Install new XProtect components

Installing through Download Manager (explained)

If you want to install system components on computers other than where the management server is installed, you must install these system components through the Management Server's download website Download Manager.

  1. From the computer where Management Server is installed, go to the Management Server's download web page. In Windows' Start menu, select Programs > Milestone > Administrative Installation Page and write down or copy the internet address for later use when installing the system components on the other computers. The address is typically http://[management server address]/installation/Admin/default-en-US.htm.
  2. Log in to each of the other computers to install one or more of the other system components:
  3. Open an internet browser, enter the address of the Management Server's download web page into the address field, and download the relevant installer.
  4. Run the installer.

See Install your system - Custom option if in doubt about the selections and settings in the different installation steps.

Install a recording server through Download Manager

If your system components are distributed on separate computers, you can install the recording servers by following the instructions below.

The recording server is already installed if you made a Single Computer installation, but you can use the same instructions to add more recording servers if you need more capacity.

If you need to install a failover recording server, see Install new XProtect components.

  1. From the computer where Management Server is installed, go to the Management Server's download web page. In Windows' Start menu, select Programs > Milestone > Administrative Installation Page and write down or copy the internet address for later use when installing the system components on the other computers. The address is typically http://[management server address]/installation/Admin/default-en-US.htm.
  2. Log into the computer where you want to install the recording server.
  3. Open an internet browser and enter the address of the Management Server's download web page into the address field and press Enter.
  4. Download the recording server installer by selecting All Languages below the Recording Server Installer. Save the installer or run it directly from the web page.
  5. Select the Language you want to use during the installation. Click Continue.
  6. On the Select an installation type page, select:

    Typical to install a recording server with default values, or

    Custom to install a recording server with custom values.

  7. On the Specify recording server settings page, specify the different recording server settings:
    1. In the Recording server name field, enter the name of the recording server. The default is the name of the computer.
    2. The Management server address field shows the address and port number of the management server: localhost:80.
    3. In the Select your media database location field, select the location where you want to save your video recording. Milestone recommends that you save your video recordings in a separate location from where you install the software and not on the system drive. The default location is the drive with the most space available.
    4. In Retention time for video recordings field, define for how long you want to save the video recordings. You can enter from between 1 and 999 days, where 7 days is the default retention time.
    5. Click Continue.
  8. The Recording servers IP addresses page is shown only if you selected Custom. Specify the number of recording servers that you want to install on this computer. Click Continue.

  9. On the Select service account for recording server, select either This predefined account or This account to select the service account for the recording server.

    If needed, enter a password.

    The user name for the account must be a single word. It must not have a space.

    Click Continue.

  10. On the Select encryption page, you can secure the communication flows:

    • Between the recording servers, data collectors, and the management server

      To enable encryption for internal communication flows, in the Server certificate section, select a certificate.

      If you encrypt the connection from the recording server to the management server, the system requires that you also encrypt the connection from the management server to the recording server.

    • Between the recording servers and clients

      To enable encryption between recording servers and client components that retrieve data streams from the recording server, in the Streaming media certificate section, select a certificate.

    • Between the mobile server and clients

      To enable encryption between client components that retrieve data streams from the mobile server, in the Mobile streaming media certificate section, select a certificate.

    You can use the same certificate file for all system components or use different certificate files depending on the system components.

    For more information about preparing your system for secure communication, see Secure communication (explained) and the Milestone guide about certificates.

    You can also enable encryption after installation from the Server Configurator in the Management Server Manager tray icon in the notification area.

  11. On the Select file location and product language page, select the File location for the program files.

    If any Milestone XProtect VMS product is already installed on the computer, this field is disabled. The field displays the location where the component will be installed.

  12. In the Product language field, select the language in which to install your XProtect product. Click Install.

    The software now installs. When the installation completes, you see a list of successfully installed system components. Click Close.

  13. When you have installed the recording server, you can check its state from the Recording Server Manager tray icon and configure it in Management Client. For more information, see Initial configuration tasks list.

Install a failover recording server through Download Manager

If you run workgroups, you must use the alternative installation method for failover recording servers (see Installation for workgroups).

