I am having a problem that at first I thought I would be able to olve on my own eventually. I am fairly new to Linux and Zoneminder but hey I have done fair so far ....... well at least up until now.
I will first give the basics of my system and then state my problem And then I will pray that someone can help me solve this.
First let me say that I have tried this on 4 different machines (Shuttle SS51G w/ P4 3.0Ghz, 2gb memory Ubuntu 10.04 & Zoneminder --- Dell Poweredge 750, Dual Core 2.8, 2Gb Memory --- Dell PE850 w/3.2 Dual Core 4GB Memory, --- PE860 3.2 Dual Core, 4Gb memory ...... All Ubuntu 10.04 & ZM 1.24.2) and got the same exact results. I have had other problems other than the one I will mention today but I have most of them resolved. I am prioritizing these problems in order of how much of an annoyance factor they are creating on a scale of 1 to 10. Todays problem has an annoyance factor that has become elevated to a 25 on that scale.
PROBLEM;
Vivotek IP cameras model numbers PZ6112 and PZ6117. The model PZ6117 is actually the wireless version of the PZ6112. I also have another Vivotek product that I have used but have no such issues of anykind with it.
Anyway here is the problem: No matter how low the load of the server is, no matter how I set the framerates, shared memory, video quality, etc., etc., These cameras keep dropping off and it does not matter which mode I have them set to be it Monitor, Modect or otherwise. They will link up for a minute or two, sometimes less, then drop off completely. I can set them to It does not matter what the camera or server settings are. NOTHING I have adjusted seems to change things one tiny bit.
I will state further that I have seen that in most all articles concerning these cameras people are using the following link to connect with these cameras /cgi-bin/video.jpeg I have even used /cgi-bin/video.jpeg? and they both get the same results. I further have discovered and used variants of this /cgi-bin/video.jpg?cam=1&quality=5&size=3 The quality and size numbers vary from 1 to 5. Either way by adjusting the frame width and height pixels accordingly I am able to get the camera to work immediately after each setting change but only for a short period and it ALWAYS eventually fails and usually within the first minute. I even removed the min/max frame settings in ZM ........ NOTHING has helped much less resolved this problem.
I have learned some hidden and unpublished facts from trial and error about these cameras that may help in solving my problem. Example: When you change the frame rate on the camera itself it does NOT and will NOT change or be reflected in ZM UNLESS you reboot the camera. No Clue why that is. Changing the cameras mode from MJPEG to MPEG4 changes NOTHING as far as ZM is concerned. It is if you have done nothing at all. Changing the cameras image quality output seems to change nothing either unless you reboot the camera first.
As I stated earlier I do have one other Vivotek product that I have tested and so far it has been the best of all the products I have tested to date. I have also tested and used Axis with this and had no problems at all.
What little bitty detail am I ro have I missed here? This is starting to make me feel like a total blooming idiot.
I will gladly provide a private link to the wired version of this camera to anyone who would like to take a stab at it if need be.
As for Zoneminder itself ......... I would like to say this ........ I do understand that it is a constant work in progress .......... I actually love it even though I feel it is not for the faint of heart. It has poteential that I feel has not been realized by many yet. HOWEVER .......... This problem is driving me freakin nutz and I can not even find so much as a clue as what to do. I have made adjustments until I have probably permanently screwed up a machine or two. After having it happen the first time on the P4 3.0Ghx Shuttle I was SURE that my unit was just too outdated and too small. So I went and bought the three Poweredge servers and none of them can handle it either. I gotta admit though ...... having three dual core servers here with Ubuntu 10.04 and ZM on them and seeing how fast those cats run is impressive and the installs on them were all but flawless and smooth. A few issues with ZM 1.24.2 being installed in a different directory than what Apache was looking for but all in all quick and minor adjustments solved that. Otherwise the cpu loads are nothing. When the system is up and running (PowerEdge Servers) with 4 camreas at 15fps min and max I was showing approx .53 load. Not sure how good that is but looks great to me. Definitely had to increase shared memory as every machine I have built so far has had a problem with not allowing me to run these D1 resolution cameras above 352x240. That solves that problem and even now I still am running them at 352x240 but it's nice to know I can do otherwise.
I did have an issue with corrupted events and false event dates, i.e., 12-31-1969. I got that solved too but can't remember at the moment what I did. Somthing about modifying the sysctl.conf file.
Anyway ........HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP.
Thank you kindly for letting me voice my problem in this forum and hope all are having a great Fathers day.