diff --git a/.gitignore b/.gitignore
index 3dd51ca..42b5fb9 100644
--- a/.gitignore
+++ b/.gitignore
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 build
 debug
 obj-*
+cameras.sql
 debian/files
 debian/moonfire-nvr.debhelper.log
 debian/moonfire-nvr.postinst.debhelper
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9d1bb05..3872a3d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ make this possible:
 
 See the [github page](https://github.com/scottlamb/moonfire-nvr) (in case
 you're not reading this text there already). You can download the bleeding
-edge version from the commandline via git:
+edge version from the command line via git:
 
     $ git clone https://github.com/scottlamb/moonfire-nvr.git
 
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ from source. It requires several packages to build:
   [nghttp2](https://github.com/tatsuhiro-t/nghttp2) in the future.)
   Unfortunately, the libevent 2.0 bundled with current Debian releases is
   unsuitable.
-* [gflags](http://gflags.github.io/gflags/), for commandline flag parsing.
+* [gflags](http://gflags.github.io/gflags/), for command line flag parsing.
 * [glog](https://github.com/google/glog), for debug logging.
 * [gperftools](https://github.com/gperftools/gperftools), for debugging.
 * [googletest](https://github.com/google/googletest), for automated testing.
@@ -92,14 +92,50 @@ pre-requisites (see also the `Build-Depends` field in `debian/control`):
                    libgoogle-glog-dev \
                    libgoogle-perftools-dev \
                    libre2-dev \
+                   sqlite3 \
                    libsqlite3-dev \
                    pkgconf \
+                   uuid-runtime \
                    uuid-dev
 
 libevent 2.1 will have to be installed from source. In the future, this
 dependency may be replaced or support may be added for automatically building
 libevent in-tree to avoid the inconvenience.
 
+uuid-runtime is only necessary if you wish to use the uuid command to generate
+uuids for your cameras (see below). If you obtain them elsewhere, you can skip this
+package.
+
+You can continue to follow the build/install instructions below for a manual
+build and install, or alternatively you can run the prep script called `prep.sh`.
+
+    $ cd moonfire-nvr
+    $ ./prep.sh
+
+The script will take the following command line options, should you need them:
+
+* `-E`: Forcibly purge all existing libevent packages. You would only do this
+        if there is some apparent conflict (see remarks about building libevent
+        from source).
+* `-f`: Force a build even if the binary appears to be installed. This can be useful
+        on repeat builds.
+* `-S`: Skip updating and installing dependencies through apt-get. This too can be
+        useful on repeated builds.
+
+You can edit variables at the start of the script to influence names and
+directories, but defaults should suffice in most cases. For details refer to
+the script itself. We will mention just one option, needed when you follow the
+suggestion to separate database and samples between flash storage and a hard disk.
+If you have the hard disk mounted on, lets say `/media/nvr`, and you want to
+store the video samples inside a directory named `samples` there, you would set:
+
+    SAMPLES_DIR=/media/nvr/samples
+
+The script will perform all necessary steps to leave you with a fully built,
+installed moonfire-nvr binary and (running) system service. The only thing
+you'll have to do manually is add your camera configuration(s) to the database.
+For instructions, you can skip to "[Camera configuration and hard disk mounting](#camera)".
+
 Once prerequisites are installed, Moonfire NVR can be built as follows:
 
     $ mkdir build
@@ -114,23 +150,43 @@ installed, you may be able to prepare a `.deb` package:
     $ sudo apt-get install devscripts dh-systemd
     $ debuild -us -uc
 
-# Installation
+# Further configuration
 
 Moonfire NVR should be run under a dedicated user. It keeps two kinds of
 state:
 
-* a SQLite3 database, typically <1 GiB. It should be stored on flash if
+* a SQLite database, typically <1 GiB. It should be stored on flash if
   available.
 * the "sample file directory", which holds the actual samples/frames of H.264
   video. This should be quite large and typically is stored on a hard drive.
 
 Both are intended to be accessed only by Moonfire NVR itself. However, the
 interface for adding new cameras is not yet written, so you will have to
-manually create the database and insert cameras with the `sqlite3` commandline
+manually create the database and insert cameras with the `sqlite3` command line
 tool prior to starting Moonfire NVR.
 
