Release Notes for MOBOTIX HUB Software

Document Information

Contents

The MOBOTIX HUB is an open video management platform (VMP) for businesses of all types and sizes. It enables the integration of security and analysis cameras, access control systems, security systems, environmental sensors, software and hardware interfaces to industrial plants and many more, in a common control and user interface – centrally, clearly and user-friendly. MOBOTIX IoT cameras, like many IP cameras from other manufacturers, can be integrated into the system via device-specific drivers or via the ONVIF standard.

The flexible, scalable system is available in five different variants: from the free L1 version for small installations with up to eight cameras to the L5 variant, which enables highly distributed enterprise solutions for several thousand devices to be implemented.

The following document provides information about the system requirements, installation, and specific features of each version of MOBOTXI HUB.

Software Releases—Overview

System Requirements

• Windows operating system (Pro, Enterprise, or Server Edition)
• Microsoft SQL-Server
• .NET Framework
• CPU
• RAM
• Network card
• Disk space
• Graphics cards and graphics accelerators

Depending on the variant used (L1 to L5) of the MOBOTIX HUB, there are differences in these requirements. A detailed description of the system requirements for the different variants is available on the MOBOTIX website below Support > Download Center > Marketing & Documentation > User Manuals  > Video Management Systems > MOBOTIX HUB in the document MOBOTIX HUB System Requirements.

Additions to the system requirements

• If you install the MOBOTIX HUB with the Single Computer option, NO Microsoft SQL Server has to be installeed already on the system. If desired, this will be installed by the HUB installer.
• The specified "Microsoft® .NET 4.7.2 Framework" is already installed on a current Windows 10 system. This can be verified by using the Version entry of the Windows Registry Key Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft NET Framework\Setup\NDP\v4\Client. 
• The "Microsoft® .NET Core 2.1.21" listed in the system requirements is also installed by the HUB installer.

Supported camera models

The following MOBOTIX camera models can be integrated into MOBOTIX HUB via device-specific drivers:

• MOBOTIX 7 cameras with firmware versions 7.x
• MOBOTIX Mx6 cameras x16/x26 with firmware versions 5.x
• MOBOTIX P3 cameras x14/x24/x15/x25, T24M/T25M with firmware versions 4.x
• MOBOTIX P2 Cameras x12/x22
• MOBOTIX MOVE Camera Models

For the models of the MOBOTIX 7, Mx6 and P3 series, special functions are supported in the Desk Client of the MOBOTIX HUB (see below). Cameras of the two IoT model series MOBOTIX 7 and Mx6 as well as the MOVE series can alternatively be integrated via the ONVIF standard. A list of all supported camera models can be viewed on the MOBOTIX website also in the download area of this software.

Important notes on installing on Windows systems

Meaning of each installation file

The most important installation steps

The current values for <Hub version>, <Plugin version>and <Driver version> are specified below specifically for the MOBOTIX HUB that is to be installed

The most important installation steps

The following is an overview of the basic procedure and the most important installation steps:

• Download the required installation files from the MOBOTX website
• Review and ensure the system requirements
• Run the installation file 'MOBOTIX_HUB_VMS_Products_<Hub version>_System_Installer.exe'  with installation of the 'Management Server' on the designated computer
• The license file (*.lic) provided by MOBOTIX after ordering the desired MOBOTIX HUB variant is required!
• When installing as a "Single computer", all necessary server and client components are already installed here.
• When you install a distributed system using the "Custom" option, install the other server components on the designated computers. In this case, the first installer running generates special files for this purpose during the installation process for each server component.
• If needed, install "Desk Clients" on other Windows computers using the file 'MOBOTIX_HUB_Desk_Client_<Hub version>_Installer_x64.exe' or "MOBOTIX_HUB_Desk_Client_<Hub version>_Installer.exe".
• Install the device-specific drivers  on the Management Server computer using the file 'MOBOTIX_HUB_VMSDriverInstaller<Driver version>.exe'.
• If needed, install a "Mobile Server" using the file 'MOBOTIX_HUB_MobileServer_<Hub version>_Installer_x64.exe' on any suitable Windows computer.
• If required, install an "Open Network Bridge"using the 'MOBOTIX_HUB_VideoOS_OpenNetworkBridge_<Hub version>_Installer.exe' file on the same Windows computer on which the MOBOTIX HUB Management Server was installed.
• When installing a HUB L1 variant and also when subsequently managing (adding/deleting) devices in such an installation, the server must be online and have unrestricted Internet access — or at least unrestricted access for outbound http/https requests to the MOBOTIX licensing servers.
  When any changes that involve licensing have been saved, the HUB server will automatically contact the licensing servers to obtain the necessary device licenses. No site-specific or security related information will be transmitted during this time. For all other operations, the HUB server can be offline.
  
