EdgeVis Server can utilise groups for improved and simplified roles and permissions management. A group can hold any number of encoders and users, where adding a user allows them to be assigned a role within the group which grants them that level of access to all encoders within the group.

For example, if there is a building with five encoders (providing video surveillance) and a number of security guards who must be provided access to those encoders there are two ways to provide the security guards access:

Without groups, it is necessary to assign each security guard the appropriate viewing permissions to each encoder individually. When a new guard is hired, they too must be given five permissions (one to each encoder), and if a new encoder is added to the building it is necessary to find each security guard’s account and individually grant them permission to view the new encoder.

With groups, it becomes considerably simpler to manage, as a group is created to hold all the encoders and all the security guards. When adding a new security guard to the group they are granted one viewing permission, to the group, meaning they have access to all encoders within the group. When a new encoder is added to the group, all security guards are immediately granted the same level of access.

An encoder and user can be added to multiple groups – in the example above a security guard may have permission to access encoders across multiple buildings by being a member of multiple groups.

From the domain homepage click the Groups icon to open the groups page, which lists all groups in the domain and provides the ability to create a new group using the Create group menu option. When creating a group, it is possible to enter a description which will be displayed as a subheading underneath the group’s name. To open the details page for the desired group, select the appropriate item from the list.

It is also possible to search for the group from the domain homepage, by entering part of the group’s name within the search box. The page will then find all assets (groups, encoders and users) within the domain that match the search string. Select the desired group from the search results to go directly to the detail page for the group.

The group details page displays the group description (if set) and the list of all users that have been added to the group.

To view the encoders added to the group use the In this group list box to switch between displaying the encoders and users in the group.

EdgeVis Server employs strict security rules, ensuring that before any user can connect to the server they have the appropriate login credentials to the server - there is no concept of guest or anonymous usage within EdgeVis. Once created a user account can then be granted a level of access (e.g. a specific domain) and permissions to access resources within that level (e.g. Encoder Administrator).

There are two kinds of users:

Given the server-wide access granted, in normal operation it would be expected to create a limited number of Server Administrators. Normal users should be created within a domain, and only granted access to the required encoders or account management permissions.

From the server homepage click the Server-wide Administrators icon to open the users page, which lists users with server-wide access and provides the ability to create new Server Administrators using the Create single user menu option. When creating a user, it is possible to enter a description which will be displayed as a subheading underneath the user’s name. To open the details page for the desired user, select the appropriate item from the list.

From the domain homepage click the Users icon to open the users page, which lists all users in the domain and provides the ability to create a new user using the Create user menu option. When creating a user account, it is possible to enter a description which will be displayed as a subheading underneath the user’s name. To open the details page for the desired user, select the appropriate item from the list.

It is also possible to search for a user from the domain homepage, by entering part of the user’s name within the search box. The page will then find all assets (groups, encoders and users) within the domain that match the search string. Select the desired user from the search results to go directly to the detail page for the user.

The user details page displays the user’s description (if set), and then the user’s account settings

For Server Administrators the Permissions section displays a list of roles granted to the user on a server-wide basis, while for a domain user it displays:

The Edit account menu option should be used to change the user’s password and description, while the Edit options menu option allows editing of an account’s login options – these can include:

A Move Domain option is present that allows a user with the appropriate permission (requires server-wide access) to move the user into another domain. Be aware that moving a user will remove their existing roles and permissions.

The contact preferences are used by the server when the user is the recipient of a notification from the alarm management system. The server will send a notification to each enabled contact method:

The bottom section of the user details page lists:

Server-wide Administrator accounts only

The Server Wide Access section displays the roles the user has been granted on a server-wide basis.

Domain users accounts only

The Group and Encoder Access section displays the roles granted on a group basis, signified by the group icon:

and on an individual encoder basis, signified by the encoder icon:

It is also possible to add a user directly to a group from the user detail page using the Add to group menu option.

The Domain Wide Access section lists the roles the user has been granted on a domain-wide basis

It is security best-practice to only provide the minimum level of access required to any user. It is recommended to only provide domain wide access to users who are required to manage the accounts within a domain, and to use groups to provide access to users who use and manage encoders.

EdgeVis Server employs strict security rules, ensuring that before encoders can connect to the server it has appropriate login credentials to the server.

