AVIGILON UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT Unity Video Server User Guide

: June 15, 2024
: aVIGILON

Table of Contents

AVIGILON UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT Unity Video Server
Avigilon Unity Video
What Is the Avigilon Unity Video Server?
System Requirements
Getting Started
Accessing the Admin Tool
System Settings
Erasing the Storage Configuration
Enabling Storage Management
Resetting the Administrator Password
More Information & Support
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

AVIGILON UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT Unity Video Server

AVIGILON-UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT-Unity-Video-Server-product

Avigilon Unity Video

Server User Guide
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What Is the Avigilon Unity Video Server?

The Avigilon Unity Video Server software is the application that captures and records monitoring data from Windows-based network cameras and encoders. The captured data is then sent to the Avigilon Unity Video Client software for you to review. Refer to your server documentation on help.avigilon.com for details.
The Avigilon Unity Video Server software contains two key parts — the Windows service and the Admin Tool. The Windows service directs video to where it needs to be stored or streamed in the network. The Admin Tool allows you to configure the system administrative settings.
Avigilon Unity Video Server software is installed using the Avigilon Unity Video Software Manager.
There are three editions of the Server software available: Core, Standard and Enterprise. The edition of the Server software determines how many cameras can be connected to the system and the number of simultaneous client connections. The edition of the Server software also determines what features are available in the Avigilon Unity Video Client software.

System Requirements

NOTE
Network video recording and retention times vary according to the number of cameras, camera resolution, estimated percent of motion, continuous recording settings and predefined retention period. For full server performance, use the Avigilon certified solution options.

IMPORTANT
Do not install the Avigilon Unity Video software on servers running Active Directory or DNS services. These services can severely impair Avigilon Unity Video functionality.

Run Windows Update before launching the Avigilon Unity Video software.
For a complete list of system requirements, see System requirements.

Getting Started

The Avigilon Unity Video Server software contains two parts: the Windows service and the Admin Tool.
The Windows service runs automatically when your computer starts.
The Admin Tool is used to configure the Windows service. From the Admin Tool you can define the network and configure the backup and storage settings for the Avigilon Unity Video System.

Getting Help
If you want to learn more about a feature or how to accomplish a task, visit the Avigilon Unity Video Help Center.

In the bottom-left corner of the Admin Tool, click Help.

IMPORTANT
If you are on an air-gapped system with no access to the Avigilon Unity Video Help Center, consider allowing help.avigilon.com traffic through your firewall so that you can access the latest available or most recently updated help. The in-product help may not be the latest available
or most recently updated help.

Windows Service
The Avigilon Unity Video Server software includes a Windows service that runs automatically in the background. If required, you can configure the service properties in the Services window.

$AVIGILON-UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT-Unity-Video-Server- $2$$ Admin Tool
The Admin Tool is used to configure your Avigilon Unity Video Server settings. From the Admin Tool, you can configure the size of the monitored data storage space, the file backup location, and network ports.

Accessing the Admin Tool

The Admin Tool can be accessed in the following ways:

From the Start menu, select All Programs or All Apps > Avigilon > Avigilon Unity Video Server > Admin Tool
Double-click the desktop shortcut icon

Admin Tool Window
From the Admin Tool, you can start up or shut down the Avigilon Unity Video Server at any time. For more information, see Starting Up and Shutting Down on page 14.
The Admin Tool window contains two tabs: the General tab and the Settings tab. The following tables describe what options are available in each tab.

General $AVIGILON-UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT-Unity-Video-Server- $4$$

Settings

$AVIGILON-UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT-Unity-Video-Server- $5$$

System Settings

Complete the following procedures to configure the Avigilon Unity Video Server to fit your requirements.

Configuring the Server Storage Settings
You must configure the server storage settings so that the Avigilon Unity Video Server software knows how much space is allocated for storing video data.
If the Admin Tool detects that there is no existing storage configuration, it will launch the Set Up Storage Configuration dialog box.
By default the software will assign most of the available storage to the Primary Data Volume for storing recorded video.

If the recommended configuration is acceptable, click Finish
If you want to change the configuration click Change Storage Configuration. For more information, see Changing the Storage Configuration below.

Accessing the Server Storage Configuration

In the Admin Tool, click Shut Down.
The Avigilon Unity Video Server must be shut down before the storage configuration can be viewed or edited.
In the Settings tab, click
In the Storage dialog box, you can see the current storage configuration.

Setting Up the Initial Server Storage Configuration
When the Admin Tool detects that there is no existing storage configuration, i t will launch the Set Up Storage Configuration dialog box with the recommended storage configuration.
By default the software will assign most of the available storage to the Primary Data Volume for storing recorded video.

If the recommended configuration is acceptable, click Finish
If you want to change the configuration click Change Storage Configuration. For more information, see Changing the Storage Configuration below.

