mid size virtual environment(100+ servers, under 20 physical hypervisors). As a computer enthusiast, I wanted to mimic this at home. I find the technology, and theory, very interesting. Especially starting from nothing, and going through the entire process, A to Z. There's many benefits when scalling this to large environments, i.e. smaller TCO (Total cost of ownership,,, buying the equipment, paying for power to run it, cooling it, etc.), smaller footprint, less noise.
If you want to dabble in virtualization, I have previously had good success with "proxmox" and "XenServer", which are hypervisors that installed directly onto the hardware, like windows or linux. They're both open source, and free.
Separte machines for seperate purposes:
while not necessary, I find it easier to troubleshoot things if they are separate. Also, storage was previously an issue for me. For example, I have a large plex library, and also want to have plenty of space for my zoneminder footage. Since I hate to buy stuff, I piece together servers from what I find laying around. Large capacity hard drives are hard to come by in "recycle piles". This led me to grab a few 500GB hard drives and dedicate one to each.
Now, I still find myself making separate servers for each project. It just seems cleaner to me.
Low FPS with high resolution camera feed:
1920x1080 is NICE! I love a good crisp image. However, that does take a bit of bandwidth on your network. I hate to say it, but you may want to lower the resolution on your camera. I'm running 640x480 on each of my cameras at home. That's the max my cameras will do, and I find it a pretty good resolution to balance out with the bandwidth I have available to them(Some on wifi, some wired at 100Mbps).
At work, We have really high resolution cameras on a gigabit network. We use "Avigilon" and "Cisco VSOM" as the DVRs. It works well, but i can see that large amounts of bandwidth are being utilized for these systems. I have one camera that is on another campus, reporting back to that VSOM system. I look at our monitoring program, solarwinds, and every day the biggest "conversation" is between that camera and VSOM. That one camera uses more bandwidth than anyone else on campus. Even more than people watching netflix.
Just for Fun, I've build a zoneminder server at work that pulls footage from 7 or 8 cameras at 1920x1200. Zoneminder loads up about 6 of them, and then appears to be completely saturated network wise. The remaining few camera's never load, because zoneminder is having such a hard time displaying the first ones. I dont think it is a ZM issue, but rather a networking issue.
I dont know how proprietary DVR systems get around this, unless they do some sort of compression camera side before the data is sent.
Audio and zoneminder:
I dont think Zoneminder does audio. I dont think it acually does video either, but rather saves a bunch of jpegs in order. here's a forum::: forums.zoneminder.com/viewtopic.php?t=18410&start=15
ZMNinja API Issue
This could be many things, but I would start by checking ZMNinja (ZM API URL option) is pointed to ZM_SERVER_ADDRESS/zm/api . And obviously, you need to have the PHP API installed that is outlined in this video. It's just one or two extra steps. Follow the guide linked in the desc if you dont want to watch through my lengthy video. =)
Hey Jerry, Just replying to another comment on this video and read through yours again. Did you have any success with your zoneminder install, and zmninja?
j/w
Best,
-Alex
+Alex Shrewsbury Alex not at all. My wife is about to give birth and work has been super busy. This is a project I need to get going. When I do I'll update you!
CONGRATULATIONS JERRY! I'm really happy for you guys,,, even though I dont know you! I have yet to have any children. Hoping to sometime soonish, God willing. Praying for all of you. =)
+Alex Shrewsbury thank you Alex. All more the reason to set up a surveillance system. 😀
Does not show how to view a camera .... would be useful to know how it works with a web cam. I am looking at different ways to have a small linux box with a usb camera and video surveilence for the back garden. Does this even work without an expensive ip camera? And how?
Hi John,
Sorry for my delay in responding. It's been a pretty busy week at work. In the past, I have successfully configured zoneminder to work with a locally attached usb webcam. I just tried to replicate that though, and am running into some issues. Might just be the webcam I have on hand,,, a Microsoft lifecam cinema 720p. I think it's too fancy.
It's totally possible though. When configuring the monitor, you need to specify "local" instead of "remote" as the source type, then on the source tab, you need to specify where the webcam is,,, probably at /dev/video0,,, a format, then a color pallet, and a resolution
Last time I got this working, I had a low res PlayStation 2 camera. That seemed to work without a hitch. So,, short story here, find a cheap or old webcam to use.
Here are some links to get you started:
major.io/2015/02/07/using-zoneminder-logitech-c270-webcam/
www.linuxwolfpack.com/zoneminder.php
Also,,, regarding IP camera's. I can get a dlink DCS930L from amazon for about $30 USD. That's really not that expensive. Sure, with IP cameras, they can get expensive, but I prefer the cheaper ones for use at my home. Night vision is a plus if you want to go to 50-70$.
