Landro Enterprise Server Replacement Guide

This document discusses the steps involved in replacing a Landro Enterprise Edition server.

• Overview
• Instructions for All Servers
• Instructions for the Central Server
• Instructions for Encoder Servers
• Instructions for Media Servers

Note: previous versions of this document specified that Windows Server 2003 could be used as the operating system for a Landro server. However, we have seen recent service pack builds of Server 2003 that encountered kernel faults using the Landro device driver required for encoder servers. Due to these changes in Windows itself, we can no longer support Landro on Windows Server 2003.

Overview

Landro Enterprise is a sophisticated system involving several interrelated servers working together to provide a simple, unified user experience. If you have a need to replace one of these servers, either because of equipment failure or for purposes of upgrade, you will need to carefully follow our instructions to install the new system.

You should aready be familiar with the Landro Enterprise Edition Installation Guide. This document references the steps in that guide. Certainly any replacement server must meet the system requirements listed in that guide for the type of server (central, encoder or media server).

There are three types of server in Landro Enterprise: the central server, managing the overall system and its database; encoder servers, capturing analog video as digital data streams; and media servers, storing video files for playback and analysis. Each type of server has its own particular steps to be replaced, outlined in the sections below. But we'll start with instructions that apply generally to all three types of server.

Instructions for All Servers

These considerations apply equally to central, encoder and media server systems.

• Operating system

  The server must be a functioning PC system that meets the specifications for the type of server and be running Windows XP Professional. If you switch to XP from a system that was running Windows Server 2003 (previously supported), the rules for Remote Desktop access are different; if Remote Desktop is used on your Landro systems, you will need to change the automatic startup and/or the Remote Desktop process (see "Automatic login," below).

• Machine name

  The new server should be assigned the same computer name as the computer it replaces. If the old computer is still on the network, it should be first assigned a temporary name so as to not conflict when the new computer takes on its (original) name. During server replacement is not the time to introduce different system names. If there is a need to have a different name for a computer (to satisfy IT policies), this should be done separately from the replacement process and separately tested to insure that the Landro system still operates correctly; contact Landro support for assistance.

• Networking

  The new computer must satisfy the networking requirements listed in the Landro Enterprise Edition Installation Guide. Specifically, the new computer must have a fixed IP address, the new computer must be able to resolve machine names to IP addresses for each of the other computers, and the other computers must be able to resolve the new computer's machine name to its IP address. For central servers, note the further requirement below that the new computer should have the IP address previously held by the old central server.

• Installation

  Each server must have the Landro Server software installed. This can be found on the Downloads page. We recommend that the Administration Tool and the Landro Monitor tool also be installed on each server, again from the Downloads page.

• Settings.ini

  After installation of the Landro Server software, you should copy a file called settings.ini from the "C:\Program Files\Landro\Landro Server" folder of the server being replaced to that same folder on the new server (replacing the file on the new server, if there is one). If the old server is not available to copy this file, then after all other install steps listed below, you will need to use the Administration tool to remove and reinitialize that system as described in the Installation Guide, or contact Landro support for further assistance.

• Automatic login

  Each server should be set up to automatically log on as a user account, so that the Landro server software runs as a user application. Under Windows XP, the startup user account should be the same account used for any Remote Desktop access (and any remote access should disconnect, rather than log out, when done). Under Windows Server, the startup user account should not have remote access rights, and the launch of Landro Server should be moved from the All Users Startup folder to that particular user account Startup folder.

Instructions for the Central Server

You will need the assistance of Landro technical support to move to a new central server. This means that you need to make the new central computer available to Landro remote access over the Internet. This can involve Microsoft Remote Access, a web-based technology such as GoToAssist or LogMeIn, or other approach, but it is your responsibility to make this access possible. (This is the same requirement for setting up a newly purchased Landro Enterprise system. Unless you received your original Landro server boxes directly from Landro, you have already had to do this before.)

If your original central server is still operational, you should have it also available for the remote access, albeit with a different machine name and IP address than it had before. Otherwise, you will need a full backup of the SQL database from the original system. If you do not have a database backup and the old central is unavailable, we can still work with you to recover your videos, but your settings for users and accounts and catalog system will all be lost.

You should have the new central server PC configured to the same IP address that was previously held by the old central server (first changing the IP address on the old central if it is still running). If you do not do this, you will need to manually modify the "settings.ini" file on each of your encoder servers and media servers to reflect the new IP address.

Instructions for Encoder Servers

You will need to install the encoder PCI card(s) in your new encoder server: either removing cards from the encoder being replaced, or installing new card(s) from Landro. The PCI cards should only be removed or inserted while the computer's power is off.

If your PCI slot will not accept the encoder card, do not force it - PCI slots are deliberately designed with keyed connectors that will refuse a card that doesn't match its intended card type. You will need to use a different server, or different mother board, that supports the 5V form of "conventional" PCI card. Check with your PC vendor.

When your computer powers up with the PCI card(s) installed, Windows will announce the discovery of new hardware. You can either install the drivers at that time, or later through the Device Manager function (within the Computer Properties). You will need the Landro Enterprise PCI Driver files, found on the Downloads page. This is a "zip" file; extract its contents to a folder on the encoder server's hard drive.

Installing the drivers, do not choose for Windows to find the correct drivers automatically; rather, choose to install from a manual location, and provide the folder where you extracted the driver files. Windows may warn you that the driver files are not digitally certified; this is normal and you should allow the installation to occur anyway. The card will change from an "unknown device" to an "Iris PCI" device under Sound, Video and Game Controllers. If you have additional encoder cards installed in the same PC, for each you can now let Windows find the drivers automatically since you provided the drivers for the first one.

The zip file containing the drivers also contains a "LandroServerTest" application for testing the functionality of the encoder card. If you have any difficulties with the new encoder server, Landro tech support may ask you to use that program to test your video and audio connections.

Once your new encoder server is up and running, you will need to use the Landro Administrator tool to adjust the configuration of this server, making sure that each encoder is recognized in the admin tool and enabled.

Instructions for Media Servers

A media server assigns one or more hard drives (drive letters) to storing Landro video files. You will need to use the Landro Administrator tool to enable each drive letter that will be used to store video. The drive letters and sizes do not need to match those of the server being replaced.

Each drive storing video files holds all the Landro files within a root folder named "landro_media." If there are no storage space constraints preventing it, simply copy the landro_media directory from an old media server drive to the root of a new media server drive. As long as your original Central database has not been lost, the videos will return to their proper users and categories as before, regardless of whether the drive letters are the same as they were.

If your new media server has fewer drives for storage than your old media server, you can copy from multiple old drives to a single new drive. You want the contents to merge into the same-named folders.

If you need to split up videos from a larger old drive to two new, smaller drives, this is also no problem. Copy some of the files to each new drive, making sure that both drives have the same folders (landro_media in the root, and one or more sub-folders with a combination of letters, numbers and dashes for names). Only take care to not have the same video file on more than one drive.

Landro Enterprise is extremely flexible in the location of files. As long as a video file is in the correctly named subfolder under landro_media on any enabled drive of any media server, it will be found and displayed in Landro within the proper categories, assigned to the proper user and so on.

 
If you have questions about (or during) the replacement process, contact Landro technical support at support@landro.com.