+Manual commands would look something like this:
+
+    $ sudo addgroup --system moonfire-nvr
+    $ sudo adduser --system moonfire-nvr --home /var/lib/moonfire-nvr
+    $ sudo mkdir /var/lib/moonfire-nvr
+    $ sudo -u moonfire-nvr -H mkdir db sample
+    $ sudo -u moonfire-nvr sqlite3 ~moonfire-nvr/db/db < path/to/schema.sql
+
+## <a name="cameras"></a>Camera configuration and hard drive mounting
+
+If a dedicated hard drive is available, set up the mount point:
+
+    $ sudo vim /etc/fstab
+    $ sudo mount /var/lib/moonfire-nvr/sample
+
+Once setup is complete, it is time to add camera configurations to the
+database.  However, the interface for adding new cameras is not yet written,
+so you will have to manually insert cameras configurations with the `sqlite3`
+command line tool prior to starting Moonfire NVR.
+
 Before setting up a camera, it may be helpful to test settings with the
-`ffmpeg` commandline tool:
+`ffmpeg` command line tool:
 
     $ ffmpeg \
           -i "rtsp://admin:12345@192.168.1.101:554/Streaming/Channels/1" \
@@ -140,16 +196,21 @@ Before setting up a camera, it may be helpful to test settings with the
           -flags:v +global_header \
           test.mp4
 
-Once you have a working `ffmpeg` commandline, set up Moonfire NVR as follows:
+Once you have a working `ffmpeg` command line, insert the camera config as
+follows.  See the schema SQL file's comments for more information.
+Note that the sum of `retain_bytes` for all cameras combined should be
+somewhat less than the available bytes on the sample file directory's
+filesystem, as the currently-writing sample files are not included in
+this sum. Be sure also to subtract out the filesystem's reserve for root
+(typically 5%).
+
+In the following example, we generate a uuid which is then later used
+to uniquely identify this camera. Thus, you will generate a new one for
+each camera you insert using this method.
 
-    $ sudo addgroup --system moonfire-nvr
-    $ sudo adduser --system moonfire-nvr --home /var/lib/moonfire-nvr
-    $ sudo mkdir /var/lib/moonfire-nvr
-    $ sudo -u moonfire-nvr -H mkdir db sample
     $ uuidgen | sed -e 's/-//g'
     b47f48706d91414591cd6c931bf836b4
-    $ sudo -u moonfire-nvr sqlite3 db/db
-    sqlite3> .read path/to/schema.sql
+    $ sudo -u moonfire-nvr sqlite3 ~moonfire-nvr/db/db
     sqlite3> insert into camera (
         ...>     uuid, short_name, description, host, username, password,
         ...>     main_rtsp_path, sub_rtsp_path, retain_bytes) values (
@@ -159,18 +220,10 @@ Once you have a working `ffmpeg` commandline, set up Moonfire NVR as follows:
         ...>     '/Streaming/Channels/2', 104857600);
     sqlite3> ^D
 
-See the schema SQL file's comments for more information. Note that the sum of
-`retain_bytes` for all cameras should be somewhat less than the available
-bytes on the sample file directory's filesystem, as the currently-writing
-sample files are not included in this sum. Be sure also to subtract out the
-filesystem's reserve for root (typically 5%).
+## System Service
 
-If a dedicated hard drive is available, set up the mount point:
-
-    $ sudo vim /etc/fstab
-    $ sudo mount /var/lib/moonfire-nvr/sample
-
-Moonfire NVR can be run as a systemd service. Create
+Moonfire NVR can be run as a systemd service. If you used `prep.sh` this has
+been done for you. If not, Create
 `/etc/systemd/system/moonfire-nvr.service`:
 
     [Unit]
@@ -208,7 +261,12 @@ documentation for more information. The [manual
 pages](http://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/) for `systemd.service`
 and `systemctl` may be of particular interest.
 
+# Troubleshooting
+
 While Moonfire NVR is running, logs will be written to `/tmp/moonfire-nvr.INFO`.
+Also available will be `/tmp/moonfire-nvr.WARNING` and `/tmp/moonfire-nvr.ERROR`.
+These latter to contain only warning or more serious messages, respectively only
+error messages.
 