All encoder accounts must exist within a domain – an encoder account can not be created at the server level.

From the domain homepage click the Encoders icon to open the encoders page, which lists all encoders in the domain and provides the ability to create a new encoder account using the Create one encoder menu option. When creating an encoder account, it is possible to enter a description which will be displayed as a subheading underneath the encoder’s name.

The encoder list uses colour and a status string to indicate the encoder’s live status:

To open the details page for the desired group, select the appropriate item from the list.

It is also possible to search for an encoder from the domain homepage, by entering part of the encoder’s name within the search box. The page will then find all assets (groups, encoders and users) within the domain that match the search string. Select the desired encoder from the search results to go directly to the detail page for the encoder.

Once created, the encoder’s detail page will show that the encoder is offline and is unlicensed.

In addition to requiring an account to connect to the server, an encoder also requires a licence be installed on the server.

While some encoders can automatically obtain a licence from the server on first connection, certain licence types must be manually assigned (either using this page, or from the encoder’s web configuration). This is because they are licensed per-camera input, and several licence levels are available (offering different levels of functionality).

Click on the Licence icon to open the encoder’s licensing page and use the Edit Licence menu option to select the appropriate licence (and if appropriate, the number of camera channels to enable on the device.

If a licence is set using this web page, then the encoder’s web configuration interface can not override the licence choice.

Once the encoder account has been created and, if necessary, a licence assigned the encoder should be configured using the details of the server. Refer to the encoder’s hardware installation guide for details on how to configure the encoder, however you should have the following information to proceed:

Once configured the encoder should attempt to connect to the server, logging in using the account details provided. If successful, the encoder will appear with a green status icon in the encoder list.

When an encoder is online the encoder details page will contain a number of new icons, each signifying the status and settings for an area of functionality on the encoder.

Each encoder model supports different levels of functionality and features - the options available on this page will change depending on the model of encoder and the firmware that is installed on this encoder.

Additionally, the user performing configuration of the encoder must have been granted the appropriate permissions within each section.

The following sections provide an overview of each configuration section and how to use it. The pages shown should only be treated as examples, given the difference between encoder products - refer to the encoder’s manuals for more complete information on how to configure and get the best out of a specific encoder.

The first section provides a high-level overview of the encoder, with a summary view of:

Additionally, the right hand options offer the ability to review which users have been granted direct access to the encoder, a list of who is currently viewing the encoder, and access to the encoder’s event log.

The encoder’s Status page displays useful information about the current status of the encoder, including:

Connection details:

The Video Inputs section lists all of the cameras/video inputs that are available on the encoder. This can include:

The right section offers additional settings (which may only appear on certain encoder models) for configuring the recording, audio and PTZ settings – these are described in the following sections.

If a user selects one of the listed video inputs they may be offered several options:

The encoder’s PTZ settings page allows the user to configure the PTZ settings (for non-IP cameras).

For encoders that support composite or HD-SDI cameras the user must manually configure the PTZ protocol and port using the Configure PTZ menu option. Refer to the camera manufacturer’s documentation to determine the appropriate settings.

For encoders that support IP cameras, PTZ is set up automatically when adding the camera using the encoder’s local web interface (and, as a consequence, this menu option is not available).

The first setting controls how the encoder should behave - encoders can operate in one of two Recording modes:

Additionally, several other options can be present including:

Within the Storage devices page the available recording devices are listed, along with their recording status. Click on a device to display further information and options including the disk space available, the option to enable/disable recording to the device, and the ability to remotely erase all recordings on the device.

This section contains a list of output video streams on the left-hand side. For every encoder this will only contain one entry, except the 4K-R800 and Video Router 4 that will contain up to two (for 4K-R800) or four (for Video Router 4).

Each entry lists two items:

Encoders have both:

Clicking on an item will allow you to configure the output parameters for this stream:

To rename the output video stream:
Click the name of the stream. This will allow you to select a new name that is shown to all viewing clients.

To change the list of video inputs that are listed within the clients:
​Tick/untick each desired camera or video layout to show/hide it within clients. This only affects the live transmission capability and will not change any recording or alarming capability.

This page lists the bandwidth settings for the enabled communications methods on an encoder.

