Archive structure (explained)

When you archive recordings, they are stored in a certain sub-directory structure within the archive.

During all regular use of your system, the sub-directory structure is completely transparent to the system's users, as they browse all recordings with the XProtect Smart Client regardless of whether the recordings are archived or not. Knowing the sub-directory structure is primarily interesting if you want to back up your archived recordings.

In each of the recording server's archive directories, the system automatically creates separate sub-directories. These sub-directories are named after the name of the device and the archive database.

Because you can store recordings from different cameras in the same archive, and since archiving for each camera is likely to be performed at regular intervals, further sub-directories are also automatically added.

These sub-directories each represent approximately an hour's worth of recordings. The one-hour split makes it possible to remove only relatively small parts of an archive's data if you reach the maximum allowed size of the archive.

The sub-directories are named after the device, followed by an indication of where the recordings came from (edge storage or via SMTP), plus the date and time of the most recent database record contained in the sub-directory.

Naming structure

...[Storage Path]\[Storage name]\[device-name] - plus date and time of most recent recording]\

If from edge storage:

...[Storage Path]\[Storage name]\[device-name] (Edge) - plus date and time of most recent recording]\

If from SMTP:

...[Storage Path]\[Storage name]\[device-name] (SMTP) - plus date and time of most recent recording]\

Real life example

...F:\OurArchive\Archive1\Camera 1 on Axis Q7404 Video Encoder(10.100.50.137) - 2011-10-05T11:23:47+02:00\

Sub-directories

Even further sub-directories are automatically added. The amount and nature of these sub-directories depend on the nature of the actual recordings. For example, several different sub-directories are added if the recordings are technically divided into sequences. This is often the case if you have used motion detection to trigger recordings.

  • Media: This folder contains the actual media that is either video or audio (not both)
  • MotionLevel: This folder contains motion level grids generated from the video data using our motion detection algorithm. This data allows the Smart Search feature in XProtect Smart Client to do very fast searches
  • Motion: In this folder, the system stores motion sequences. A motion sequence is a time slice for which motion has been detected in the video data. This information is, for example, used in the time line in XProtect Smart Client
  • Recording: In this folder, the system stores recording sequences. A recording sequence is a time slice for which there are coherent recordings of media data. This information is, for example, used to draw the time line in XProtect Smart Client
  • Signature: This folder holds the signatures generated for the media data (in the Media folder). With this information, you can verify that the media data has not been tampered with since it was recorded

If you want to back up your archives, you can target your backups if you know the basics of the sub-directory structure.

Examples of backup

To back up the content of an entire archive, back up the required archive directory and all of its content. For example, everything under:

...F:\OurArchive\

To back up the recordings from a particular camera from a particular period of time, back up the contents of the relevant sub-directories only. For example, everything under:

...F:\OurArchive\Archive1\Camera 1 on Axis Q7404 Video Encoder(10.100.50.137) - 2011-10-05T11:23:47+02:00\