HIKVISION HikCentral Professional Security Software User Guide

: June 8, 2024
: Hikvision

HIKVISION HikCentral Professional Security Software

Chapter 1 Guide Content

This guide briefly explains how to install your HikCentral Professional as well as how to configure some of its basic features.
To ensure the properness of usage and stability of the HikCentral Professional, please refer to the contents below and read the guide carefully before installation and operation.

Chapter 2 Administrator Rights

When you install and run the service modules, it is important that you have administrator rights on the PCs or servers that should run these components. Otherwise, you cannot install and configure the platform.
Consult your IT system administrator if in doubt about your rights.
If you access the platform via HikCentral Professional, you can log in to the operating system with the following default administrator user name and password at the first boot.

Default User Name: Administrator
Default Password: Abc12345

It is recommended that you change the default administrator password immediately after entering the platform for data security.

Note
We highly recommend you to create a strong password of your own choosing (using a minimum of 8 characters, including at least three kinds of following categories: upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters) in order to increase the security of your product. And we recommend you change your password regularly, especially in the high security system, changing the password monthly or weekly can better protect your product.

Chapter 3 System Requirements

System Requirements for Servers

Operating System

Microsoft · Windows 11 (64-bit), Microsoft · Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 8.1 (64-bit), Windows 7 SPl (64-bit); Windows Server 2019 (64-bit), Windows Server 2016 (64-bit), Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 SPl (64-bit)

Note
For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, make sure it is installed with the rollup
(KB2919355) undated in April, 2014.
CPU
Intel · Core™ 13 and above
Memory
4 GB and above
HDD
SATA-11 7200 RPM Enterprise Class disk with 650 GB storage capacity. When running the SYS, there should be at least 1 GB free space.

System Requirements for Control Client

Operating System
Microsoft · Windows 11 (64-bit), Microsoft · Windows 10 (64-bit), Windows 8.1 (64-bit), Windows 7 SPl (64-bit); Windows Server 2019 (64-bit), Windows Server 2016 (64-bit), Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 SPl (64-bit), Mac OS

Note
For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2, make sure it is installed with the rollup (KB2919355) undated in April, 2014.
CPU
Intel Core TM 15 and above
Memory
4 GB and above
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce GTX 970 and above
HDD
When running the Control Client, there should be at least 1 GB free space.

Chapter 4 Installation

Install the service modules on your servers or PCs to build your HikCentral Professional. Multiple installation packages are provided on the Hikvision’s official website ( https://hikvision.com) and Partner Portal ( https://tpp.hikvision.com) for building your system.
Basic Installation Package
On the Hikvision’s official website, this package is named as “HikCentral Professional.exe”. It contains all the modules to build the system, including System Management Service, Streaming Service, Control Client, and Database Service.

Note
The System Management Service and Streaming Service cannot be installed on the same PC.

Control Client Installation Package
On the Hikvision’s official website, four packages are provided to meet the requirement of different operating systems, including “HikCentral Professional Control Client x64.exe”, “HikCentral Professional Control Client x86.exe”, “HikCentral Professional Control Client x64.msi”, and “HikCentral Professional Control Client x86.msi”. This kind of package contains the Control Client module only.
pStor Installation Package
On the Hikvision’s official website, this package is named as “pStor.exe”. It contains a module to build the storage access service used for managing local HDDs and logical disks.
SAC Installation Package
On the Hikvision’s official website, this package is named as “HikCentral Professional SAC lnstaller.exe”. It contains a module to build the pStor cluster service for storage.
Language Installation Package
On the Hikvision’s official website, this package is named as “HikCentral Professional LanguagePack.exe”. It contains modules to display the system in different languages.
OpenAPI Installation Package
On the Partner Portal, this package is named as “HikCentralPro OpenAPI”. It provides multiple APls for third-party systems to fast integrate different applications.

Install Module

Two installation methods are available for building the modules.

Typical Mode

Install all the service modules (except the Streaming Service) and client.
Custom Mode
Select the installation directory and modules to be installed as desired.

Install Service Module in Custom Mode

During installation in custom mode, you can select the installation directory and install the specified service modules as desired.

Steps

Double-click (HikCentral Professional) to enter the Welcome panel of the lnstallShield Wizard.
Click I agree to the terms in License Agreement and read the License Agreement.
Select Custom Installation as setup type.
Select the module(s) you want to install and click Next.

Note
The System Management Service and Streaming Service cannot be installed on the same PC.
Optional: Select the hot spare mode if you select to install Video Surveillance Service in the previous step.
– Select Normal if you do not need to build a hot spare system.
– Select Mirror Hot Spare to build a mirror hot spare system. There are two HikCentral servers in the hot spare system: host server and spare server. When the host server works, the data in host server is copied to the spare server in real time. When the host server fails, the spare server switches into operation without interruption, thus increasing the reliability of the system.
Note
For building the hot spare system, contact our technical support engineer.
Optional: Change the default directory as desired to install the program module(s) and the database.
Click Custom Installation again to return to the Welcome panel.
Click Install Now to begin the installation.
A panel indicating progress of the installation will display.
Click Finish to complete the installation.

Install Service Module in Typical Mode

You can install all the service modules (except the Streaming Service) and client on one PC or server.

Steps

Double-click (HikCentral Professional) to enter the welcome panel of the lnstallShield Wizard.
Click I agree to the terms in License Agreement and read the License Agreement.
Click Install Now to begin the installation.
A panel indicating progress of the installation will display.
Click Finish to complete the installation.

Install Control Client

You must install HikCentral Professional Control Client on your computer before you can access the system via Control Client. You can get the installation package from Hikvision’s official site, or download from HikCentral Professional Web Client’s Home page (64-bit).

