ONVIF Exercise

Objective: The goal of this exercise is to get acquainted with ONVIF.

Requirements: This exercise requires a FLIR camera supporting ONVIF Profile S and a computer with administrator rights.

Introduction

ONVIF is an abbreviation for Open Network Video Interface Forum, it is a forum created by Axis, Bosch and Sony in 2008. The goal of the forum is to standardize communication between network devices from different manufactures. ONVIF provides the framework for camera vendors to manufacture cameras that can communicate with different software and systems by standardizing the ways they talk to each other. A product can conform to different ONVIF profiles. The profile that is relevant in this case is profile S. ONVIF profile S defines how a video camera is controlled and how it streams video. It also defines how the pan and tilt is controlled. In this exercise it is described how one can use a Video Management System (VMS) and connect to a ONVIF profile S conformant camera. ONVIF profile S is the de facto standard in video surveillance products. In this exercise, it is only covered how one connects to a camera and receives video from that camera. With ONVIF, it is also possible to control a pan & tilt unit, receive events when the camera alarm is triggered and control other camera functionalities.

1. Connect your computer to a network which also hosts a FLIR camera, the camera can be connected directly to the computer or via a switch/router.

2. Download the software Ethiris, available here. Unzip it and install the software, during the installation, select to install the free version. Ethiris is a VMS, other known VMSs are Milestone and Avigilon. There are numerous free VMSs available online. Usually the free VMSs lack some of the functionality of the Enterprise versions such as video storage and redundancy features.

3. Start the camera web interface by opening a web browser and navigate to the camera IP address. If you are unsure about the IP address, use the software FLIR IP Config to find the camera.

1. Go to the Administration tab and press Firewall, select ONVIF and make sure it is activated, then press Apply.
   Go to the Services menu and press ONVIF, then press Apply.
   Press Initialize in the ONVIF menu, according to the image below.
   
   Initializing the ONVIF service will enable the default user fliruser with the password 3vlig. It is recommended to change these credentials. After ONVIF is initialized, press the Apply button once again.

4. Start the software Ethiris Admin, this is the configuration tool for the VMS Ethiris. When starting the software for the first time, make sure that it is allowed through the firewall. If nothing is configured, Ethiris will show a configuration wizard. Follow the steps according to the image below.

5. When Close is pressed, the Ethiris Client will start. The client software is used for viewing the video stream from cameras, viewing recordings and looking at alarms. Go back to Ethiris Admin and double click on Cameras in the left menu. Press the Add Camera button and configure the camera with correct IP address, username and password. In the Manufacturer box, write Onvif and in the Model box, write probe. Then press the Refresh button.

6. If the probing is successful, the model name will be changed to something FLIR unique and the camera will have negotiated the streaming parameters with Ethiris. After the probing is done, press File -> Save All.

7. Expand the Client configuration and double click on MyClient. Then expand the Ethiris Client menu to the left and double click on Used Servers and then expand the menu ETHIRIS, press Sync cameras with server.

8. Expand Views, right click on MySection and press New -> View. Double click on Layout and press anywhere in the black box, then select Camera 1. Then press Save all.

9. Open Ethiris client, if everything works, it should look like the image below.

Pressing the Player tab will open the Player which will provide recorded video. However, the camera needs to be configured to record. To configure that, go back to Ethiris admin and go to the Cameras menu and select Continuous Recording: always for Camera 1. Then go back to the Ethiris Client and press the Player tab, now it should be possible to view recorded video.