136 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
136 lines
5.3 KiB
Markdown
# Downloading, installing, and configuring Moonfire NVR
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This document describes how to download, install, and configure Moonfire NVR
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on a Debian-based Linux system (such as Ubuntu or Raspbian).
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(In principle, Moonfire NVR supports any POSIX-compliant system, and the main
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author uses macOS for development, but the documentation and scripts are
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intended for Linux.)
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## Downloading
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See the [github page](https://github.com/scottlamb/moonfire-nvr) (in case
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you're not reading this text there already). You can download the
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bleeding-edge version from the commandline via git:
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$ git clone https://github.com/scottlamb/moonfire-nvr.git
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## Building and installing from source
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There are no binary packages of Moonfire NVR available yet, so it must be built
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from source. To do so, you can follow either of two paths:
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* Scripted: You will run some shell scripts (after preparing one or two files,
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and will be completely done. This is by far the easiest option, in
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particular for first time builders/installers. Read more in [Scripted
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Installation](install-scripted.md).
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* Manual: see [instructions](install-manual.md).
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Moonfire NVR keeps two kinds of state:
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* a SQLite database, typically <1 GiB. It should be stored on flash if
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available.
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* the "sample file directories", which hold the actual samples/frames of
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H.264 video. These should be quite large and are typically stored on hard
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drives.
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(See [schema.md](schema.md) for more information.)
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By now Moonfire NVR's dedicated user and database should have been created for
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you. Next you need to create a sample file directory.
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## Creating a sample file directory
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### ...on a dedicated hard drive
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If a dedicated hard drive is available, set up the mount point:
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$ sudo vim /etc/fstab
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$ sudo mkdir /media/nvr
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$ sudo mount /media/nvr
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$ sudo mkdir /media/nvr/sample
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$ sudo chown moonfire-nvr:moonfire-nvr /media/nvr/sample
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In the fstab you'd add a line similar to this:
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/dev/disk/by-uuid/23d550bc-0e38-4825-acac-1cac8a7e091f /media/nvr ext4 defaults,noatime,nofail 0 2
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You'll have to lookup the correct uuid for your disk. One way to do that is
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to issue the following commands:
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$ ls -l /dev/disk/by-uuid
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If you use the `nofail` attribute in `/etc/fstab` as described above, your
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system will boot successfully even when the hard drive is unavailable (such as
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when your external USB storage is unmounted). This is convenient, but you
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likely want to ensure the `moonfire-nvr` service only starts when the mounting
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is successful. Edit the systemd configuration to do so:
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$ sudo vim /etc/systemd/system/moonfire-nvr.service
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$ sudo systemctl daemon-reload
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You'll want to add a line like `Requires=media-nvr.mount` to the `[Unit]`
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section of the file.
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### ...without a dedicated hard drive
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If you don't have a dedicated hard drive available, simply create a directory
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owned by the dedicated user. It's convenient to place it within the
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installation's directory (typically `/var/lib/moonfire-nvr`):
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$ sudo -u moonfire-nvr -H mkdir sample
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## Completing configuration through the UI
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Once setup is complete, it is time to add sample file directory and camera
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configurations to the database.
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You can configure the system's database through a text-based user interface:
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$ sudo -u moonfire-nvr moonfire-nvr config 2>debug-log
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In the user interface,
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1. add your sample file dir(s) under "Directories and retention".
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2. add cameras under "Cameras and streams".
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* There's a "Test" button to verify your settings directly from the add/edit
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camera dialog.
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* Be sure to assign each stream you want to capture to a sample file
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directory and check the "record" box.
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* `flush_if_sec` should typically be about 60. This causes the database to
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be flushed when the first instant of a completed recording second is a
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minute old. Lower values cause less video to be lost on power loss;
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higher values reduce wear on the SSD holding the SQLite database.
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3. Assign disk space to your cameras back in "Directories and retention".
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Leave a little slack (at least 100 MB per camera) between the total limit
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and the filesystem capacity, even if you store nothing else on the disk.
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There are several reasons this is needed:
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* The limit currently controls fully-written files only. There will be up
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to two minutes of video per camera of additional video.
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* The rotation happens after the limit is exceeded, not proactively.
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* Moonfire NVR currently doesn't account for the unused space in the final
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filesystem block at the end of each file.
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* Moonfire NVR doesn't account for the space used for directory listings.
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* If a file is open when it is deleted (such as if a HTTP client is
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downloading it), it stays around until the file is closed. Moonfire NVR
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currently doesn't account for this.
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## Starting it up
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When finished, start the daemon and enable it for following boots:
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$ sudo systemctl start moonfire-nvr
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$ sudo systemctl enable moonfire-nvr
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You can access the HTTP interface on http://localhost:8080/ by default.
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Note that the HTTP port currently has no authentication, encryption, or
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logging; it should not be directly exposed to the Internet.
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If the system isn't working, see the [Troubleshooting
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guide](troubleshooting.md).
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