SureView Systems Immix and VMAX® A1 Plus™ Integration

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Affected Roles:  Administrator

Complexity:  Medium

Last Edit:  November 23, 2021

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Immix Integration

A common deployment for the VMAX® A1 Plus™ standalone DVR is to utilize the built-in I/O sensor block as an alarm panel with which external sensors can be connected with RS-485 cable. However, in order to send alerts and notifications when an alarm sensor is triggered, the DVR will need to be configured to utilize an SMTP server to send the information.

This article will outline how to configure a VMAX A1 Plus DVR to send SMTP notifications to a SureView Systems Immix Server.

 

**NOTE:  The VMAX A1 Plus Network settings must be configured prior to using this guide for the DVR to communicate through its local network (LAN).

 

Supported/Affected Devices:

• VMAX® A1 Plus™ Series (DW-VA1P16xT, DW-VA1P9xT, DW-VA1P4xT)

 

Before You Begin…

Port Management

The following network ports will need to be opened/whitelisted through the network’s Internet facing router. If the ports test shows as OPEN, the VMAX A1 Plus and Immix Server will be able to communicate over the Internet from separate locations.

Port 80 TCP/UDP	For VMAX A1 Plus Web Viewer function
Port 9010 TCP/UDP	For VMAX A1 Plus TCP/IP connections
Port 25 TCP	For Immix Server to receive SMTP alarms from the VMAX A1 Plus

 

**NOTE:  The VMAX A1 Plus ports – Port 80 & Port 9010 – are assigned to the DVR by default. These values can be changed in the unit’s Network settings menu. Be sure to open the relative port values for any changes made to the DVR’s port settings.

 

Standard Immix Server Setup

Below are examples of the recommended Immix Server configurations, as provided by SureView.

Immix – Control Configuration

Host	Use the external IP address of the VMAX A1 Plus recorder; the local IP address can be found in the DVR’s Network settings, while the external IP address can be found through the Internet-facing router or by using a port checking website (http://canyouseeme.org).
Port	Use the Web Port (default: 80) of the VMAX A1 Plus recorder; port values can be found in the DVR’s Network settings.
User	Use the username that that is used to access the VMAX Web Viewer interface.
Password	Use the password that is used to access the VMAX Web Viewer interface.

 

Immix – Alarm Configuration

Property	Description	Example Value
Input1	Use the camera channel that triggered the alarm	CH: [(01)]
EventType	Use the alarm type that will be triggering	EVENT: [MOTION DETECTED]
DateTime	Use the date and time of the alarm event	Time: [MM/dd/yyyy HH:mm:ss]
ExtraText	Use the text that the event alarm will use when notifying	Motion detected on Camera CH-01

 

Immix – Example Email Configuration

FROM:	[email protected] [ DVR1 ]
TIME:	03/14/2017 08:08:14
EVENT:	Motion Detected CH: 1

 

VMAX Standalone Recorder Preparation

Before you can begin to configure the VMAX A1 Plus for the I-View Now integration, be sure to complete the network setup for the recorder. To achieve this, a display monitor and USB mouse must be connected to the VMAX unit, then the local device settings of the VMAX must be configured for use on the local network. Once the VMAX has been set up and configured for its local network (LAN), the recording unit can then be accessed and managed through the VMAX Web Viewer’s user interface.

For more information on the Network settings of a VMAX unit:

• Network Setup for a VMAX A1 Plus

 

Configuring the VMAX® A1 Plus™ Standalone Recorder

VMAX® A1 Plus™ – Alarm Sensor Setup

Before any settings can be configured for the VMAX A1 Plus, administrator access will be required.

• At the DVR – log in to the unit as an Administrator
  • Default ID:  admin
  • Default PW:  <blank>

Once logged in, right-click in the viewing area and select “Menu” to access the DVR’s Setup Menu.

 

• Using Web Viewer – log in to the unit as an Administrator
  • Default ID:  admin
  • Default PW:  <blank>

Once logged in, click the “Setup” button to access the DVR’s Setup Menu.

 

VMAX® A1 Plus™ – Alarm Sensor Setup

If the VMAX A1 Plus is being utilized to work with external sensors, the detection device(s) will need to be assigned to the relevant camera channel(s) and the sensor settings be configured for use by the VMAX A1 Plus itself.

 

**NOTE:  It is recommended to use a “dry contact type” as a “wet contact type” may cause damage to the DVR system.

 

For Sensor setup, access the Alarm settings menu of the VMAX A1 Plus.

