ZoneMinder Forums

Folks;

I have ZoneMinder ported to OpenWrt and seek feedback for the installation / configuration / usage documentation:

https://www.rossco.org/modules/TreeList ... Minder.htm

Any of this documentation that is useful for zoneminder can be freely copied and added to general zoneminder documentation.

Anyone wanting a word copy for markup purposes, please ask and I will provide a download URL.

Thanks;
Bill

For offloading camera motion detection. It's already in ZM. https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Axis_Motion_Detection How it is implemented depends on the camera.

In 2.5 Disk requirements, you mention mocord mode. you mean modect. Mocord records 24/7. Modect only records events. Your calculations seem off for recording time. 5 hours sounds like you are using jpegs.
if you use h264 encode, you can compress the videos. This is basic ZM usage.

3.1.6, purgewhenfull is active by default. In 1.32.3 you have to tune it to the storage area (if not using default) but in 1.34 that may be taken care of, not sure.

Did you intend to cover how to build zoneminder into openwrt? Isn't this covered under "If you make changes to (or use) code (and sell something), you must release said code"? I see an img, maybe it's covered there?

It's great that you were able to install ZM on openwrt. I don't know if I'd want my firewall to be on the same machine as my camera server, though. ZM is a real server application, that requires a lot of CPU, and you typically want the firewall to be stable. Maybe if it's not used as a firewall.

Thanks snake

Updated doc (with link to Axis article) to state:
"• Motion Detection - ZoneMinder has the ability to rely on camera motion detect, to save significant processing power by turning off ZoneMinder motion detect. The details for achieving this are camera specific and will require internet research. A HowTo Use Motion Detect For Axis Cameras is located in the ZoneMinder Wiki.

"you mean modect. Mocord records 24/7"
Changed. That explains why disk filling up so fast. Do my disk space / time calculations appear correct?
I do recommend setting recording to "H264 Passthrough" What should I suggest for Storage -> Save JPEGS?

In 1.34, purgewhenfull is default. Recommended checking and enabling.

Not selling ZoneMinder. To use, requires access to paid repo for dependencies. Have made no code changes. To build, follow standard ZM build instructions, in OpenWrt build and configure context. Will not be publishing Makefile unless proven I am in some sorta license violation by doing so. CAVEAT: If I do change anything in ZM code, I (independent of opinions, legal or otherwise) will share the changes to help improve this already fine product.

"I don't know if I'd want my firewall..."
For those who share your opinion, install it on a separate server. For my target market (consolidated gateway / router / services platform for SOHO's ...), is adequate information (IMHO) exists to eliminate this risk.

Thanks again...
...B

rossbcan wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:59 pm Will not be publishing Makefile unless proven I am in some sorta license violation by doing so. CAVEAT: If I do change anything in ZM code, I (independent of opinions, legal or otherwise) will share the changes to help improve this already fine product.

I think most of us here are engineers (or some form of it). In my non-lawyered reading, I believe it is in violation. You should, of course, consult a legal opinion and base your final conclusion on it.

The Makefile is under GPL. (see https://www.ifross.org/faq/what-kind-so ... er-gnu-gpl - Makefile falls under the control compilation section). Specifically see https://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/gpl-2.0.html

"The source code for a work means the preferred form of the work for making modifications to it. For an executable work, complete source code means all the source code for all modules it contains, plus any associated interface definition files, plus the scripts used to control compilation and installation of the executable. " (emphasis mine)

https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en ... stedPublic

What that says is, the moment you "release" it (i.e. you are no longer using it for private/internal use), the GPL clause requires you to make the modifications available to those users who use your release (in your case, the Makefile). You can of course charge a small or large fee for that access.

Also note https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en ... ownloadFee

What that says is nothing stops you from delivering a nicely packaged binary to your users. But you also _must_ provide them with source code access to the package (including what you modified as they are also under GPL) for a free no greater than the binary fee (for GPLv2) and for GPLV3 - no additional fee. ZM is GPLv2

Note that you can either make the full modified source code available as part of your package, or provide a written offer as per https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en ... OfferValid

And then finally:https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-faq.en ... mmercially
But of course, once a person receives your modified source code, and its under GPL, they are free to re-distribute it as fit under GPL without notifying you. Which effectively means you can't stop anyone from giving away your modified Make file for free, if they want to.


Bottom line, in my opinion, you can't inherit a GPL licensed program, modify it and then distribute it while at the same time not sharing any part of the work.

Of course, not a lawyer, so consult one.

rossbcan wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:59 pm Do my disk space / time calculations appear correct?
I do recommend setting recording to "H264 Passthrough" What should I suggest for Storage -> Save JPEGS?

I don't calculate how much data is going to be stored. It depends on Resolution, Frame Rate on camera, and Actual Frame Rate on ZM. Cameras tend to have different values for these. Once you get a day or a week of recordings, you can extrapolate out, and make estimates. The thing is, that you can always add additional HDDs with 1.32+ and adjust storage areas as needed so it's less of an issue than it was with <=1.30.

Save JPEGs and H264 are camera dependent. Typically you will want to use encode or passthrough to H264 whenever possible. However these two are only FFMPEG. Some cameras may use local, remote, or file, and these would require Save JPEGs. In your case, if you are selling the box, you might want to recommend certain brands of supported cameras which will ensure they can use FFMPEG / LibVLC. Camera compatibility is a problem (one of the most common forum posts), so I'd recommend that.

rossbcan wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:59 pm Not selling ZoneMinder. To use, requires access to paid repo for dependencies. Have made no code changes. To build, follow standard ZM build instructions, in OpenWrt build and configure context. Will not be publishing Makefile unless proven I am in some sorta license violation by doing so.

"Follow the spirit of the law, not the letter of the law"... Ah, nevermind.

rossbcan wrote: ↑Fri Feb 07, 2020 3:59 pm For those who share your opinion, install it on a separate server...

A lot of businesses put email servers on their file servers, so it's not unheard of what you are doing. I just wouldn't do it, personally. That being said, Openwrt is a lean platform, so this project is not without merit. Much less overhead compared to other distributions. Again, good work.