Also Also,,, Check out the linux package "motion". Basically a streaming JPEG server for local USB cameras. I dont think it saves video, but saves/streams jpegs, kind of like what zoneminder does (before it combines them all into a video for export). Motion supports FTP upload, etc. Also, motion is supported with zoneminder. So, essentially, you take a computer and a webcam, and turn it into an IP camera,,, Then you can pump add that to a zoneminder server like it was an IP camera. Works well with a raspberry pi. You can install it by issuing "sudo apt-get install motion". I've got a video on that also.
ua-cam.com/video/t20TJ7ppCLg/v-deo.html
Hope this info helps you! =)
-Alex
Thanks for checking ! ... I will have a try with a logitech web cam when I get a chance to build the box and will let you know how it goes, thanks !
hi. I do not see the package for Centos 7
How can i add my nvr any help
Hello
Please I need you help to connect my mobile camera as IP security camera in ZM
My phone is Galaxy Note5, and running Ubuntu 17.04 with ZM 1.30.04
I tried many settings but it is not working at all, and now goes as blue screen
Also, I edited cgi as you mentioned in the video but nothing work.
Thank you
Hey There - So sorry for the delayed response. Ive been quite busy.
This is really easy on android,,, not sure about ubuntu.
For android I use "ip webcam". Start the stream on the phone and then in zoneminder make a new remote monitor. Pretty much the only settings you need are the IP address, port number, "/video" as the path, and then the resolution you have set in the "IP Webcam" preferences.
If you're running a full version of ubuntu(i dont know anything about mobile ubuntu) you can always install "motion" (sudo apt-get install motion) and use that as the streaming service. I think the path for that is just "/"
Hope this helps. =)
-Alex
please note that this version has a security hole allowing others to bypass authentication. Either install the newest or update! seclists.org/bugtraq/2017/Feb/6
Great video. How can I set as a DVr. Log into zone minder it's very technical. It's there a way to set up with xbmc? Or a way to compress the video files and upload to cloud provider like mega or Dropbox? Thank you
Hi Knowledgea,
Thanks for commenting!
Here's an outline of your questions:::
How can I set as a DVR:
I'm not sure exactly what you mean... If you want to use zoneminder to record tv shows, etc,,, keep looking. Zoneminder would be terrible for that. MythTV might be a better choice. If you're asking how to enable recording, like a tradition security camera DVR, set the "function" to "Modect, Record, or Mocord" upon logging into your zoneminder install.
Log into zone minder it's very technical:
It is confusing, yes, especially if you are not used to doing things like this. You can make it easier for yourself by trying some of the following things:
Make a DNS entry on your router/DNS server. name it something like, zoneminder.mydomain.com or something.
Make a redirect in the sites-available config(within apache) so that you dont have to type in the /zm
Just bookmark it.
It's there a way to set up with xbmc?:
Yes apparently:::: click this link below,,, there is a plugin for xbmc.
Kodi/XBMC plugin:
forums.zoneminder.com/viewtopic.php?t=23738
Or a way to compress the video files and upload to cloud provider like mega or Dropbox?:
Video, not really. Still images,, yes. Click this link:
Dropbox sync tutorial:
bkjaya.wordpress.com/2014/08/02/a-simple-method-to-make-zoneminder-alarm-events-remotely-viewable-using-dropbox-syncing-ubuntu-14-04mint-17/
+Alex Shrewsbury
🙆🙆🙆thank u so much. I have 2 camera and I want my parents to check it out like dvr how it shows the video in easy format. Kind like mythtv. Could u implement on ur set up. Your video has help me so much. ☺️☺️☺️
Here you go. =)
ua-cam.com/video/eR1rsiYYhrA/v-deo.html
I swear you're the same guy as ScammerRevolts
Hello Alex, Great Video. I wolud Like to ask you some question About This
+Daniel Rodriguez Hi Daniel. Fire away.
Can You Helpme to Configure a Capture Card chip a878 in zoneminder, with analog camares
Wow I havent played with an analog card of any type for quite a few years. Anyways, I see this hardware FAQ(URL at bottom) for a "WinFast TV2000 XP" that uses a bt878a chipset.
Give it a read through, specifically the bottom part that has the zoneminder settings.
In my unprofessional opinion, I would think as long as you can see the card when you run "lspci" then zoneminder should have no problems receiving it with the proper configuration. Drivers may be an issue...
If your server has a GUI then you could install VLC and possibly verify that the card is working correctly.
wiki.zoneminder.com/WinFast_TV2000_XP
+Alex Shrewsbury. Hi I do not see package for Centos 7
+Mario Rosario Hi Mario, I've stayed on the Debian side of things for most of my linux experience. Take a look at this page though. It may get you off in the right direction.
github.com/pliablepixels/zmNinja/wiki/Configuring-ZoneMinder-with-API
It has a few notes for Centos.
Hi nice video
Thanks Moz!
where is the ZNninja?
Hey there, here is the ZMNinja homepage. =)
pliablepixels.github.io/
Here is my video going over the windows instance of ZMNinja
ua-cam.com/video/LIJxuGHKUnE/v-deo.html