• When installing a HUB variant L2 to L5 start the MOBOTIX HUB Management Client and perform an “activation” of the license by executing the following steps in the Basics > License Information section of the tree structure:
• do an Online activation by entering the access data (name and password) for the MOBOTIX Partner Portal, or
• do an Offline activation by creating a file for the license request (*.lrq), transmission of this file to the contact person at MOBOTIX Sales and import of the file (*.scl), subsequently received from MOBOTIX Sales for activation.

This completes the configuration and allows the system to be set up and configured. A detailed description of the above steps can be found on the MOBOTIX website under Support > Download Center > Marketing and Documentation > User Manuals > Video Management Systems > MOBOTIX HUB > Management Client. It is strongly recommended to pay close attention to the documentation Before you start installation and Install a new MOBOTIX HUB system contained therein before starting the installation of a new MOBOTIX HUB system! 

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Version 2021 R2 of MOBOTIX HUB

Published on: 2021-12-14

New and improved features

Bookmark functions in Web Client and mobile Clients

Improvements in the Management Client

• Audit logs
  Audit logs created by the Identity Provider in the VMS are now accessible in the Management Client under the Audit logs tab
• Improved GDPR support
  The VMS will now display a warning message when certain retention times are set to values longer than the product’s default values. This helps the VMS administrator to be aware of potential GDPR issues for data that could contain personal information. The retention times in question are alarms, video, audio, metadata as well as audit logs.
  The settings for Smart Maps are all set to unavailable for new installations, and a warning of potential GDPR issues shown when the administrator changes these.

Improvements in the Recording Server

• Behavioral after uncontrolled shutdown

Changes in the Desk Client

• New symbols
  Left panel and other places now use different icons to make it possible to differentiate fixed cameras from PTZ cameras.
• Camera and view lists
  Camera list and views list in left panel now allows horizontal scroll using SHIFT + mouse scroll wheel, to make it quicker to read long camera or view names.
• Export
• Default exports options are now set in Smart Client profiles to use XProtect format option by default, as this is the recommendation to use.
• For AVI exports, if enabling this, the default is now set to mkv as this results in smaller file sizes.
• For new installations these settings are locked per default in Smart Client settings. In order for the Smart Client operator to change these, the Administrator must create a new profile or change the default Smart Client Profile
• Views
  The Camera Navigator view item and Smart Client Simple Mode have been removed.

Further changes in the Mobile Clients

New functions in MOBOTIX HUB add-on products

XProtect LPR

MOBOTIX HUB LPR 2021 R1 introduces these new country modules

• Armenia (AM)
• Iraq (IRQ)
• Kyrgyzstan (KS)

In the current LPR implementation, the performance of an individual LPR server is affected by the number of active country modules installed on the individual LPR server. For the region of Europe, MOBOTIX' unofficial recommendation is to not activate more than five country modules per LPR Server to maintain system performance. In other regions, such as the Middle East region, this recommendation does not apply.

In use cases where recognition of vehicles from a wide set of countries is required, for example boarder control, it is recommended to use the generic modules, such as the EU Generic Module. These modules are specialized in recognizing the most common types of license plates across the various EU countries.

To cover countries that are not covered by the EU Generic Module, we have now created an Eastern Europe Generic Module which covers an additional nine countries:

• Albania
• Kosovo
• Montenegro
• Belarus
• Macedonia
• Russia
• Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Moldova
• Serbia

Resolved issues

Active Directory Synchronization

Since the MOBOTIX HUB release 2020 R3 it has been identified that synchronization between AD and the VMS did not correctly resolve nesting of user groups across different domains. In 2021 R2 those issues have been fixed and resolving user groups now works across all the domains under transitive trust relationship. For all non-transitive trusts the process will only resolve members of the trusted domain.

Known Limitations

The following limitations currently apply to version 2021 R2.

• Insert MOBOTIX IoT Cameras via device-specific MOBOTIX drivers
• 4K and 4MP resolutions are not supported.
• It is better to change exposure and image settings directly on the camera.
• "Express Search"
  This search does not reliably find all cameras (for MOBOTIX drivers and ONVIF) while searching for address ranges works reliably.

