VMS Installer Sizes Getting Out of Control

I must be spoiled here I have the Genetec install downloaded in about 5 minutes. I have our sites pretty well documented so being ready with the proper installers is usually not a big deal. Now Cumulative updates and hotfixes are a whole other story.

I would like to add that Avignon Server include client app and latest firmware update. Also the new client stand-alone, no installation required, is 40MB.

These large sizes are a main reason why we've had them available to 'preload' on our Server an Client machines for several years now.

With the Genetec one..you have to use a NON FAT32 formatted USB drive because 2GB is the largest a file can be.

It's not limited to VMS packages - several camera manufacturers' "finder" tools can only be (easily) found as part of a bloated management/NVR/VMS bundle.

If memory serves, last time I needed to download a finder for Samsung cameras, the only thing available was a 130-something MB download of their camera management tool. Which is great and very convenient if you're setting up an entire site with their cameras, but a lot if you just need to find one or two cameras on the network. Arecont was the same thing at one time - the only "finder" I could track down was the full-on tool that needed to be installed. It took complaining on a forum about the (complete lack of) quality of that tool that led to someone sending me their little lightweight standalone finder, which wasn't anywhere on their website.

Printers and all-in-one printer/scanner units are the same - while most have small standalone driver downloads available, they're often hidden far below the more prominent "full software package" that can often be 300-500MB.

Correction to exacqVision: The 164MB download is a bundle of client, server, and web service. You do not need to download an additional 78MB client; it's already in the 164MB file.

I notice a lot of those "VMS shootout" articles seem to have lost their video links, including I think the one mentioned in the article above - VMS Installation Comparison. These as well:

VMS Live shootout

VMS mapping shootout

Wow, I never realized how spoiled we are only having to download ~150MB. 4+GB would take a long time on my 24mbps max Uverse connection.

err, who really cares?

if you're heading out to site to do anything on a VMS, isn't it prudent to have a couple of USB's with the latest and greatest already downloaded and ready to go?

Our techs have USB drives with regularly updated firmware/software. When something new is released, we load it on their USB drives for them to take in the field. Most of our "technical work" is done over TeamViewer so the tech plugs in the USB drive while the guy at the office does the rest. We used to download everything from whatever website we needed it from, but we felt that was a waste of time.

IPConfigure Orchid "wins" at 86.1MB. Many of the other VMS platforms include .NET in their installer, which is both a gross dependency and large in size.

Sizes vary drastically, from 150-160 MB for Exacq and Network Optix to over 4 GB for Genetec Security Center.

OK, but would you rather date Miley Cyrus or Kate Upton? ;)

Some VMS' have a parent system (base) which allows for download via a web link so remains internal on the customer network. They also provide automated updates to the recording servers so work in background without any effort. Once the update system is setup, there is no further need to download from the vendors site unless doing a major upgrade on the core VMS.

Some of the blame falls to Microsoft.

It's clumsy install system, and lack of dependency management & packaging infrastructure, and monolithic applications mean a lot of manual work, and little cross sharing of common libraries.

Well made installs on Linux are much more straight forward, one command line's worth to install, another for operating system shared components, from a huge available library. All easily scriptable, repeatable, remotable.

Possibly one reason NX Witness is smaller.