Licenses and hardware replacement (explained)

If a camera in the system gets faulty or you for other reasons want to replace the camera with a new one, there are some best practices of how it should be done.

If you remove a camera from a recording server, you free a device license, but you also lose full access to all databases (cameras, microphones, inputs, outputs) and the settings of the old camera. To keep access to the databases of the old camera and reuse its settings when replacing it with a new camera, use the relevant option below.

Replace camera with a similar camera

If you replace a camera with a similar camera (manufacturer, brand, and model), and if you give the new camera the same IP address as the old one, you maintain full access to all databases of the old camera. The new camera continues to use the same databases and settings as the old camera. In this case, you move the network cable from the old camera to the new one without changing any settings in Management Client.

Replace camera with a different camera

If you replace a camera with a different camera (manufacturer, brand, and model), you must use the Replace Hardware wizard (see Replace hardware) to map all relevant databases of the old camera to the new one and reuse the settings of the old camera.

License activation after hardware replacement

If you have enabled automatic license activation (see Enable automatic license activation), the new camera is automatically activated.

If automatic license activation is disabled, and if all of the available device changes without activation have been used (see Device changes without activation (explained)), you must manually activate your licenses. For more information about manually activating licenses, see Activate licenses online or Activate licenses offline.