virtual host for ZoneMinder.

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I got to #8 in the INSTALL file
Create an apache virtual host for ZoneMinder. Make sure to use the same paths as ZM_WEBDIR and ZM_CGIDIR in /etc/zm.conf

Are there any other instructions for this?
There is no ZM_WEBDIR and ZM_CGIDIR in /etc/zm.conf
but it does have ZM_PATH_WEB and ZM_PATH_CGI

[TheKorn]

Fine, I'll bite...

is there a really good reason why you're compiling this yourself instead of using a pre-made package for your distribution? From your other posts it's pretty clear you have next to no linux experience, and compiling apps from scratch is definitely medium-level linux territory.

By way of analogy, you want a car. Rather than going out and simply getting a car (by the way did I mention it was free? It's free!), you're mining the ore to smelt the aluminum, which you'll then use to form a chassis, which will eventually hold the engine, transmissions, windshield, seats, etc. that you also haven't yet built. For a guy that just wants a car, that doesn't seem like a great way to be introduced to automobiles, ya know?

Don't get me wrong, happy that you're trying to learn. I'm just concerned that your first mountain climb is Mt. Fuji rather than Mt. Bunnyhill!

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A while back I used a package. I got the service running but there was no image. Someone told me to compile it with VLC installed in order to get it working.

[TheKorn]

What distribution (+ version) are you using?

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Fedora release 20 (Heisenbug)

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Could someone please explain to me how I can get some help? I have sent an email to the Zoneminder support offering to pay for help but I have not heard back from them.

[TheKorn]

Fedora release 20 (Heisenbug)

Ahhh, now I see why you had to compile it; looks like the fedora package is all the way back at 1.25.

Sorry I can't help you more; I don't compile zm thanks to the excellent PPA for ubuntu by iconnor.

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Well thanks anyway for the tips. I did manage to make an ssh connection so editing is much easier.

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Do you think if i used an older version of zoneminder I might have a better chance of getting it to work wihout having to build it? Or perhaps an older version of Fedora to go with the older version of zoneminder? How would I even get an older version of Fedora?

[TheKorn]

Do you think if i used an older version of zoneminder I might have a better chance of getting it to work wihout having to build it?

Normally I would say no to this question. For example if you must have VLC support for your camera, that was only added in 1.27.

...but let's stop right there and rewind a bit.

You're using a dcs-942L (not 943L). The kind soul who wrote the wiki entry for the 942L said:

DCS-942L

Image capture works the same as 932L and /image/jpeg.cgi over HTTP.

So that's good! While not nearly as nice as doing RTSP streaming, simple jpeg streaming over http is in pretty much every version of zoneminder made since the beginning of time. (...so it's in 1.25, which you already have.)

So I would follow the first set of directions for the DCS-932L given in the wiki. (Source Type: Remote, Remote Host Name: user:pass@<IP Address of Camera>, Remote Host Port: 80 (Default), Remote Host Path: /image/jpeg.cgi). That should get you started and a good 'home base' so you can get your feet wet. After you get it working one way (and are able to sound out your zoneminder install), then you can go for round 2 and try and get it working better. Possibly the additional method listed under the 932L for mjpeg capture ( /video.cgi ) works, for example.

That way, you can sidestep the whole needing to compile with vlc issue entirely. RTSP streaming is nice but it's by no means a requirement; many fully working systems use mjpeg exclusively. RTSP is really only a requirement when you start doing high def and/or high frame rate streams from your cameras. (I have two SD cams that provide both mjpeg and rtsp streams, and I run them mjpeg because they're easier to configure and more reliable that way.)

Periodic jpeg is a step down from mjpeg, but still quite useable from a security camera point of view.

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On a fresh install of Fedora 20
I installed zoneminder 1.25 from the package.
I used the settings you have listed in your post
I got this error
socket_sendto( /var/lib/zoneminder/sock/zms-655330s.sock ) failed: No such file or directory

[TheKorn]

Open a web browser, and type this in substituting the appropriate values:

Code: Select all

http://(user):(pass)@(ip address of camera)/image/jpeg.cgi

What do you get?

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Tried it, I got the image. Whoopie!
I went back and added the user pass to the remote host name and now the video works. (I don't need the password when I access it with vlc so I thought there was no password on the camera itself) However on the main page, the monitor and the source links are both still red and the state is still "alert" Is there something I can reset to fix that?

Apparently the socket_sendto error was caused by not being able to access /image/jpeg.cgi in the host path because of the missing authentication.
I deliberately sabotaged the host path by changing it to /image/jpeg.cgix and sure enough, that error came back.

[TheKorn]

Tried it, I got the image. Whoopie!

Finally you're getting somewhere!

I went back and added the user pass to the remote host name and now the video works. (I don't need the password when I access it with vlc so I thought there was no password on the camera itself) However on the main page, the monitor and the source links are both still red and the state is still "alert" Is there something I can reset to fix that?

Wait, you need to be very specific about what you're saying here.

The log link will be red for a while but will eventually clear itself after a few minutes of normal operation, assuming other errors aren't being generated in the meantime.

Note that if you close the browser window while viewing either a live feed or an event rather than hitting the close link, it'll generate an error message so it'll turn the log link red.

Is the camera status red, or is its state alert? Those are two very different things! Camera status red = problem. Alert = motion detected and an event is being recorded.

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The log link is not red and there are no errors in the log.

state is "ok"

"monitor" (in the "function" column) is still red. What else can I check for that?