Introduction to Flussonic Watcher

Flussonic Watcher is a complete video surveillance software system that works with a distributed IP camera network. This system can be used for video streaming, recording and managing video archives.

Flussonic Watcher is a scalable and ready-to-use system with flexible integration options. This web and mobile-oriented solution can solve various business tasks: from launching a corporate cloud video monitoring to a municipal video surveillance system that covers the entire city or state.

Watcher supports small to medium to large projects with unlimited number of cameras. The number of cameras is limited only by hardware.

When working in a cluster of servers, Watcher ensures the fault-tolerance of stream ingest (failover).

Flussonic Watcher presentation

Areas of appliance:

• Internet providers — to launch a dedicated cloud-based video surveillance service and offer it to their customers for an additional fee. Watcher can be easily integrated with any provider and its existing billing system.
• Management companies — for live video broadcasts from socially significant facilities and construction monitoring.
• Production — to perform audio-video monitoring on factories, courts, polling stations, etc.
• Municipal and federal projects — to provide free access to public cameras, as well as limited access to security organizations.

Parts of Flussonic Watcher:

The general Flussonic Watcher architecture is shown below:

Details on the system parts:

Cameras

• Any camera with RTSP support can be added to Watcher. However, connection without special tools (described below) may lead to some limitations.
• Cameras with Agent are a plug-and-play solution designed to make the connection process simple and secure by creating an encrypted tunnel between the server and the camera. Please refer to this page for details.
• Cameras with our in-house developed Iris firmware bring all the advantages of the Agent while providing additional features to connect a Wi-Fi camera via a QR code in just a few simple steps. Please refer to this page for details. You can order the cameras with Iris on our website.

Servers

Watcher includes three types of servers:

• Streamers with robust and reliable Flussoniс Media Server providing:

  • Capturing video from cameras.
  • Audio transcoding.
  • Recording the archive.
  • Multi-protocol video delivery to various devices.

  Note

  When Media Server runs as part of Watcher, its configuration is controlled by Flussonic Central via config_external. Changing the stream configuration directly in the Media Server web interface or configuration file is not supported.

• Flussonic Central is a part of managing server providing:

  • Camera and Agent provisioning and activation, distribution between streamers.
  • Load balancing, failover and scalability.
  • Video analytics for online face recognition and LPR.
  • Remote camera setup and maintenance.

  Flussonic Central can be used without Watcher VMS. Learn more here

• Flussonic Watcher VMS is a part of managing server providing:

  • Database of all users and cameras.
  • User access management.
  • Archive quotas.
  • Camera hierarchy managing.

  Watcher VMS can also be installed separately from the rest of the system components on one or more separate servers to distribute the load and improve reliability.

Flussonic Watcher editions

Flussonic Watcher comes in two editions that define servers configuration:

1. Single is a basic version limited to one server for all the above functions. It is good for smaller projects not requiring failover or branding, for example for video surveillance on one site.

2. Cluster is a scalable edition with failover capabilities and out-of-the-box branding tools with different functions distributed between several servers. It is good for VSaaS providers and large-scale video surveillance systems.

Hardware requirements to servers depend on the edition you select. Please refer to Watcher installation ways for details on these editions.

You may also find general info and instructions on server calculations in Selecting hardware for video surveillance.

Applications

• Both users and administrators will appreciate the comprehensive ready-to-use web interface available in any modern mobile or desktop browser. The web interface includes a dashboard with cameras and archive, favorites, map, user and camera management tools, system settings, interface branding tools and much more.

• Let your users access their cameras and archive from anywhere anytime with Watcher iOS and Android mobile applications: all they need is a mobile device. In the basic version, users need to know a few numbers (Operator ID) to log into the app and view the cameras. We also offer a service for mobile applications branding: we will design our application in your company style (with your logo and color scheme) and hide the ID. Please contact our support team for details.

• Use Watcher API for integration with complex solutions requiring video surveillance or create your own applications. You may also need the API to fine-tune the billing preferences in your VSaaS.

• Expand your existing app with video surveillance functions or even create your own app with Watcher mobile SDK for iOS and Android.

• User experience in Watcher is not limited with just web UI and mobile phones: you can watch video from cameras on a TV, as well as embed video on your website or share it with someone else using a direct link.