 # <a name="help"></a> Getting help and getting involved
 
diff --git a/prep.sh b/prep.sh
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..460c5b6
--- /dev/null
+++ b/prep.sh
@@ -0,0 +1,254 @@
+#!/bin/bash 
+#
+# This file is part of Moonfire NVR, a security camera network video recorder.
+# Copyright (C) 2016 Scott Lamb <slamb@slamb.org>
+#
+# This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+# it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+# the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+# (at your option) any later version.
+#
+# In addition, as a special exception, the copyright holders give
+# permission to link the code of portions of this program with the
+# OpenSSL library under certain conditions as described in each
+# individual source file, and distribute linked combinations including
+# the two.
+#
+# You must obey the GNU General Public License in all respects for all
+# of the code used other than OpenSSL. If you modify file(s) with this
+# exception, you may extend this exception to your version of the
+# file(s), but you are not obligated to do so. If you do not wish to do
+# so, delete this exception statement from your version. If you delete
+# this exception statement from all source files in the program, then
+# also delete it here.
+#
+# This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+# but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+# MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+# GNU General Public License for more details.
+#
+# You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+# along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+#
+#
+# Script to prepare for moonfire-nvr operations
+#
+# Command line options:
+# -f: Force clean build, even if binary already installed
+# -S: Skip apt-get update and install
+#
+
+# Configuration variables. Should only need minimal, or zero, changes.
+# Empty values will use defaults.
+#
+
+# User and group
+# Default: or whatever is in $NVR_USER (default "moonfire-nvr")
+#
+NVR_USER=
+NVR_GROUP=
+
+# Port for web server
+# Default: 8080
+#
+NVR_PORT=
+
+# This should, ideally, be a location on flash storage under which the
+# moonfire user's home directory will be created.
+# Default: "/var/lib"
+#
+NVR_HOME_BASE=
+
+# Set to mountpoint of media directory, empty to stay in home directory
+# Default: empty
+SAMPLES_DIR=
+
+# Set to path for media directory relative to mountpoint
+# Default: "samples"
+#
+SAMPLES_DIR_NAME=
+
+# Binary location
+# Default: "/usr/local/bin/moonfire-nvr"
+#
+SERVICE_BIN=
+
+# Service name
+# Default: "moonfire-nvr"
+#
+SERVICE_NAME=
+
+# Service Description
+# Default: "Moonfire NVR"
+#
+SERVICE_DESC=
+
+# --------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Derived variables: Do not modify!
+#
+# Determine directory path of this script
+#
+SOURCE="${BASH_SOURCE[0]}"
+while [ -h "$SOURCE" ]; do # resolve $SOURCE until file no longer a symlink
+	DIR="$( cd -P "$( dirname "$SOURCE" )" && pwd )"
+	SOURCE="$(readlink "$SOURCE")"
+	# if $SOURCE was relative symlink, resolve relative to path of symlink
+	[[ "$SOURCE" != /* ]] && SOURCE="$DIR/$SOURCE"
+done
+
+SRC_DIR="$( cd -P "$( dirname "$SOURCE" )" && pwd )"/src
+NVR_USER="${NVR_USER:-moonfire-nvr}"
+NVR_GROUP="${NVR_GROUP:-$NVR_USER}"
+NVR_PORT="${NVR_PORT:-8080}"
+NVR_HOME_BASE="${NVR_HOME_BASE:-/var/lib}"
+NVR_HOME="${NVR_HOME_BASE}/${NVR_USER}"
+DB_NAME="${DB_NAME:-db}"
+DB_DIR="${DB_DIR:-$NVR_HOME/db}"
+SAMPLES_DIR_NAME="${SAMPLES_DIR_NAME:-samples}"
+SAMPLES_DIR="${SAMPLES_DIR:-$NVR_HOME/$SAMPLES_DIR_NAME}"
+SERVICE_NAME="${SERVICE_NAME:-moonfire-nvr}"
+SERVICE_DESC="${SERVICE_DESC:-Moonfire NVR}"
+SERVICE_BIN="${SERVICE_BIN:-/usr/local/bin/moonfire-nvr}"
+
+# Process command line options
+#
+while getopts ":DEfS" opt; do
+	case $opt in
+	  D)	SKIP_DB=1
+		;;
+	  E)	PURGE_LIBEVENT=1
+		;;
+	  f)	FORCE_BUILD=1
+		;;
+	  S)	SKIP_APT=1
+		;;
+	  :)
+		echo "Option -$OPTARG requires an argument." >&2