  1. From the computer where Management Server is installed, go to the Management Server's download web page. In Windows' Start menu, select Programs > Milestone > Administrative Installation Page and write down or copy the internet address for later use when installing the system components on the other computers. The address is typically http://[management server address]/installation/Admin/default-en-US.htm.
  2. Log into the computer where you want to install the failover recording server.
  3. Open an internet browser, enter the address of the Management Server's download web page into the address field and download the recording server installer. Save the installer or run it directly from the web page.
  4. Download the recording server installer by selecting All Languages below the Recording Server Installer. Save the installer or run it directly from the web page.
  5. Select the Language you want to use during the installation. Click Continue.
  6. On the Select an installation type page, select Failover to install a recording server as a failover recording server.

  7. On the Specify recording server settings page, specify the different recording server settings. The name of the failover recording server, the address of the management server, and the path to the media database. Click Continue.

  8. On the Select service account for recording server page and when installing a failover recording server, you must use the particular user account named This account. This creates the failover user account. If needed, enter a password and confirm this. Click Continue.

  9. On the Select encryption page, you can secure the communication flows:

    • Between the recording servers, data collectors, and the management server

      To enable encryption for internal communication flows, in the Server certificate section, select a certificate.

      If you encrypt the connection from the recording server to the management server, the system requires that you also encrypt the connection from the management server to the recording server.

    • Between the recording servers and clients

      To enable encryption between recording servers and client components that retrieve data streams from the recording server, in the Streaming media certificate section, select a certificate.

    • Between the mobile server and clients

      To enable encryption between client components that retrieve data streams from the mobile server, in the Mobile streaming media certificate section, select a certificate.

    You can use the same certificate file for all system components or use different certificate files depending on the system components.

    For more information about preparing your system for secure communication, see Secure communication (explained) and the Milestone guide about certificates.

    You can also enable encryption after installation from the Server Configurator in the Management Server Manager tray icon in the notification area.

  10. On the Select file location and product language page, select the File location for the program files.

    If any Milestone XProtect VMS product is already installed on the computer, this field is disabled. The field displays the location where the component will be installed.

  11. In the Product language field, select the language in which to install your XProtect product. Click Install.

    The software now installs. When the installation completes, you see a list of successfully installed system components. Click Close.

  12. When you have installed the failover recording server, you can check its state from the Failover Server service tray icon and configure it in Management Client. For more information, see Initial configuration tasks list.

Installing silently through a command line shell (explained)

With silent installation, system administrators can install and upgrade the Recording Server and Smart Client software over a large network with no user interactions from their part and with as little disturbance to the end users as possible.

The Recording Server and Smart Client installers (.exe files) have different command line arguments. They each have their own set of command line parameters that can be invoked directly in a command line shell or through an arguments file. In the command line shell, you can also use command line options with the installers.

You can combine the XProtect installers, their command line parameters and command line options with tools for silent distribution and installation of software, like Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM, also known as ConfigMgr). For more information about such tools, visit the manufacturer's website. You can also use Milestone Software Manager for remote installing and updating of Recording Server, device packs, and Smart Client. For more information, see the Milestone Software Manager documentation.

Command line parameters and arguments files

During silent installation, you can specify settings that are closely linked to the different VMS system components and their internal communication with command line parameters and arguments files. Command line parameters and arguments files should only be used for new installations because you cannot change the settings that the command line parameters represent during an upgrade.

To see the available command line parameters and to generate an arguments file for an installer, in the command line shell, navigate to the directory where the installer is located and enter the following command:

[NameOfExeFile].exe ‑‑generateargsfile=[path]

Example:

MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑generateargsfile=c:\temp

In the saved arguments file (Arguments.xml), each command line parameter has a description that explains its purpose. You can modify and save the arguments file so that the command line parameter values suit your installation needs.

When you want to use an arguments file with its installer, use the ‑‑arguments command line option by entering the following command:

[NameOfExeFile].exe ‑‑quiet ‑‑arguments=[path]\[filename]

Example:

MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑quiet ‑‑arguments=C:\temp\arguments.xml

Command line options

In the command line shell, you can also combine installers with command line options. The command line options generally modify the behavior of a command.

