Release Notes for MOBOTIX HUB Software

Document Information

Publisher: MOBOTIX AG
Author: Bernd Wilhelm
Date: 2021-12-17
Document: MxHUB2021R1_release-notes_en_v2.html
Confidentiality: public

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

Release Version

Release Date

HUB 2021 R2
2021-12-14
HUB 2021 R1
2021-08-18
HUB 2020 R3
2021-05-26

System Requirements

MOBOTIX HUB is suitable for installation and operation on Windows systems. The computers used must meet certain system requirements for the following software and hardware components:

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

Supported camera models

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

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

File

Purpose

Installation required or optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_VMS_Products_<Hub version>_System_Installer.exe

Installation of all server and client components

Required

MOBOTIX_HUB_Desk_Client_<Hub version>_Installer_x64.exe

Installing the Desk Client application on 64-bit Windows computers on a distributed system

Optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_Desk_Client_<Hub version>_Installer.exe

Installing the Desk Client application on 32-bit computers on a distributed system

Optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_Plug-Ins_<Plugin version>_Installer.exe

Install specific extensions of the Desk Client on 64-bit Windows systems for specific app features of the MOBOTIX 7 IoT cameras

Optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_MobileServer_<Hub version>_Installer_x64.exe

Installing a server component to use a HUB Web Client or HUB Mobile Client

Optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_VideoOS_OpenNetworkBridge_<Hub version>_Installer.exe

Installation of a special server component for remote access to MOBOTIX HUB live streams or recordings by RTSP clients via the ONVIF interface

Optional

MOBOTIX_HUB_VMSDriverInstaller<Driver version>.exe (available in the Support > Download Center > Software Downloads > MOBOTIX HUB section of the MOBOTIX website)

Installation of all device-specific drivers for the different camera models (MOBOTIX IoT, MOVE and other manufacturers)

Required

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:

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

To install the MOBOTIX HUB, please refer to the Sections System Requirements and Important notes on installing on Windows systems Important Notes for Installation on Windows Systems. The following applies to the names of the installation files described there:


Note: For more information about the features described below, see the program's online help.

New and improved features

Bookmark functions in Web Client and mobile Clients

Bookmark functionality has been added to the web client and to the mobile clients. Users can now add and edit bookmarks from the Web Client in a way similar to the Smart Client. Quick bookmarks can be added in Live and grid. Detailed bookmarks can be added in Single camera Playback. The bookmark headline, description and start, event and end times can be edited. Users can also search for bookmarks via the Bookmarks tab. It is possible to filter by "My Bookmarks" and then see the details and play the selected bookmark.

Improvements in the Management Client

Improvements in the Recording Server

Changes have been made in the Recording Server and the media database to reduce startup time after an uncontrolled shutdown of the service. Previously a directory scan was needed to rebuild information about tables in the media database.
This has been changed by introducing a small SQL database containing information about all the tables. Table information can be restored from this database in most cases after an uncontrolled shutdown. The small SQL database is implemented using SQLite and no additional components are needed on the Re-cording Server. The SQLite database files are stored in %PROGRAMDATA%\MOBOTIX HUB and it is recommended that this folder is excluded from anti-virus scanning.

Changes in the Desk Client

The following improvements have been implemented in this application:

Further changes in the Mobile Clients

Please check the release notes for the mobile clients in the Apple AppStore and Google Play Store.
 

New functions in MOBOTIX HUB add-on products

XProtect LPR

MOBOTIX HUB LPR 2021 R1 introduces these new country modules

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:

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.


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Version 2021 R1 of MOBOTIX HUB

Published on: 2021-08-18

To install the MOBOTIX HUB, please refer to the Sections System Requirements and Important notes on installing on Windows systems Important Notes for Installation on Windows Systems. The following applies to the names of the installation files described there:

New and improved features

Note: For more information about the features described below, see the program's online help.

