Subscriber Discussion

Milestone Professional 8.1A Smart Client "Failed To Open Database"

SD
Stanley Design
Jun 23, 2017

Hi Guys 

 

Was looking for  some help.

 

Recently  took over a sitwell running Milestone  Professional 8. 1 A.

I have added a couple of cameras from the Management application. They are steaming fine within the Management  application but won't populate in the Smart Client . I have to license  the cameras but have a grace period of 30 days. 

 

Is it the case that they won't show within the smart client until they are licensed. 

 

Shane 

 

 

 

 

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 23, 2017

I don't think there are any limits within the 30 day grace period.... i.e. during this time, they should work normally.

UI
Undisclosed Integrator #2
Jun 23, 2017

They will display on the smart client in the grace period.

check that the user logged in has rights to the new cameras.

You also have to log out and back into client before new cameras are available.

SD
Stanley Design
Jun 23, 2017

Thanks for the replies. 

I have checked all access rights etc and all is ok.

The error that comes up in the Smart Client is from memory " failed to open database "

Not sure that's exactly  the error but definitely  had database  in it. 

 

U
Undisclosed #1
Jun 23, 2017

 

If you ever see anything related to 'databases' being corrupted/not working right in a VMS - I would recommend that you immediately call/bring the VMS manufacturers technical support team into the equation.

(1)
Avatar
Josh Hendricks
Jun 24, 2017
Milestone Systems

Unfortunately in this case it is a discontinued product version so is not eligible for ongoing support. Our team often does their best to provide guidance in these cases but are unable to go into the issue very deeply.

That said, the "failed to connect to database" message in a general sense means the internal camera ID behind the friendly name you see in the Smart Client is unrecognized by the server.

This can happen when a camera has been removed and readded or removed and replaced without updating the view in Smart Client for example.

It could also be something more nefarious like the media files being locked by antivirus or backup software for example.

I would verify and try the following...

0. Open hardware properties, select the IP/license tab and re-enter the username and password, followed by clicking OK. Clicking ok will trigger a reauth with the camera similar to when the camera is added. You can get a failure here if the credentials or selected driver are incorrect, or if two cameras in the configuration have somehow swapped IP addresses (common with DHCP).

1. Check the license status. Are they in 30 day grace? Has the grace expired?

2. Check user rights and verify the Smart Client user has the necessary permission to at least view live for example.

3. Save any changes and restart the Recording Server service

4. Right click on the Recording Server icon and show status. Are all cameras green? Some grey? Red?

5. In the same icon, show the recording server log file. Any obvious errors? Some common ones are "cannot retrieve serial number" or "camera failed to provide an image". These can indicate authentication trouble, incorrect IP or MAC of the camera, or Windows Firewall blocking a stream. (Management Application might be allowed to get the stream and not the recording server, hence the different experience between smart client and management application)

6. Create a new view in Smart Client while in setup mode. Then drag and drop the cameras in to see if the issue persists.

Those steps should clear up 90% of issues. In extreme cases you might have a corrupt live database table or filesystem. You can try a chkdsk /F on the Recording drive, optionally followed by deleting the live folder for those cameras. This isn't ideal obviously, and almost never necessary but without seeing the issue first hand I thought I'd give you all the typical ideas we'd pursue.

(2)
Avatar
Josh Hendricks
Jun 24, 2017
Milestone Systems

We have an unofficial analysis tool that might help you narrow down the issue as well. Feel free to give it a whirl. I'm not sure if it will detect the 8.1 installation or configuration as it hasn't been tested against it, but the tool will check for a series of frequently observed system issues and incorrect or not-ideal configurations.

http://download.milestonesys.com/tools/xprotectanalyzer/XProtectAnalyzerWpf.zip

Extract and run XProtectAnalyzerWpf.exe

(1)
SD
Stanley Design
Jun 24, 2017

Hi Joshua

 

Thanks for the information,  I will try your recommendations. 

The 2 cameras I added were  Axis cameras.  They would both have the latest Axis firmware.  Although they are streaming  in the Management  Application if the Device pack does not support the cameras could this be the issue with the smart client.  

 

 

Avatar
Josh Hendricks
Jun 24, 2017
Milestone Systems

No, I don't think it'll be a device pack issue, though it would probably be good to update the device pack if you're running newish firmware.

The reasons Management Application sometimes shows video while Smart Client does not are...

1. The Image Server service is not running. The Management Application will try to show video by connecting to the image server service just like Smart Client does. But if that fails, it will resort to a direct connection.

2. The Windows Firewall is blocking the video stream from reaching the Recording Server service, but not the Management Application.

3. The username and password for the camera in our software is incorrect. Management Application doesn't care if it can't see the camera serial number or settings, if it can get a video stream it will show it.

4. The recording path does not exist, is corrupt, or the recording server service lacks permission to the path. The Management Application doesn't care about storing video, validating the MAC, or much of anything else. If it can get a stream at all with the chosen driver, it will.

If you use the analyzer tool and follow the previous steps and it's still not resolved, feel free to run the Diagnostics Tool to collect the logs and share them. I can look over them briefly to see if the cause is clear from the logs.

jh@milestonesys.com

SD
Stanley Design
Jun 26, 2017

Thanks Joshua 

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