The Dallmeier Plugin
Witness Canary supports integration with many different types of external systems through the use of plugins. These are stand-alone software libraries which are dynamically loaded by Canary and contain code which knows how to convert the Witness data into the required format for the external system.
The Dallmeier plugin file is entitled Witness.Plugin.Dallmeier.dll and must be present in the Witness Plugin folder which is inside the main application folder.
The plugin can be selected during setup and will automatically be installed in the correct location.
Dallmeier System Requirements
- Supports Dallmeier DaVid protocol 5.60.01 and higher
- An user with rights to start and stop recording and add marks must be configured for Witness system use
- Cameras intented to be recorded through Witness should use either "Permanent" or "Contract - Start" recording method. Link for details.
Configuring the Dallmeier Plugin
When the plugin is installed and Canary starts, the plugin configuration settings are saved to the PluginConfiguration.xml file. This file is located in the Witness main application folder. To change the settings this file should be opened in a text editor, such as Notepad, however we would recommend an editor which is XML aware, such as Notepad++.
Once the file is open, locate the Dallmeier section, as illustrated below:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <Config> <Plugins> <Dallmeier> <PluginConfig> <VMSServer RemoteIPAddress="localhost" Enabled="True" Port="30000" /> <TimerTick>1000</TimerTick> <HeartbeatInterval>10</HeartbeatInterval> <Timeout>2000</Timeout> <Retries>2</Retries> <Username>username</Username> <Password>password</Password> <AlarmTimeout>10</AlarmTimeout> </PluginConfig> </Dallmeier> </Plugins> </Config>
Once you have made changes to the plugin configuration file then you must restart the Canary application / service for the new settings to be applied. No other modules need to be restarted.
The setting options are as follows:
VMSServer
Connction to the Dallmeier SMAVIA recording server is set here.
- RemoteIPAddress - should be the IP address of the server hosting the Dallmeier SMAVIA recording service
- Enabled - if the connection should be attempted.
- Port - port for connecting to the SMAVIA recording service. By default this is 30000.
TimerTick
Timer used to control connection checks and cleaning up buffers in milliseconds. Health of the TCP connection to the Dallmeier SMAVIA recording server is checked and reestablished if required at this interval.
HeartbeatInterval
Period, in seconds, between each heartbeat being sent to every connected client. Default is 10 seconds.
Timeout
Period, in milliseconds for TCP message to be considered timed out with reply.
Retries
If a TCP message times out without reply, retries controls the number of retries we should do for the same message.
Username
Username to use for connecting to the Dallmeier SMAVIA service. This needs to be configured on the Dallmeier server.
Password
Password to use for connecting to the Dallmeier SMAVIA service. This needs to be configured on the Dallmeier server.
AlarmTimeout
If an alarm does not provide any updates for this period of time, consider the alarm as timed out.
Configuring Cameras
Configuring Cameras in Dallmeier SMAVIA Recording Server:
To be able to use the Dallmeier integration for a camera, settings need to be set on Dallmeier SMAVIA recording server depending on if the recording will be permanent (recommended) or on contact.
Permanent recording:
- Set marker on Camera Contact must be selected
- Recording Active must be selected
Contact recording:
- Options must be "Start"
- Recording Active must be selected
Configuring Cameras in Witness:
Cameras in Witness must use Dallmeier camera number as their External System ID to be able to use the integration plugin.
Related information