ZoneMinder Forums

Just a little tip some folks might appreciate.

Axis IP cams. Normally great but occasional lockups - my 207w dies after about 18hours, now and then I have a 211 which stops sending video.

The following is a crontab entry for a linux machine sitting on the same network that uses curl to issue a http command to the cameras to reboot. Cameras are various Axis models, all with admin authorisation require: user root, password: password.

05 17 * * * curl -u root:password http://10.0.0.108:1108/axis-cgi/admin/restart.cgi &>/dev/null

Requires curl ( apt-get install curl)
Change IP, port number and password to fit your cameras.

I've had this running for a week or so with no problems, reboots all 7 of my cameras once per day just before they come on for main duty at night (to ensure any previous crashes etc are cleared). Hopefully will avoid any embarrassing moments when customer/boss asks for footage for a particular time and you find the camera's crashed...

Obviously doesn't work if camera no longer responding to http requests, in that case a physical mains timer is the only solution. (The round sort you plug in to control when power is on/off - turn it all on then have it turn off for 5 mins once a day to reboot)

Thanx for this tip. This will be very useful

Jeunium

bot cams have bugs in there firmware!

for 211 just bvroswe there website and upgrade to the latest!

the 207 and 207W you need a beta firmware to fix the crash...

ii only use 207 and got it from there support for like a without a crash for over 6 weeks without rebooting...

madmax

Even with the latest, the 211 crashes sometimes, and 206's have been known to lose their feeds (but still respond to http).

Some 207w's (like mine) also have hardware problems, it's not /just/ something that can be fixed with firmware. Axis have been incredibly slow responding to these faults and still, 8 months on, have not released a fixed firmware or contacted me about replacing my faulty camera.

Normally great cameras, but I've lost some faith with them over this.

Yes - it's possible to have cameras working 24/7 for weeks or months - indefinately, but since I started using the above system I have not had one of my 12 cameras stop working through the essential night period. Always your choice, of course - but I've found it has led to a much more reliable IP camera system.

IP cameras are still maturing and one day they'll all be as reliable as network switches and routers with great features and reliability at low cost, but I don't think we're quite there yet. Axis are the best around that I've used, but many other manufacturers are entering the market with incredibly badly designed and poorly featured IP cameras that are marketed as CCTV and priced highly, yet are unsuitable for anything other than basic webcam duty. Even the big boys like Linksys (aka Cisco) managed to create godawful cameras that are a complete joke and have basic networking errors you wouldn't expect from a company founded on them.

Sorry, slipped into rant.