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I have multiple Synology servers in my Surveillance Station deployment. How do I manage them centrally?

Last updated:Mar 21, 2023

I have multiple Synology servers in my Surveillance Station deployment. How do I manage them centrally?

Purpose

You can use Surveillance Station Central Management System (CMS) to monitor multiple servers at different locations from a single site. This article explains the essentials.

Environment

  • Multiple Synology servers running the same version of Surveillance Station

Contents

Resolution

  1. Set up a host server

    The host server controls all surveillance services on recording servers. You can view videos, send and receive notifications1, and manage all default or purchased device licenses2.

    1. Sign in to the server you wish to set as the host.
    2. Go to Surveillance Station > Application Center and run CMS.
    3. Go to CMS > Advanced and select Host server mode.
    4. Save the settings.

  2. Set up recording servers

    Recording servers are the remote servers that record videos. You can add them manually or by searching.

    1. Sign in to a server you wish to set as the recording server.
    2. Go to Surveillance Station > Application Center and run CMS.
    3. Sign in to the host server.
    4. Go to Surveillance Station > CMS and add recording servers.

  3. Set up failover servers

    You can choose to set up failover servers that take over services when recording servers go down. Footage taken during the downtime can be restored to recording servers later on.3

    1. Sign in to a server you wish to set as the failover server.
    2. Go to Surveillance Station > Application Center and run CMS.
    3. Sign in to the host server.
    4. Go to Surveillance Station > CMS and add failover servers.

  4. Pair recording servers with failover servers

    If you were not prompted to pair recording servers with failover servers during the previous setups, pair them manually. Each failover server can watch over multiple recording servers.

    1. On the host server, go to Surveillance Station > CMS > Recording Server.
    2. Select a recording server and click Edit > Advanced.
    3. Select at least one failover server from the Select failover server drop-down menu.
    4. Configure the pair settings and save the changes.
    5. Go to the recording server list and check if the failover server is assigned correctly.

  5. Customize layouts

    You can view the footage of recording servers on the host server once your CMS deployment is complete. To customize the monitoring page:

Notes:

  1. If you want each recording server to send notifications to a different email address, configure each server individually. Refer to the help articles for more information.
  2. Device licenses:
    • The default licenses of standby failover servers are not available.
    • The licenses on recording servers will be migrated to failover servers during failovers. Failover servers do not require extra licenses.
  3. Failover servers:
    • The storage capacity, default license number, and other Surveillance Station specifications of failover servers must match or exceed the recording servers.
    • When a server is assigned as a failover server, the existing Surveillance Station data will be cleared. Refer to the CMS Failover White Paper for more information.
Purpose
Environment
Contents
Resolution
Set up a host server
Set up recording servers
Set up failover servers
Pair recording servers with failover servers
Customize layouts