Changing the Storage Configuration
You may need to change the storage configuration in the following situations:

If you are unsatisfied with the storage configuration suggested by the application, click Change Storage Configuration to define the storage settings to fit your needs.
If you recently chose to Erase All Data, you must reset the Storage configuration before you can continue.

Complete the following procedure in the Storage dialog box
If the Storage dialog box is not already open, see Accessing the Server Storage Configuration on the previous page.

NOTE
Place the Config Volume and the Data Volume on separate drives apart from the OS (C:\ by default).

In the Storage dialog box, select the drive for storing the Config Volume and click Set Config Volume. $AVIGILON-UNITY8-STD-TO-ENT-Unity-Video-Server- $7$$ NOTE
Some of the buttons in the figure may not be available if the drive cannot accommodate the setting.
To add a data volume, select the drive and click Add Data Volume…. The button is not available if the drive already has a data volume.
- In the Add Data Volume dialog box, enter the preferred data volume size.
  WARNING
  Adding a Primary Data Volume value that is substantially larger than the Secondary Data Volume value, or adding a Secondary Data Volume value that is substantially larger than the Primary Data Volume value may lead to recordings being deleted earlier than the time specified in your retention policies.
  NOTE
  Avigilon Unity Video Server will show a warning message if either the Primary Data Volume value or the Secondary Data Volume value is set to a substantially larger value than the other.
- Click OK.
To delete a Secondary Data Volume, select the drive and click Delete Data Volume. Deleting a data volumec will erase all recorded data from that drive.
NOTE
You cannot delete a Primary Data Volume, you can only erase all data. For more information, see Erasing the Storage Configuration below.
If you are not satisfied with the location of the Primary Data Volume, select the drive you prefer and click Set
Primary Data Volume.
The Primary Data Volume contains the database that indexes the monitoring data.
NOTE
The drive must have a data volume before it can be set as the Primary Data Volume.
When you are satisfied with the storage configuration, click OK.

Erasing the Storage Configuration

NOTE
If you choose to erase all stored data, be aware that all recorded monitoring data and server settings will be lost.

Open the Storage dialog box. For more information, see Accessing the Server Storage Configuration on page 8.
Click Erase All Data.
When the confirmation dialog box appears, click Yes.
You will need to create a new storage configuration before you can start up the Avigilon Unity Video Server again. For more information, see Changing the Storage Configuration on page 8.

Configuring the Server Network
The server communicates with the Avigilon Unity Video Client software through a range of UDP and TCP ports. The port ranges only need to be changed if the Client software is trying to access two or more servers that are behind the same NAT device (e.g. router), or if there is a port conflict with other software running on the same computer as the Avigilon Unity Video Server software.

In the Admin Tool, select Settings >
In the Network dialog box, enter a new base port then click OK.
- The service ports used by the Server software are updated as the base port changes.
- The RTP port range must be accessible by the Client computer and can be forwarded on any router or network address translation point between the Client and Server.

NOTE
Time differences between Avigilon Unity Cloud and your Avigilon Unity Video Service can cause unexpected behavior. To prevent differences in Unity Cloud time and Unity Server time, configure your server or appliance to synchronize with a network time protocol (NTP) time server.

Enabling Storage Management

FOR STANDARD AND ENTERPRISE EDITION
To allow users to archive video from the Avigilon Unity Video network video management server, you must enable the Storage Management feature in the Admin Tool and assign a location for the archived files.

In the Admin Tool, select Settings >
In the Storage Management dialog box, select the Enable Storage Management checkbox to allow the server to archive video files.
Enter a location for the Archive Folder:. Click […] to navigate to the preferred folder location.
TIP
The archive folder can be on any Windows file system that is accessible by the server. A common file system can be referenced by multiple servers to create a centralized video archive.
Click OK.
TIP
If Avigilon Unity Video is running as a specific user account, allow the Modify, Read & execute, and Write permissions for that user account on the archive folder location.

Once Storage Management is enabled, you can archive video on demand. If you have an Enterprise Edition system, you can also set up the Storage Management Continuous Archive feature.

For more information about archiving video, see the Avigilon Unity Video Client User Guide.

Manage Certificates on the Avigilon Unity Video Server
By default, the Avigilon Unity Video server uses a self-signed certificate for verifying client communications. Avigilon recommends using a trusted CA-signed certificate or other intermediate certificate, such as a Windows CA or custom CA certificate. You must be a Windows Administrator to make these changes.
If you are using a CA-signed certificate, you will need to disable trust of the default Avigilon certificates after setting up your CA-signed certificates to ensure the default certificate can no longer be used.

IMPORTANT
When logging into the server from a client after setting up your certificate, you will need to use the full hostname, including the domain.