+		exit 1
+		;;
+	  \?)
+		echo "Invalid option: -$OPTARG" >&2
+		exit 1
+		;;
+	esac
+done
+
+# Setup all packages we need
+#
+echo 'Preparing and downloading packages we need...'; echo
+if [ "${SKIP_APT:-0}" != 1 ]; then
+	sudo apt-get update
+	[ "${PURGE_LIBEVENT:-0}" == 1] && sudo apt-get --purge remove libevent-*
+	sudo apt-get install \
+		build-essential \
+		cmake \
+		libavcodec-dev \
+		libavformat-dev \
+		libavutil-dev \
+		libgflags-dev \
+		libgoogle-glog-dev \
+		libgoogle-perftools-dev \
+		libre2-dev \
+		sqlite3 \
+		libsqlite3-dev \
+		pkgconf \
+		uuid-runtime \
+		uuid-dev
+fi
+
+# Check if binary is installed. Setup for build if it is not
+#
+if [ ! -x "${SERVICE_BIN}" ]; then
+	echo "Binary not installed, building..."; echo
+	FORCE_BUILD=1
+fi
+
+# Build if requested
+#
+if [ "${FORCE_BUILD:-0}" -eq 1 ]; then
+	# Remove previous build, if any
+	[ -d build ] && rm -fr build 2>/dev/null
+	mkdir build; cd build
+	cmake .. && make && sudo make install
+	if [ -x "${SERVICE_BIN}" ]; then
+		echo "Binary installed..."; echo
+	else
+		echo "Build failed to install..."; echo
+		exit 1
+	fi
+fi
+
+# Create user and groups
+#
+echo 'Create user/group and directories we need...'; echo
+sudo addgroup --quiet --system ${NVR_GROUP}
+sudo adduser --quiet --system ${NVR_USER} --home "${NVR_HOME}"
+if [ ! -d "${NVR_HOME}" ]; then
+	sudo mkdir "${NVR_HOME}"
+fi
+sudo chown ${NVR_USER}:${NVR_GROUP} "${NVR_HOME}"
+
+# Prepare samples directory
+#
+if [ -z "${SAMPLES_DIR}" ]; then
+	SAMPLES_PATH="${NVR_HOME}/${SAMPLES_DIR_NAME}"
+	if [ ! -d "${SAMPLES_PATH}" ]; then
+		sudo -u ${NVR_USER} -H mkdir "${SAMPLES_PATH}"
+	fi
+else
+	SAMPLES_PATH="${SAMPLES_DIR}"
+	if [ ! -d "${SAMPLES_PATH}" ]; then
+		sudo mkdir "${SAMPLES_PATH}"
+		echo ">>> Do not forget to edit /etc/fstab to mount samples media"; echo
+	fi
+fi
+
+
+# Prepare for sqlite directory and set schema into db
+#
+echo 'Create database...'; echo
+if [ ! -d "${DB_DIR}" ]; then
+	sudo -u ${NVR_USER} -H mkdir "${DB_DIR}"
+fi
+DB_PATH="${DB_DIR}/${DB_NAME}"
+CAMERAS_PATH="${SRC_DIR}/../cameras.sql"
+[ "${SKIP_DB:-0}" == 0 ] && sudo -u ${NVR_USER} -H sqlite3 "${DB_PATH}" < "${SRC_DIR}/schema.sql"
+if [ -r "${CAMERAS_PATH}" ]; then
+	echo 'Add cameras...'; echo
+	sudo -u ${NVR_USER} -H sqlite3 "${DB_PATH}" < "${CAMERAS_PATH}"
+fi
+
+# Prepare service files
+#
+SERVICE_PATH="/etc/systemd/system/${SERVICE_NAME}.service"
+sudo sh -c "cat > ${SERVICE_PATH}" <<NVR_EOF
+[Unit]
+Description=${SERVICE_DESC}
+After=network-online.target
+
+[Service]
+ExecStart=${SERVICE_BIN} \\
+    --sample_file_dir=${SAMPLES_PATH} \\
+    --db_dir=${DB_DIR} \\
+    --http_port=${NVR_PORT}
+Type=simple
+User=${NVR_USER}
+Nice=-20
+Restart=on-abnormal
+CPUAccounting=true
+MemoryAccounting=true
+BlockIOAccounting=true
+
+[Install]
+WantedBy=multi-user.target
+NVR_EOF
+
+# Configure and start service
+#
+if [ -f "${SERVICE_PATH}" ]; then
+	echo 'Configuring system daemon...'; echo
+	sudo systemctl daemon-reload
+	sudo systemctl restart ${SERVICE_NAME}
+	echo 'Getting system daemon status...'; echo
+	sudo systemctl status ${SERVICE_NAME}
+fi
diff --git a/src/CMakeLists.txt b/src/CMakeLists.txt
index bc3e811..e4a9d4f 100644
--- a/src/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/src/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ set(MOONFIRE_NVR_SRCS
     uuid.cc
     web.cc)
 
+link_directories(${LIBEVENT_LIBRARY_DIRS})
+
 add_library(moonfire-nvr-lib ${MOONFIRE_NVR_SRCS} ${PROTO_SRCS} ${PROTO_HDRS})
 target_link_libraries(moonfire-nvr-lib ${MOONFIRE_DEPS})
 
@@ -84,7 +86,7 @@ set(MOONFIRE_NVR_TESTS
 
 foreach(test ${MOONFIRE_NVR_TESTS})
   add_executable(${test}-test ${test}-test.cc testutil.cc)
-  target_link_libraries(${test}-test GTest GMock moonfire-nvr-lib)
+  target_link_libraries(${test}-test GTest GMock moonfire-nvr-lib )
   add_test(NAME ${test}-test
            COMMAND ${test}-test
            WORKING_DIRECTORY ${CMAKE_BINARY_DIR})