ZoneMinder

ZoneMinder is an integrated set of applications which provide a complete surveillance solution allowing capture, analysis, recording and monitoring of any CCTV or security cameras attached to a Linux based machine. It is designed to run on distributions which support the Video For Linux (V4L) interface and has been tested with video cameras attached to BTTV cards, various USB cameras and also supports most IP network cameras.

Installation

Install the zoneminder^AUR package. The development branch is also available as zoneminder-git^AUR.

Note: It is very important that a LAMP stack is installed and properly configured in order for ZoneMinder to work.

Automatic configuration

The zoneminder^AUR package includes an optional helper script which can automate the setup process by modifying your web server and database configurations, and also starting (but not enabling) the required systemd services for ZoneMinder and its dependencies.

Warning: Make sure you thoroughly understand what this script does before deciding to use it.

After the script has done its work, ZoneMinder's web interface will be accessible at http://localhost:8095

Manual configuration

Apache

1) Edit Apache's /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf and uncomment the following lines:

LoadModule proxy_module modules/mod_proxy.so
LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module modules/mod_proxy_fcgi.so
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
LoadModule cgid_module modules/mod_cgid.so

2) In the same file, enable ZoneMinder's configuration by adding the following line at the end:

Include conf/extra/zoneminder.conf

Now start or restart httpd.service.

Nginx

Warning: Before using ZoneMinder with Nginx, make sure you have installed the optional dependencies fcgiwrap, spawn-fcgi and multiwatch^AUR.

Note: The following instructions will create a modular setup for Nginx similar to the one used by Debian-based distributions.

1) Edit Nginx's /etc/nginx/nginx.conf and add the following line at the end:

include       sites-enabled/*.conf;

2) Create the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled directory if it does not already exist:

# mkdir -p /etc/nginx/sites-enabled

3) Link ZoneMinder's configuration file from /etc/nginx/sites-available to /etc/nginx/sites-enabled:

# ln -sf /etc/nginx/sites-{available,enabled}/zoneminder.conf

Now start or restart fcgiwrap-multiwatch.service and nginx.service.

Tip: If fcgiwrap-multiwatch.service complains that a socket already exists and refuses to start, check the status of fcgiwrap.socket and fcgiwrap.service and stop them if they are active.

MariaDB

1) If you have not already done so, stop mariadb.service and initialize MariaDB's default database:

# mysql_install_db --user=mysql --basedir=/usr --datadir=/var/lib/mysql 2> /dev/null

2) Start mariadb.service and create a database and user for ZoneMinder:

Note: If you have not set a password for MariaDB's root user (which you really should), run the following commands without the -p option.

# mysql -u root -p < /usr/share/zoneminder/db/zm_create.sql
# mysql -u root -p -e "grant select,insert,update,delete,create,drop,alter,index,lock tables,alter routine,create routine,trigger,execute on zm.* to 'zmuser'@localhost identified by 'zmpass';"

Final steps

Run the following command to create some volatile files and directories that are required by ZoneMinder during runtime:

# systemd-tmpfiles --create

Then, in addition to any services already started in the above steps, start php-fpm.service and zoneminder.service. ZoneMinder's web interface will be accessible at http://localhost:8095.

Troubleshooting

Logs by default are kept in /var/log/zoneminder. You can also inspect the log within the web interface.

See the upstream wiki page: Troubleshooting.

Flushing application data

This is useful for developers or users that need to wipe all ZoneMinder and start fresh.

Recreate the database

Drop the ZoneMinder MySQL database and delete the MySQL user:

# mysql -u root -p

DROP DATABASE zm;
DROP USER 'zmuser'@'localhost';

Recreate the database and user:

# mysql -u root -p

CREATE DATABASE zm;
CREATE USER 'zmuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'zmpass';
GRANT CREATE, INSERT, SELECT, DELETE, UPDATE ON zm.* TO 'zmuser'@'localhost';
exit

Import the preconfigured tables into your newly created zm database:

# mysql -u root -p zm < /usr/share/zoneminder/db/zm_create.sql

Flush the cache folders

Warning: This removes all images and events.

# rm -Rf /var/cache/zoneminder/events/* /var/cache/zoneminder/images/* /var/cache/zoneminder/temp/*

Local video devices

It is important that the user running httpd (usually http) can access your cameras, for example:

$ groups http

video http

$ ls -l /dev/video0

crw-rw----+ 1 root video 81, 0 Oct 28 21:54 /dev/video0

That is, add the http user to the video group.

To add a user to the group run the command:

# usermod -aG video http

Multiple local USB cameras

If you observe an error like, libv4l2: error turning on stream: No space left on device when using multiple USB video devices (such as multiple webcams), you may need to increase the bandwidth on the bus.

Test first by stopping zoneminder.service, then:

# rmmod uvcvideo
# modprobe uvcvideo quirks=128

Start zoneminder.service and if the issue is resolved, persist the change by adding the module option to /etc/modprobe.d/uvcvideo.conf. For example:

options uvcvideo nodrop=1 quirks=128

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