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Version 2021 R1 of MOBOTIX HUB

Published on: 2021-08-18

New and improved features

Licensing per activated channel

Increased number of supported device channels

ONVIF driver update

Universal driver update

Change in administration and functionality of basic user accounts

• The user will be redirected to a change password page when he or she tries to login the first time. Rules for password complexity can be configured by the HUB system administrator.
• If a user forgets his or her password, then the HUB system administrator can set a new temporary password, again selecting the "Force basic user to change password on next login" checkbox. 
• A user can change his or her password at any time by clicking the Change Password link in the client login dialog. This is available in all clients. The administrator does not have access to a password set by the user.
• A user will be temporarily locked out if the wrong password given more than N login attempts.
• The HUB system administrator can lock a user account by changing the Status field on the basic user from Active to Locked. The administrator can also unlock a user account by setting status to Active.

When logging into a MOBOTIX HUB system, you may see a warning stating that the system is not secure. Because this release is about securing the communication between system components, the client applications consider any system without a certificate non-secure. This also includes any previous version, for example if you are using the latest version of MOBOTIX HUB Desk Client with a previous version of the MOBOTIX HUB system

Device firmware update using the Management Client

• The single firmware update is available for all MOBOTIX HUB products.
• Bulk firmware update is available only for MOBOTIX HUB  L4 and MOBOTIX HUB L5.
• Supported drivers are Axis, Bosch, Hanwha and ONVIF.

Pro Map improvements

Zusätzlich zur bestehenden Unterstützung für die Anzeige von Kamerasymbolen direkt auf der Karte bietet diese Version Unterstützung folgende Funktionen:

• Input devices:
  Display input devices such as door sensors and door bells directly on Pro Map for an even better overview.
• Audio:
  Reduce time to action and listen to audio directly from the Pro Map.
• Alarms:
  React immediately, when the alarms are marked as blinking red circles on the Pro Map and acknowledge them with a right-click.
  

Media database repair improvements

By moving detailed information from low-level index files to higher-level files, we have limited the number of files we need to read to repair the database, thereby significantly reducing the repair time. The time saved depends on the size of the database and the location where the files are located, but we saved up to 50% time in our tests.

A media database on a local disk with 100,000 corrupted tables showed the following results:

• 2020 R3: 1641 seconds
• 2021 R1: 884 seconds

New functions in MOBOTIX HUB add-on products

XProtect LPR

MOBOTIX HUB LPR 2021 R1 contains these new country modules:

• Myanmar (BUR) - New country module that recognizes all standard license plate types
• Libya (LAR) - New country module that recognizes all standard license plate types
• El Salvador (ES) - New country module that recognizes all standard license plate types

Changes and solved issues

General changes

• Prior to MOBOTIX HUB 2021 R1, when changing the hostname of the computer running the Management Server, the Management Server was not able to start again. The Management Server and any other components running on that machine could be fixed manually or by reinstalling the system. Starting from the 2021 R1 product release, all servers running on a computer that got a new hostname can be re-configured by doing a registration using the Server Configurator.
• Server Configurator is now backwards compatible. Since there is only one Server Configurator installed on a machine, the Server Configurator needs to be able to handle all versions of installed components. We do not support the case in which an older component is installed on top of newer components. Hence, it is ensured that the Server Configurator is always the same version or newer than the other components on the machine.

Changes in the MOBOTIX HUB Management Client

• System monitor now shows the status for failover recording servers. If the failover server has issues with SSL due to certificate problems or it cannot authorize with the authorization server, that is shown in system monitor.
• The generic de-warping feature has been expanded with an option to specify the appropriate degrees for the device’s horizontal field of view (FOV). This enables an improved de-warping experience for a wider range of devices. The default FOV has been changed to 180 degrees.
• There is a new tab, Remote Recorder, in the Management Client for configuring credentials for connections to a remote recorder device. Such devices can be used as an edge storage for a group of cameras. Currently this option is only implemented for the Axis Video Recorder S3008.
• The Menu bar has been changed. The Edit menu has been removed and a new menu Maintenance has been added.
• An IP version filter has been added in Express scan result screen in the Add Hardware dialog. This makes it possible to distinguish IPv6 addresses from IPv4 addresses of the same device. By default, only IPv4 addresses are shown.
• A new time rule is available that can run specifically when in failover, or not in failover. This makes it possible to lower the resolution and frame rate when running on a failover recording server. The rule is not limited to changing these two settings but can be used for general changes as most other rules.

