Debian Bullseye and Zoneminder

[bbunge]

Folks,
Bullseye is to be released on 12 AUG21. I did a test install and looked for the versions of Zoneminder that were available. I did look on https://zmrepo.zoneminder.com/debian/re ... /bullseye/ and found an install for armhf. I also looked for the Debian packages for Bullseye, AKA Debian 11, and found Zoneminder 1.34.23. I did an install of 1.34.23 from a Debian mirror on my test i3. AS with other Zoneminder installs from Debian repositories the zm database was not automatically installed. While I did get 1.34.23 to work, mostly, I am advising others to leave this version alone. You should also avoid upgrading a Buster, Debian 10, with Zoneminder 1.36.x as the 1.36.x could get overwritten with the 1.34.23. I have had this happen to me and it is not a pretty site.
With a fair amount of time on my hands I will be keeping an eye on the progress of Bullseye builds of Zoneminder.

Thanks,

bb

A workaround to get ZM 1.36.5 on Bullseye!

1. install Debian 11 (Bullseye) along with Apache2, PHP and your favorite database (Mariadb recommended). A quick way to do this is:

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sudo apt install apache2 mariadb-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

2. Download zoneminder-doc_1.36.5-buster_all.deb and zoneminder_1.36.5-buster_amd64.deb (Yes, these are the files for Buster but read on)

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wget https://zmrepo.zoneminder.com/debian/release-1.36/buster/zoneminder-doc_1.36.5-buster_all.deb

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wget https://zmrepo.zoneminder.com/debian/release-1.36/buster/zoneminder_1.36.5-buster_amd64.deb

3. Then secure Mariadb:

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sudo mysql_secure_installation

4. Install Gdebi:

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sudo apt install gdebi

5. Install Zoneminder:

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sudo gdebi zoneminder_1.36.5-buster_amd64.deb zoneminder-doc_1.35.5_all.deb

6. Additional steps:

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sudo systemctl enable zoneminder.service
sudo systemctl start zoneminder
sudo a2enconf zoneminder
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo service apache2 reload

9. Open Zoneminder http://(IP-Address)/zm and remember to change the Timezone in Options-Timezone
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[Acewiza]

1.32.23 is working flawlessly for me on Buster. If that's what comes with Bullseye, that's what I'll use.

[bbunge]

1.32.23 is working flawlessly for me on Buster. If that's what comes with Bullseye, that's what I'll use.

You are really missing out by not upgrading to 1.36.x. I have Buster 10.10 on an i3 with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB M.2 SSD. 1.36 works really well for my few cams.

Be careful if you decide to upgrade your Buster to Bullseye. It is possible that your ZM install will break because the version on the Bullseye is 1.34.23.

[Acewiza]

Versioning and major releases are purely development issues. Users running production systems in environments with real implication for day-to-day operations don't play those games. Debian releases are planned and executed in a systematic, forthright manner. Package maintenance for ZM? Does anybody actually do it in any sort of comprehensive coordinated manner?

I had hoped to elicit a more appropriate response from the developer with that comment.

[iconnor]

I can't say that I am terribly happy with the official debian packaging for debian. However I understand why it is the way it is.

Which brings us to zmrepo. If using zmrepo, and there is a running mysql or mariadb server running, the db will be automatically created. Otherwise you have to create it yourself.

This is all covered in the handy documentation.

When doing upgrades you should take a db backup. You should ACTUALLY have a nightly db backup system in place.

That's the thing about debian, it requires you to read docs and make informed decisions. Instead of everything being automated because no one knows what the right choice is.

As to 1.32, I was the main person behind that release. It had to be done but I consider it to be an abomination. 1.34 series is much better, but you should be running the most recent release of it. 1.36 works well for most people but I think it needs at least 1 or 2 more fixes before I would say that it is truly awesome.

I have high hopes for 1.38 being more flexible, modern, lower resource.

[Acewiza]

Which brings us to zmrepo. If using zmrepo, and there is a running mysql or mariadb server running, the db will be automatically created. Otherwise you have to create it yourself.

Been there, done that. A number of times.

When doing upgrades you should take a db backup. You should ACTUALLY have a nightly db backup system in place.

Any user above the newbie/amateur level learned and knows this intuitively a long time ago, WRT ZM or anything else.

That's the thing about debian, it requires you to read docs and make informed decisions. Instead of everything being automated because no one knows what the right choice is.

Making informed software decisions is a skill most learn the hard way.

As to 1.32, I was the main person behind that release. It had to be done but I consider it to be an abomination.

Since the answer to my question "seems" to be no, I'll be a Bullseye abomination ZM'er. Let me know if you ever decide to do package maintenance for the systems you purport to support. I'm always itching to build another box on every Debian release. Testing ZM packages might be fun too.

[bbunge]

See the first post for install instructions.

[Acewiza]

Sorry, but I wouldn't be spending my time on it unless it was aimed at proper integration with the OS. Two major releases hosting the same "abomination" is all the exposure to that sort of attitude I can tolerate.

[bbunge]

Sorry, but I wouldn't be spending my time on it unless it was aimed at proper integration with the OS. Two major releases hosting the same "abomination" is all the exposure to that sort of attitude I can tolerate.

Proper integration? Debian build on a Debian OS? What isn't proper about that? Do a Google search for Buster packages on Bullseye and you can find several favorable reports. I agree with iconnor that the way that Zoneminder is packaged in the Debian package repository is a real shame. Adding the database manually is a real pain.
I can't understand why you are complaining about free software. Do something to make it better as I have done for the past 10 years! You may never get thanked but that is OK with me.