We are currently testing multiple camera manufacturer configuration tools and are evaluating what are the best features or capabilities to base our evaluation on. We are testing Avigilon, Axis, Bosch, Dahua, Hanwha, and Hikvision tools.
The initial list of parameters / criteria we are starting out with are:
Initial Bench Configuration - These are basic steps of bench testing and configuration (IP address assignment, username/passwords, etc).
- Camera Discovery - auto discovery vs manual, Bulk adding, saved / favorite username and passwords
- Template Configuration - Save and Apply default configurations (Resolution/Frame Rates, Motion, ONVIF, NTP, SNMP)
- Firmware Updates - Bulk update options (Parallel vs Sequential), alerting for out-of-date firmware, automatic download of updated versions
Advanced Configuration - These will sometimes be found in a VMS, but are typically not uniform in their implementation across each VMS.
- Adjusting Camera Settings - ability to copy common/auto configuration settings, video rotate (corridor format)
- Camera Health Info - online/offline status, error/event log database, error reports for RMA processing
- Camera Configuration Reports - audit information of MACs, associated IPs, on what server, report emailing and scheduling
- Camera reboot/reset - the ability to perform a reboot and/or factory reset
What other criteria or aspects should we be considering for our evaluation? Let us know in the comments.