For each entry there are two settings:

Both of these settings are protected by different permissions. This allows an admin to manage costs by limiting the user’s ability to set higher rates, while still providing the end users the permission to set their desired bandwidth up to the desired bandwidth cap limit.

Minimum bandwidth

Users viewing an EdgeVis stream all receive the same stream from an encoder. The stream is transmitted once from the encoder to EdgeVis Server, and the server distributes that stream to all clients.

As part of the continual quality-of-service monitoring of each link, an individual client can detect it does not have enough available bandwidth to view the encoder’s stream at the current bitrate. It can request that the encoder temporarily lower the bandwidth so that it may continue to view the stream (based on what the client believes it can achieve).

As the same stream is received by all clients if one client requests to reduce the video bitrate, then all clients will receive the same lower quality stream. In order to stop one rogue viewer from dropping the video bitrate significantly for all users it is possible to set a minimum bandwidth level (as a percentage of the maximum bandwidth).

Should a viewer’s available bitrate fall below that level, then they will not be able to lower the bitrate any further and they will soon be unable to view the stream without interruption.

This page allows the user to control the video resolution and frame rate of the live video stream. Version 8.0 encoders support two modes of operation:

To switch between codec modes use the Edit button.

Stream quality settings

This section provides controls for tailoring the video quality settings. The highest-level configuration option contains four different preferences - designed so that most customers will be best served with a fully automatic setting, with some alternative presets to satisfy more specific deployment scenarios.

While the four main preset options should satisfy most customers, you can also tailor the encoder’s behaviour further. Select Custom from the Stream quality menu to customise the encoder’s streaming settings:

You can choose between four schemes in Prioritise resolution / framerate:

Audio Settings

There are two audio settings available to encoders who have a video stream that contains an audio source.

The pages within this section predominately deal with three interrelated sections of functionality

These are advanced capabilities and beyond the scope of this document. Further information on how to best utilise alarms and sleep modes can be obtained from the EdgeVis Alarm and Sleep Management Guide.

Additionally, some encoders can also provide power to external devices – the next section describes this configuration.

Some encoders can provide power to external devices (e.g. to supply power to attached cameras). It is normally possible to enable/disable the power supply to these devices remotely.

Click on the desired power option to change the configuration. Some encoders only allow the power to be manually enabled/disabled, while others have additional options where the power can be intelligently enabled (e.g. when a viewer starts viewing the video stream).

This section also allows the user to toggle any relay output on/off.

If supported, the encoder may support the creation of a local Wi-Fi hotspot. This is primarily used to access the local web interface, or to perform ‘drive-by’ download of recordings.

Local Wi-Fi can operate in one of two modes:

The Local Wi-Fi page allows the user to configure the settings of the wireless access point created, as well as switching in/out of Local Wi-Fi mode when in Switched mode.

SecureConnect is a feature that allows IP cameras, video analytics and other edge devices to be remotely configured and controlled using the secure EdgeVis architecture. This allows a remote user to operate IP devices using EdgeVis Client.

The SecureConnect page lists the channels configured on the encoder, allowing the user to edit the channel, remove the channel, or add a new one using the Add channel menu option.

Using a SecureConnect channel (through EdgeVis Client) will use some of the same bandwidth that is normally allocated to the live video stream (lowering the video quality). Use the Edit bandwidth menu option to change the maximum percentage of bandwidth all SecureConnect users will share.

Further details on SecureConnect can be found in the article EdgeVis Encoder/MiniCam - Using SecureConnect to access remote devices.

The encoder’s Device Location page can be used to configure the time zone that should be used when reporting time from the encoder, and the settings used to transmit the encoder’s location to viewing clients.

There are three options available (depending on the encoder model):

Most external GPS devices that require a baud-rate operate at 4800 baud.

Serial Pass-Thru is a feature that allows remote serial devices, attached to the encoder, to be controlled remotely through the secure EdgeVis infrastructure. It is an advanced feature, and it is recommended to contact support for further information on its use.

The Serial Pass-Thru page displays the current settings and allows the user to select which serial port and baud-rate to use.

The Send out-bound serial data to all viewers option allows the user to broadcast all serial data (received on the encoder’s serial port) to all viewing clients, as opposed to the user who has the Serial Pass-Thru channel open.

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