Reporting DW Spectrum® Issues
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Affected Roles: Owner, Administrator
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS
Software Version: DW Spectrum® IPVMS v4.1
Last Edit: February 2, 2021
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DW Spectrum® Issues
This article will outline how to report operator issues with DW Spectrum® IPVMS.
Supported/Affected Devices
- DW Blackjack® Series
Before Requesting Support
Use the following resources to check for possible solutions:
**Note: It is recommended to use the latest version of DW Spectrum®. If you are encountering operator issues and your firmware is outdated, consider updating to the latest build version.
The Digital Watchdog Support Knowledge Base hosts release notes for recent updates.
Requesting Support
Digital Watchdog Technical Support strives to provide quick and efficient assistance for issues that directly regard Digital Watchdog products.
Use the following guidelines to provide a concise outline of your issue so that our technicians may support you in an orderly fashion.
Submit One Support Request per Issue
As our support team focuses on different Digital Watchdog products, features, and software, tracking the progress of individual issues becomes difficult when there is an overwhelming number of issues described in a single report.
If one issue appears to be interrelated with another issue, it may be worth mentioning. However, please maintain a clear outline of a single issue, per request, if possible.
Once the issue has been identified by the technician, a recommended resolution may be provided.
**Note: Open a support ticket with Digital Watchdog Technical Support.
Provide a Short and Clear Summary
An ideal summary should be clear and as short as possible, but long enough to clarify the issue. Provide a clear overview of the issue, the component where the issue is occurring (Server, Client, DW Cloud, mobile application), and what conditions the system was under when the problem started.
Please also provide details regarding any troubleshooting steps that have already been taken. If troubleshooting has not already been performed, you may be tasked with performing recommended troubleshooting steps.
Environment
Provide details about the environment that DW Spectrum® is running in. This includes information such as what version/build of DW Spectrum® is being used, the operating systems being used, and the size of the System (a single server or multi-server/merged System).
Example:
- DW Spectrum® Version: v4.1.0.31401
- DW Spectrum® Client: Mac OS 10.13
- DW Spectrum® Server: Windows 10
- Network Topology: Server is connected to cameras through a Wi-Fi router that is connected to a single PoE switch, with 10 cameras.
- Special Features: The mentioned PoE switch has an embedded firewall blocking UDP traffic.
Reproduction Scenario
Describe any steps that you performed prior to the start of the problem. The technician may need to try to reproduce the issue on their end to better understand what may be causing the issue.
Examples of this include upgrading firmware from a particular build, changing network hardware, applying specific settings in DW Spectrum®, etc.
Attachments
Attachments can be quite helpful for technicians as they offer additional insight to the issue that you are experiencing. Providing photos, screen recordings, or Sever Logs may help to reduce the wait time for a resolution to your issue.
Since attachments can be quite large to share, you may use a third party service like Google Drive or DropBox to provide your attachment.
Avoid sending compressed (.zip) files as we are less likely to open this file type for security reasons. Instead, upload each file individually to the sharing application of choice so that your technician can check the file before opening or downloading it.
**Note: DW Spectrum® (Windows version) has an in-client screen recording feature that you may use to capture a recording of your display as you see it. Press Alt+R on the keyboard to start or stop this function.
Remote Assistance
Issues are often system-specific and your technician may request remote access to your System to directly assist you with resolving the problem.
Frequently, Digital Watchdog Technical Support will ask for unattended TeamViewer access to investigate the issue directly. We understand if this is not possible, but please be aware that this may delay the solution for your issue. If you prefer to instead be present for the remote session, you may request one.
Additionally, the use of ONVIF Device Manager and/or Wireshark is commonly used for troubleshooting our most commonly reported issues. It may be in your best interest to have these applications installed.
**Note: DW Blackjack® Servers (Windows) will come with ONVIF Device Manager installed. Most DW Blackjack® Series devices will come with TeamViewer installed as well.