Steps
Note
We provide an installation package of Control Client in MSI format. For scenario with Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), you can install/upgrade the Control Clients on the PCs in the AD domain in a batch by Windows® Group Policy. Click here to visit the official site of Microsoft® and you can view details and instructions about Windows® Group Policy.

Double-click (HikCentral Professional-Client) to enter the welcome panel of the lnstallShield Wizard.
Optional: Select a proper directory on your computer to install the Control Client.
Click Install Now to begin the installation.
A panel indicating progress of the installation will display.
Click Finish to complete the installation.

Service Manager

After successfully installing the service module(s), you can run the Service Manager and perform related operations of service, such as starting, stopping, or restarting the service.

Steps

Right-click ~ and select Run as Administrator to run the Service Manager .

Note
The displayed items vary with the service modules you selected for installation.
Optional: Perform the following operation(s) after starting the Service Manager.
Stop All Click Stop All to stop all the services.
Restart All Click Restart All to run all the services again.
Stop Specific Service Select one service and click to stop the service.
Edit Service Click the service name to edit the port of the service.
Note
If the port number of the service is occupied by other service, the port No. will be shown in red. You should change the port number to other value before the service can work properly.
Open Service Select one service and click to go to the installation directory of the
Location service.
Optional: Check Auto-Launch to enable launching the Service Manager automatically after the PC started up.
Click Dual-Server Deployment to deploy the database on another server.

You can access and configure the platform via web browser directly, without installing any client software on the your computer.

Note
The login session of the Web Client will expire and a prompt with countdown will appear after the configured time period in which there is no action.

Recommended Running Environment

The following is recommended system requirement for running the Web Client.
CPU
Intel · Core™ 13 and above
Memory
4 GB and above
Web Browser
Internet Explorer 11 and above, Firefox · 84 and above, Google Chrome 84 and above, Safari 11 and above, Microsoft Edge 89 and above.

By default, the platform predefined the administrator user named admin. When you login via the Web Client for the first time, you are required to create a password for the ad min user before you can properly configure and operate the system.

Steps

In the address bar of the web browser, enter the address of the PC running SYS service and press Enter key. Example If the IP address of PC running SYS is 172.6.21.96, and you should enter http://172.6.21.96 or https://172.6.21.96 in the address bar.
Enter the password and confirm password for the ad min user in the pop-up Create Password window.
caution
The password strength of the device can be automatically checked. We highly recommend you change the password of your own choosing (using a minimum of 8 characters, including at least three kinds of following categories: upper case letters, lower case letters, numbers, and special characters) in order to increase the security of your product. And we recommend you change your password regularly, especially in the high security system, changing the password monthly or weekly can better protect your product.
Proper configuration of all passwords and other security settings is the responsibility of the installer and/or end-user.
Click OK.
The Home page of Web Client will be displayed after you successfully creating the ad min password.

Chapter 6 License Management

After installing HikCentral Professional, you have a temporary License for a specified number of cameras and limited functions. To ensure the proper use of HikCentral Professional, you can activate the SYS to access more functions and manage more devices. If you do not want to activate the SYS now, you can skip this chapter and activate the system later.

Two types of License are available for HikCentral Professional:

Base: You need to purchase at least one basic License to activate the HikCentral Professional.
Expansion: If you want to increase the capability of your system (e.g., connect more cameras), you can purchase an expanded License to get additional features.

Note

Only the ad min user can perform the activation, update, and deactivation operation.
If you encounter any problems during activation, update, and deactivation, please send the server logs to our technical support engineers.

Activate License – Online

If the SYS server to be activated can properly connect to the Internet, you can activate the SYS server in online mode.

Steps

Log in to HikCentral Professional via the Web Client.
On the Home page, click Activate to open the Activate License panel.
Click Online Activation to activate the License in online mode.
Enter the activation code received when you purchased your License.
Note
• If you have purchased more than one Licenses, you can click + and enter other activation codes.
• The activation code should contain 16 characters or 32 characters (except dashes).
Check I accept the terms of the agreement to open the License Agreement panel and click OK.
Optional: Select the machine environment type.
Physical Machine (Default)
A physical computer that contains hardware specifications and is used for running the SYS. If the hardware changed, the License will be invalid, and the SYS may not run normally.
AWS (Amazon · Web Services)
A virtual machine that provides the cloud computing service for running the SYS.
Azure (Microsoft · Azure)
A virtual machine that provides the cloud computing service for running the SYS.
Note
If you select the machine environment type as the AWS or Azure, the pStor server, Streaming Server, and other external servers can not access the platform. And the Rose hot spare system is also not supported.
Optional: Check the Hot Spare, select type, and enter the IP address if you want to build a hot spare system.
Note
• You must select Hot Spare mode when you install the system.
• For how to build the hot spare system, please contact our technical support engineers.
Click Activate.
The email settings pane will appear after activating the License.
Enter an email address for the admin user.
Note
This email is used to receive the License activation code when the ad min user forgets the password for logging in to the platform and the activation code at the same time.
Set the email server parameters.
Click OK to save the email settings.

Update License – Online

As your project grows, you may need to increase the connectable number of resources (e.g., cameras) for your HikCentral Professional. If the SYS to be updated can properly connect to the Internet, you can update the License in online mode.

Before You Start
Contact your dealer or our sales team to purchase a License for additional features

Steps

Log in to HikCentral Professional via the Web Client.
In the top right corner of Home page, select Maintenance and Management ➔ Update License ➔ Online Update to open the Online Update panel.
Enter the activation code.
Note
• If you have purchased more than one Licenses, you can click + and enter other activation codes.
• Up to 110 Licenses are allowed in one system.
Check I accept the terms of the agreement to open the License Agreement panel and click OK.
Click Update.