1. At the DVR – Open the DVR’s Setup menu and select the “Alarm” menu, then select the “Sensor” sub-menu.

Configure the following:

• NO – this column cannot be modified; each is representative of the sensor input port connections with the DVR. For example, “NO. 1” is directly correlated to the physical connection with the I/O Input-1 of the built-in sensor block of the VMAX A1 Plus.
• ON/OFF – for each I/O connection with an active sensor, set this setting to “ON” to enable the use of that sensor input port
• Cam – select the camera channel that will be associated with the sensor connection
• Relay – [optional] if an external relay device is connected to the I/O sensor block’s output port, you can assign it to a sensor for the DVR to send it a signal when the assigned sensor alarm triggers
• Preset – [optional] if a PTZ camera is connected to the DVR, you can have the PTZ camera move to a preset position (separate setup) when the sensor is triggered
• Dwell – (post-alarm) set a recording period from when the sensor is activated to record video between 1~5 seconds. The system will continue to record during this period until the alarm output has stopped
• Pre-Alarm – set a recording period between 1~5 seconds where the system will record video just before a sensor is activated; the recording mode type is always set to a Continuous schedule and the recording speed set in the DVR’s “Record” menu.
• Type – select the sensor type as N/O (normally open) or N/C (normally closed), depending on the regular state that the sensor uses.  For example, a door sensor that is installed to detect when the door opens is an N/C (normally closed) type of sensor.
• Notify – [optional] if the VMAX A1 Plus should create a local alert for users working at the recorder itself, click this button and enable a buzzer (beeping) alarm to sound and/or a pop-up warning to display when an event alarm is triggered for a camera channel

 

2. Using Web Viewer – Open the Setup menu and select the “Alarm” menu, then select the “Sensor” sub-menu.

Configure the following:

• • NO – this column cannot be modified; each is representative of the sensor input port connections with the DVR. For example, “NO. 1” is directly correlated to the physical connection with the I/O Input-1 of the built-in sensor block of the VMAX A1 Plus.
  • ON/OFF – for each I/O connection with an active sensor, set this setting to “ON” to enable the use of that sensor input port
  • Cam – select the camera channel that will be associated with the sensor connection
  • Out – [optional] if an external relay device is connected to the I/O sensor block’s output port, you can assign it to a sensor for the DVR to send it a signal when the assigned sensor alarm triggers
  • Preset – [optional] if a PTZ camera is connected to the DVR, you can have the PTZ camera move to a preset position (separate setup) when the sensor is triggered
  • Dwell – (post-alarm) set a recording period from when the sensor is activated to record video between 1~5 seconds. The system will continue to record during this period until the alarm output has stopped
  • Pre-Alarm – set a recording period between 1~5 seconds where the system will record video just before a sensor is activated; the recording mode type is always set to a Continuous schedule and the recording speed set in the DVR’s “Record” menu.
  • Type – select the sensor type as N/O (normally open) or N/C (normally closed), depending on the regular state that the sensor uses.  For example, a door sensor that is installed to detect when the door opens is an N/C (normally closed) type of sensor.
  • Notify – [optional] if the VMAX A1 Plus should create an alert for users that are currently viewing the recorder when a sensor triggers, enable a buzzer (beeping) alarm to sound and/or a pop-up warning to display when an event alarm is triggered for a camera channel.

 

**NOTE:  Relay contacts of the DVR can withstand up to 24V/1A. Be aware that problems can be caused within the DVR in the event that the unit is connected to an external circuit that is using over 24V/1A.

 

VMAX® A1 Plus™ - Recording Schedule Setup

If the setup is utilizing external sensors to trigger events and functions in the VMAX A1 Plus, configure the Recording Schedule settings to use a Sensor recording type. For example, Continuous & Sensor (CONT+SENS) or Motion + Sensor (MOT+SENS) will archive camera video normally, while monitoring for sensor triggers for the system.

You can adjust the Recording Schedule of the DVR in the Record > Recording Schedule menu.

Select the recording type and ‘paint’ the schedule grid to assign a recording schedule to the recorder. Click the “Save” button to apply the changes.

 

VMAX® A1 Plus™ - SMTP Notification Setup

To create an email notification setup:

1. Open the Network settings menu of the VMAX A1 Plus.
   1. At the DVR – log in to the unit as an Administrator
      • Default ID:  admin
      • Default PW:  <blank>

Once logged in, right-click with the mouse and select “Menu”. Next, click on “Network”, then select the “Notification” sub-menu.

 

1. 2. Using Web Viewer – log in to the unit as an Administrator
      • Default ID:  admin
      • Default PW:  <blank>

Once logged in, click the “Setup” button. Next, click on “Network”, then select “Notification”.