Changes in the MOBOTIX HUB Web Client

In this application, the functions have been improved:

• Encryption options have been added to export of investigations results.
• Digital signing now happens automatically when exporting video.
• Audio permissions are now requested upon microphone usage.
• One time export: the Export Investigations link usage has been limited to one time download. The export link expires after the first download (in previous versions it did not expire).
• Investigation retention time added, and investigations are automatically deleted after this time expires.

Driver improvements for MOBOTIX IoT cameras

The IoT cameras are now also found on the network and integrated into the system if only the HTTPS protocol, without additional HTTP, is activated on them.

Known Limitations

The following limitations currently apply to version 2021 R1.

• Insert MOBOTIX IoT Cameras via device-specific MOBOTIX drivers
• 4K and 4MP resolutions are not supported.
• It is better to change exposure and image settings directly on the camera.
• "Express Search"
  This search does not reliably find all cameras (for MOBOTIX drivers and ONVIF) while searching for address ranges works reliably.
• Setting up a Failover Server
  After setting up a failover server, the status of the failover server in the Management Client is always displayed incorrectly as a "connection error". The failover events are also not currently usable in any way

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Version 2020 R3 of MOBOTIX HUB

Published on: 2021-05-26

Specific features for MOBOTIX IoT cameras

Dynamic events

After the integration of MOBOTIX cameras of the series MOBOTIX 7, Mx6 and P3 via a device-specific MOBOTIX driver (selection from Mobotix M/D/V/S series, Mobotix Q*, Mobotix T*), events of these cameras from the following event groups can also be defined in the HUB Management Client for these cameras as ("dynamic") events:

• Image Analysis Events
• MxMessageSystem Events
• Meta Events
• Environment Events

The events defined in the MOBOTIX HUB can then be used in Rules and Alarms, for example to start recording through the HUB Recording Server.

In the MOBOTIX HUB variants L4 and L5, the HUB Desk Client Search dialog allows to search for recordings of such events by entering MOBOTIX IoT Events as a search filter. 

• Activation of the general Arming
• Configuration of the desired Event
• Activation of the camera-internal Recording as Event Recording (e.B. with recording time 2s and recording frame rate 1 fps)

Analytics Events from MOBOTIX 7 Cameras

After integrating a camera from the MOBOTIX 7 model series via a device-specific MOBOTIX driver (selection Mobotix M/D/V/S series), events of a Vaxtor LPR App activated on the camera for the detection of license plates, can be defined as Analytics Events in the MOBOTIX HUB and can also be used within Rules and Alarms, e.g. to start a recording.

In order for the events of the Vaxtor LPR App to be used in the HUB, the following settings must be made in the Milestone section of the  Vaxtor LPR Settings dialog to configure the App:

• URL: <IP address of the MOBOTIX HUB Management Server>:<Port-Nummer>
• Camera Name: <IP address of the camera or camera name as defined in the HUB>

After integrating a camera configured in this way, the corresponding Analytics Event can then be activated in the HUB Management Client as follows:

• Activation of the Analytics Events in the dialog Tools -> options
  The same port number must be used as in the camera configuration in the URL field (see above).
• Add an Analytics Event named VaxALPR On Camera Event in the Rules and Events > Analytics Events section in the HUB Management Client's tree structure.

Then, this Analytics Event can be used just like any other event within Rules and Alarms.

After installing an extension of the HUB Desk Client using the installation file 'MOBOTIX_HUB_Plug-Ins_2020_R3_Installer.exe', the Search dialog of the Desk Client then displays an additional search area VaxALPR,  which allows the search for a specific licence plate recognized by the app. By displaying this search area multiple times, it is also possible to search for several licence plates at the same time.

Known Limitations

The following limitations currently apply to version 2020 R3.

• Insert MOBOTIX IoT Cameras via device-specific MOBOTIX drivers
• On the cameras, the HTTP protocol must be active and used for integration.
• 4K and 4MP resolutions are not supported.
• It is better to change exposure and image settings directly on the camera.
• "Express Search"
  This search does not reliably find all cameras (for MOBOTIX drivers and ONVIF) while searching for address ranges works reliably.
• Setting up a Failover Server
  After setting up a failover server, the status of the failover server in the Management Client is always displayed incorrectly as a "connection error". The failover events are also not currently usable in any way.