To see the full list of command line options, in the command line shell, navigate to the directory where the installer is located and enter [NameOfExeFile].exe ‑‑help. For the installation to be successful, you must specify a value for command line options that require a value.

You can use both command line parameters and command line options in the same command. Use the ‑‑parameters command line option and divide each command line parameter with a colon (:). In the example below, ‑‑quiet, ‑‑showconsole, and ‑‑parameters are command line options, and ISFAILOVER and RECORDERNAME are command line parameters:

MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑quiet ‑‑showconsole ‑‑parameters=ISFAILOVER:true:RECORDERNAME:Failover1

Install a recording server silently

When you install silently, you are not notified when the installation is completed. To get notified, include the ‑‑showconsole command line option in the command. The Milestone XProtect Recording Server tray icon appears when the installation is completed.

In the command examples below, the text inside square brackets ([ ]) and the square brackets themselves must be replaced with real values. Example: instead of "[path]" you could enter "d:\program files\", d:\record\, or \\network‑storage‑02\surveillance. Use the ‑‑help command line option to read about the legal formats of each command line option value.

  1. Log in to the computer where you want to install the Recording Server component.
  2. Open an internet browser and enter the address of the Management Server's download web page that is targeted at the administrators into the address field and press Enter.

    3. The address is typically http://[management server address]:[port]/installation/Admin/default‑en‑US.htm.

  3. Download the recording server installer by selecting All Languages below Recording Server Installer.
  4. Open your preferred command line shell. To open Windows Command Prompt, open the Windows Start menu and enter cmd.
  5. Navigate to the directory with the downloaded installer.
  6. Continue the installation depending on one of the two scenarios below:

    Scenario 1: Upgrade an existing installation, or install on server with the Management Server component with default values

    • Enter the following command and the installation starts.

      • MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑quiet

    Scenario 2: Install in a distributed system

    1. Enter the following command to generate an arguments file with command line parameters.

      2. MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑generateargsfile=[path]

    2. Open the arguments file (Arguments.xml) from the specified path and modify the command line parameter values if needed.
    3. Make sure that you give the command line parameters SERVERHOSTNAME and SERVERPORT valid values. If not, the installation cannot complete.
    4. Save the arguments file.
    5. Return to the command line shell and enter the command below to install with the command line parameter values specified in the arguments file.

      6. MilestoneXProtectRecordingServerInstaller_x64.exe ‑‑quiet ‑‑arguments=[path]\[filename]

Install XProtect Smart Client silently

When you install silently, you are not notified when the installation is completed. To get notified, include the ‑‑showconsole command line option in the command. A shortcut to XProtect Smart Client appears on the desktop when the installation is completed.

In the command examples below, the text inside square brackets ([ ]) and the square brackets themselves must be replaced with real values. Example: instead of "[path]" you could enter "d:\program files\", d:\record\, or \\network‑storage‑02\surveillance. Use the ‑‑help command line option to read about the legal formats of each command line option value.

  1. Open an internet browser and enter the address of the Management Server's download web page that is targeted at the end users into the address field and press Enter.

    2. The address is typically http://[management server address]:[port]/installation/default‑en‑US.htm.

  2. Download the XProtect Smart Client installer by selecting All Languages below XProtect Smart Client Installer.
  3. Open your preferred command line shell. To open Windows Command Prompt, open the Windows Start menu and enter cmd.
  4. Navigate to the directory with the downloaded installer.
  5. Continue the installation depending on one of the two scenarios below:

    Scenario 1: Upgrade an existing installation, or install with default command line parameter values

    • Enter the following command and the installation starts.

      • XProtect Smart Client 2020 R3 Installer.exe ‑‑quiet

    Scenario 2: Install with customized command line parameter values using an xml arguments file as input

    1. Enter the following command to generate an arguments xml file with command line parameters.

      2. XProtect Smart Client 2020 R3 Installer.exe ‑‑generateargsfile=[path]

    2. Open the arguments file (Arguments.xml) from the specified path and modify the command line parameter values if needed.
    3. Save the arguments file.
    4. Return to the command line shell and enter the command below to install with the command line parameter values specified in the arguments file.

      5. XProtect Smart Client 2020 R3 Installer.exe ‑‑quiet ‑‑arguments=[path]\[filename]