DW Spectrum User Manual

DW Spectrum provides the ability to set a maximum and minimum storage duration for the archive of any given camera, measured in the number of days from the current date going backwards in time.

Before you use a Fixed Archive Length setting, it is important to understand the impact it will have. The default Auto setting means that archived footage for a given camera is treated according to the standard algorithm – the oldest data is deleted first. No controls are placed on when or which archived footage is deleted.

The Min. Days and Max. Days fields assign priority to a given camera – high priority for Min. Days, low priority for Max. Days. If more than one camera is assigned high or low priority, storage results may not be predictable. Typically the Min. Days setting is used for environments with limited storage capacity and a few high-importance cameras, or when a regulation requires that certain footage be stored for a minimum number of days. Max. Days is typically used for environments where storage is limited and there is no need to store records beyond a certain age from certain cameras.

It is not possible to enter a Max. Days value less than the Min. Days value, and vice versa, it is not possible to set a Min. Days value that is greater than the Max. Days value.

Minimum Days

Min. Days sets a minimum archive length, in number of days from the current date, for which DW Spectrum gives highest priority to retention of records from a given camera over retention of records from any camera that has the default (Auto) archive setting.

For example, a Min. Days value of 120 for a given camera means DW Spectrum will attempt to preserve the past 120 days of records from that camera.

IMPORTANT: Be careful when setting a minimum days value. If more than one camera is assigned a Min. Days value, those cameras will have the same priority level – in which case storage results cannot be entirely guaranteed for any of them. If there is insufficient storage space, in order to retain footage as specified with Min. Days, DW Spectrum will first delete records from cameras that do not have a minimum archive length set, and then will stop recording incoming signals from low and average priority cameras. If storage space is at capacity, no other camera streams will be recorded.

Maximum Days

Max. Days sets an archive duration after which records will not be saved for a given camera.

To Configure Minimum and Maximum Storage Duration

1.Go to the camera's context menu from the Resource Tree or layout and open Camera Settings > Recording tab (or the General tab for Virtual Cameras).

2.In the Fixed Archive Length section, uncheck the Auto checkbox.

3.In Min. Days, enter the number of days for which archive should be retained.

4.In Max. Days, enter the number of days after which archive will be automatically deleted from storage.

5.Click Apply to accept, OK to save and close the dialog, or Cancel to discard changes.