Generating the Certificate

On the Windows machine running the Avigilon Unity Video server, open the Certificate Manager. Select Run in the Start menu and enter certlm.msc.
Navigate to the Personal > Certificates folder.
Right-click in the folder contents area and select All Tasks > Request New Certificate….
Click Next.
In the Select Certificate Enrollment Policy window, select the Active Directory Enrollment Policy and click Next.
In the Request Certificates window, select the Avigilon Computer checkbox, then expand the Details drop-down arrow and click Properties.
On the General tab, enter the Friendly Name as AccServerCert.
IMPORTANT
Make sure to enter the correct Friendly Name, AccServerCert, or the Avigilon Unity Video server and clients will not recognize the certificate and will fail to connect.
On the Private Key tab, in the Key options area, fill the Make private key exportable check box.
If Avigilon Unity Video is running as a specific user account, configure permissions on the private key:
- On the Private Key tab, in the Key permissions area, fill the Use custom permissions check box.
- Click Set permissions… and add the corresponding user account to the group or user list.
Click OK.
On the Request Certificates window, click Enroll. Click Finish when the operation is complete.

Exporting the Certificate and Private Key

Using the certlm.msc tool, right-click the new certificate and select All Tasks > Export….
Click Next.
Select Yes, export the private key and click Next.
Leave the Export File Format settings as default and click Next.
On the Security window:
- Select the Group or user names (recommended) check box and select the Active Directory group or user to which you want to assign access to the certificate and private key.
- Click Add.
- Click Next.
Enter the name and location for the exported certificate, or click Browse to navigate to the location where you want to save the exported certificate. Click Next.
Click Finish to export the certificate and private key.

Importing the Private Key

Using the certlm.msc tool, right-click in the Personal > Certificates folder contents area and select All Tasks > Import….
Click Next.
On the File to Import window, enter the certificate name and path in the File name field or click Browse to navigate to the certificate you want to import. Click Next.
Select the Import option to Mark the key as exportable and Include all extended properties, then click Next.
Leave the settings as default and click Next.
Click Finish.

Managing Private Key Permissions on Existing or Imported Certificates

On the Windows machine running the Avigilon Unity Video server, open the Certificate Manager. Select Run in the Start menu and enter certlm.msc.
Navigate to the Personal > Certificates folder.
Locate and right-click on the AccServerCert certificate and select All Tasks > Manage Private Keys….
In the Permissions for AccServerCert private keys window, add the Network Service account to the group or user list.
Click OK.

Using the Admin Tool
In addition to configuring the server, the Admin Tool can also be used to start up and shut down the Avigilon Unity Video Server software, launch the Client software, and display the Application Logs.

Starting Up and Shutting Down
The Avigilon Unity Video Server software automatically starts when Windows starts, but it can be manually started and shut down through the Admin Tool.

Starting Up the Server Software

In the Admin Tool, click Start Up.

When the Avigilon Unity Video Server has started properly, the Admin Tool displays this message:
The Avigilon Unity Server is Running.

Shutting Down the Server Software
When the Avigilon Unity Video Server is shut down, all video recording is stopped until the Avigilon Unity Video Server is started again.

In the Admin Tool, click Shut Down.

When the Avigilon Unity Video Server has shut down properly, the Admin Tool displays this message:
The Avigilon Unity Server is Not Running.

Starting the Avigilon Unity Video Client Software
The Avigilon Unity Video Client software can be launched from the Admin Tool.

In the Admin Tool, select General > .
If the Avigilon Unity Video Client software is not installed, the Admin Tool will prompt you to install it.

Viewing Application Logs
You can view the Avigilon Unity Video application error logs through the Admin Tool. This can assist in diagnosing problems with your system.

In the Admin Tool, select General >
In the Application Logs dialog box, double-click an error to view the details.
Click OK to close the dialog box.

Resetting the Administrator Password

To reset the administrator password for the Avigilon Unity Video Client software, you must delete all existing user and group account information from the server Config Volume.

TIP
You can avoid this procedure if you have a user account that has all the same permissions as an administrator. You can use this user account to reset the administrator password in the Avigilon Unity Video Client software.

In the Admin Tool, click Shut Down. I f you have multiple servers in your site, you need to shut down all the servers in your site.
Select Settings >
In the Storage dialog box, make note of the drive that holds the Config Volume.
Access the Config Volume drive and navigate to the AvigilonConfig\Db\DirectoryShared\Users folder.
For example, D:\AvigilonConfig\Db\DirectoryShared\Users.
Delete all the files in this folder. If you have multiple servers in your site, you need to delete this folder from every server in your site before you do the last step.
The server automatically resets all the user and group settings back to the factory default.
In the Admin Tool, click Start Up. Repeat for each server in your site.