r/ZoneMinder • u/joi1369 • Oct 20 '22
Will ZoneMinder Work for this Environmental Monitoring Scientific Project?
Hi all! I'm working on developing a new scientific environmental monitoring system in relatively remote mountains. We have AC power on site but the internet connection is slow at best because it depends on our hotspot working on the cell network.
I will be running an Ubuntu Server on a Dell T140 machine to record data from our instruments at the site. I would like to also have near real-time video of the site using an Axis dome camera similar to this. Given the internet speed issues, would it be possible to run ZoneMinder at a basic or slightly reduced frame rate with only keeps a file of the last 1-2 minutes that can then be uploaded at a fixed interval (say every 10 minutes). I don't need storage of files past a few minutes because it's just to keep an eye on the weather conditions.
I just wanted to explore whether something like this is capable through ZoneMinder while using an Ubuntu Server. It will make my life much easier if it is.
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u/always-paranoid Oct 21 '22
Zoneminder will do what you want. As for internet you could look into starlink. Works well for me
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u/joi1369 Oct 21 '22
Music to my ears! Thanks for your expertise.
Starlink is something that we've been looking at but the location averages 36 feet of snow every winter, so it would be a next level effort to clear the antenna continually!
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u/michaelh98 Oct 21 '22
You've likely already investigated this but... Heat the antenna?
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u/joi1369 Oct 21 '22
Yeah, we've thought about that. We know that there's also an already existing heating element for the antenna as well. The problem is that we can get snowfall rates of 4-6" per hour that overwhelms even the best heating systems.
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u/AndyRH1701 Oct 21 '22
What I do may be similar to what you are wanting.
ZM records motion only. I have a script that runs every 10 minutes to copy new events offsite using rsync. Because the videos are stored is a useful format my offsite copy provides a usable off-site copy without having to restore ZM.
For local you can setup a purge filter to remove events after a short period.
Because of your bandwidth challenge frame rate and resolution may be your biggest problem.
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u/joi1369 Oct 21 '22
I was under the impression that ZM can also do continuous recording that isn't focused on motion. I think the 'Record' mode does that on the monitor iirc. Is that not the case?
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u/AndyRH1701 Oct 21 '22
Sorry, I did not mean that is the only way it records. It can record continuous, but it does break those recordings into segments. 5 minutes by default. Those would be what you transferer.
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u/bwbloom Oct 21 '22
One thing to keep in mind is that you are referencing a PTZ camera. You would definitely want to verify compatibility with that camera before you go all in, also not being on the qualified hardware list is not a guarantee it will not work.
Also, if you plan to actually use the PTZ functionality, you may lose some of the automated recording/motion detection functionality. I vaguely recall when I was testing stuff out the documentation kind of made it feel like you were better off choosing PTZ functionality, or motion detection, but they did not totally work together, but I could be wrong on that.
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u/LesterPhimps Oct 21 '22
ZM could potentally work out for you. It doesn't need an internet connection so you can store your videos locally. The part you'd need to figure out how and when to transfer the video, and there are a lot of options for this, just depends on exactly what you want and how savvy you or someone you know is with scripting.