 

2. In the Notification menu, configure the SMTP service for the VMAX A1 Plus.
   1. At the DVR – configure the following settings:
      • Outgoing Mail SMTP Server – use the IP address of the Immix Server
      • Your Email Account User Name – <leave blank> the Immix server does not require authentication for incoming messages
      • Your Email Address – use the format of S#@immix.com. “S#@immix.com”, if the “#” were replaced by the S number (unique identifier) of the Immix Server. For example, “[email protected]” would represent Immix Site-1 from the Immix - Example Email Configuration example above.
      • Use SSL Authentication – leave this setting disabled as the Immix system does not use encryption
      • Port – use Port 25 (Immix default); if the SMTP port of the Immix Server has been changed, use that value instead
      • Password – <leave blank> the Immix Server does not require authentication for incoming messages
      • Interval – to prevent spamming the recipient with notifications, set how frequently the VMAX unit will be allowed to send email notifications to the Immix server. For example, a setting of “10 min” would only allow the VMAX to send email notifications every 10 minutes.

Click the Save button when you are finished configuring the outgoing SMTP service for the VMAX A1 Plus.

 

1. 2. Using Web Viewer – in the Notifications menu, enable the “Use E-mail Notification” setting.

Scroll down and locate the SMTP Information section of the menu and configure the following settings:

• • • Outgoing Mail SMTP Server – use the IP address of the Immix Server; if the Immix Server is on a different network than the VMAX A1 Plus, use the public IP address of the Immix Server’s network.
    • SMTP Port – use Port 25 (Immix default); if the SMTP port of the Immix Server has been changed, use that value instead
    • Your Email Account User Name – <leave blank> the Immix server does not require authentication for incoming messages
    • Password – <leave blank> the Immix Server does not require authentication for incoming messages
    • Your Email Address – use the format of S#@immix.com. “S#@immix.com”, if the “#” were replaced by the S number (unique identifier) of the Immix Server. For example, “[email protected]” would represent Immix Site-1 from the Immix - Example Email Configuration example above.
    • Option – set to “None”; SMTP encryption is not supported by the Immix device
    • Connection – set to “Unsecure Connection”; SMTP encryption is not supported by the Immix device
    • Interval – to prevent spamming the recipient with notifications, set how frequently the VMAX unit will be allowed to send email notifications to the Immix server. For example, a setting of “10 min” would only allow the VMAX to send email notifications every 10 minutes.

Click the Save button when you are finished configuring the outgoing SMTP service for the VMAX A1 Plus.

 

3. Next, designate the recipient of the outgoing SMTP notifications from the VMAX A1 Plus to the Immix Server.
   1. At the DVR – in the Notification menu, click the “Add” button that is located below the E-Mail Notification area of the menu.

An E-Mail Notify Add/Edit window will display. Configure the following:

• E-Mail – use the format of S#@immix.com. “S#@immix.com”, if the “#” were replaced by the S number (unique identifier) of the Immix Server. For example, “[email protected]” would represent Immix Site-1 from the Immix - Example Email Configuration example above.
• Event – select “All” to enable all types of events to trigger email notifications. The types of events that are selected will trigger an email notification for the email address in the “E-Mail” field.
• Video Clip Attachment – enable “Sensor” to include a video clip of the event when the external sensor triggering was detected.

Click the OK button when you are finished configuring the new SMTP notification recipient. The new notification recipient will display in the E-Mail Notify list. Click the Save button to save the settings.

 

1. 2. Using Web Viewer – in the Notification menu, locate the Add/Modify section of the menu. Click the “New” button to add an SMTP notification recipient.

To add an Immix Server as an SMTP recipient, configure the following:

• Email Address – use the format of S#@immix.com. “S#@immix.com”, if the “#” were replaced by the S number (unique identifier) of the Immix Server. For example, “[email protected]” would represent Immix Site-1 from the Immix - Example Email Configuration example above.
• Event Type – select “All” to enable all types of events to trigger email notifications. The types of events that are selected will trigger an email notification for the email address in the “E-Mail” field.
• Interval – to prevent spamming the recipient with notifications, set how frequently the VMAX unit will be allowed to send email notifications to the Immix server. For example, a setting of “10 min” would only allow the VMAX to send email notifications every 10 minutes.
• Channel – select “All” to enable all camera channels for SMTP notifications. If a selected channel is associated with a sensor or selected event type, and detects an event, a snapshot/thumbnail will be included.

Click the Add button when you are finished configuring the new SMTP notification recipient. The new notification recipient will display in the E-Mail List. Click the Save button to save the completed notification settings for the VMAX A1 Plus.

 

4. Use the “Test” function in the VMAX A1 Plus Notification menu to have the DVR send data packets to test its connection to the Immix Server.

If the test fails, check:

• DVR network settings have been configured; DVR can communicate over the LAN
• DVR record schedule has been set to a “Sensor” type
• External sensors have been set up in the Alarm > Sensor menu of the DVR
• SMTP server address and settings are correct
• E-Mail Notification recipient address and permissions are enabled properly