Centralizing your video surveillance network management on Nebula Cloud

Nebula_Yvonne

An IP camera has become a common component in modern security and surveillance systems. An IP camera is a type of digital video camera that receives and sends data via an IP network. Easy to install, an IP camera not only allows users to view live feeds at any time on their smartphones or tablets, but also is equipped with the ability to record videos and send alarms as a protection of the observing areas.

The surveillance technologies have advanced greatly over the years. One of the major focuses in the surveillance industry lies in the reliability of the surveillance cameras and how quickly they can self-recover back to the working condition after being hit by the unexpected or abnormal issues like electrical surges, system crashes, etc.

In response to this, Zyxel Nebula features the capabilities that are specifically designed for the surveillance applications. Its surveillance mode supports the monitoring of the PD status and empowers users with a new feature called “PD recovery”, an auto-self maintenance capability for the surveillance cameras, as well as all the PDs that support LLDP and ping. Combining these two features together, Nebula not only provides a great tool to help IT administrators save time and effort by ensuring that all their PD components are in good condition to keep the observing environment safe and protected.

Note: Nebula currently supports GS1350 series only.

The following functions for the surveillance switch are now available in Nebula:

1.    Unique monitoring page on Nebula

Nebula provides a clear view for monitoring all PDs’ status on one page, helping users manage their PDs easier.

• Go to Site-wide > Monitor > Switches > Surveillance to check the surveillance camera and other PDs information.

2.  The extended-range mode

By turning on the extended-range mode, the switch instantly achieves the distant transmission deployment up to 250 meters, which overcomes the 100 meters limitation of Ethernet (Cat 5e cable), making it the best option for saving your money and effort simply using just one PoE Switch.

3.   Auto PD Recovery

We offer a sufficient way in switch by monitoring LLDP packets from the PD, or performing ping requests to PD, to keep monitoring the PD’s health status. When PDs are not working or unstable, the switch will reset power supply for PDs automatically to recover them. It reduces time-consuming troubleshooting and ensures the reliability of the network.   (View video: here)

4.  ONVIF discovery

ONVIF (Open Network Video Interface Forum) is a standard protocol used to communicate between IP products and other physical security devices in the video surveillance application. This feature will also be supported on Nebula by the end of March, 2021.

How to set up:

A.   Extended range:

i.    Go to Site-wide > Configure > Switches > Switch ports, click the box on which port you would like to configure, and then click the “Edit” button.

ii.   Enable the “Extended range” located at the left center of the page to activate the feature.

Note: The link speed will fix to 10M/full duplex when enabled.

B.   Auto PD recovery

i.    Go to Site-wide > Configure > Switches > Switch ports, click the box on which port you would like to configure, and then click the “Edit” button.

ii. To enable the “Auto PD recovery” located at the lower right corner. Then you may choose which protocol to detect the PDs status, and then click “Update” to apply the settings.

LLDP: Using the switch passively monitor the status of the PDs.

Ping: Using the switch to ping the PD to check whether the PD is reachable or not.

Note: For more details about those options, please refer to Page 190 of the user guide (link).