Licensing per activated channel

MOBOTIX HUB VMS products 2021 R1 introduce an improvement in the licensing model allowing more enabled channels per device than previously. Some devices now require one device license per enabled channel. The license requirements for a device can be found in the document "List of supported devices" on the MOBOTIX web page in the section Support > Download Center > Marketing & Documentation > Video Management Systems > MOBOTIX HUB.

When installing 2021 R1, a warning will be shown if the amount of device licenses used by the system will be affected by the improvement in licensing. In this case, the warning provides a link to a report including those devices which will require more than 1 device license. The warning also provides an option to cancel the installation.

Increased number of supported device channels

The number of supported device channels has increased from 16 channels to 512 channels for the ONVIF driver, from 64 channels to 512 channels for the Universal Drivers, and from 1 channel to unlimited number of channels for the MIP Driver Framework.
ONVIF driver update
The current ONVIF (one-channel) driver has been modified to support up to 512 channels per device. This means that all ONVIF conformant devices can be added to the system with the existing ONVIF driver effective of MOBOTIX HUB version 2021 R1 and later, regardless of the number of channels. For MOBOTIX HUB versions released before 2021 R1, the ONVIF driver will still support 1-channel devices only.
The current ONVIF16 (16-channels) driver has not been changed. It will remain in the upcoming Driver Device Packs for backward compatibility but will no longer be updated with new functionality.
Universal driver update
A new Universal512 driver is now available, supporting devices with up to 512 channels.

Change in administration and functionality of basic user accounts

User management for the concept of basic users has been changed. When a HUB system administrator creates a new basic user, a temporary password is set. It is recommended that the administrator checks the box "Force basic user to change password on next login". The following applies to the registration process and the parameters:

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

It is now possible to update device firmware through the Management Client. This new feature allows you to update the firmware for a single device only or for several devices of the same brand/model together. There is a new wizard for bulk firmware update available in the Maintenance menu of the Management Client.
The new feature makes it easier for the VMS administrators to maintain the latest device firmware when a new firmware is available. This feature is available in the following system versions and for the following device drivers:

Note: This feature also depends on the current firmware version of the device. Some old versions do not support a firmware update from MOBOTIX HUB.


Pro Map improvements

Pro Map kann jetzt Kartenelemente verschiedener Typen gruppieren. Dies ermöglicht einen einfacheren Überblick über Systeme mit vielen Geräten an einem Ort. Beim Verkleinern werden Kartenelemente zu Clustern kombiniert, und beim Vergrößern werden die Cluster auseinander gerissen, bis bei den niedrigsten Zoomstufen Elemente einzeln angezeigt werden. Pro Map kombiniert jetzt einzelne Kameras und andere Geräte zu Clustern, um eine einfache und unkomplizierte Navigation und Visualisierung beim Verkleinern zu gewährleisten.

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

Media database repair improvements

Improving the stability of the media database is an ongoing process. In this release, we have improved the repair time for a corrupted media database.

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.

The following is an example of a test performed:

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

In this case, we saw a 46% improvement in repair time compared to previous versions

New functions in MOBOTIX HUB add-on products

XProtect LPR

MOBOTIX HUB LPR 2021 R1 contains these new country modules:

Changes and solved issues

General changes

Changes in the MOBOTIX HUB Management Client

Changes in the MOBOTIX HUB Web Client

In this application, the functions have been improved:

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.


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Version 2020 R3 of MOBOTIX HUB

Published on: 2021-05-26


To install the MOBOTIX HUB, please refer to the Sections System Requirements and Important notes on installing on Windows systems Important Notes for Installation on Windows Systems

Specific features for MOBOTIX IoT cameras

Note: For additional information about the features described in the following, please see the application's online help.

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:

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. 

Note: This special search function of the Desk Client requires a MOBOTIX HUB variant L4 or L5..


In order for the events of a MOBOTIX IoT camera to be used as "dynamic events"
in the MOBOTIX HUB, the following preparations are necessary on the IoT camera before  inserting it into MOBOTIX HUB:

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:

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

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.

Note: This special search function of the Desk Client requires a MOBOTIX HUB variant L4 or L5..

Known Limitations

The following limitations currently apply to version 2020 R3.


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