Cloud Services: What to expect during an outage

Applies to: all Hanwha Cloud Services

Summary

Hanwha Vision Cloud services may occasionally become temporarily unavailable. While the system displays clear on-screen notices for scheduled maintenance, unscheduled maintenance or unexpected incidents can also occur. This article answers common questions about what to expect during an outage.

Experiencing a Service Outage

General

How do I check the current status?

The Status page shows the state for each service and lists all maintenance events and incidents.

OnCloud

For OnCloud, what should I expect if I have edge recording set up?

Edge recording (Edge-CVR licenses) cameras will buffer video, snapshots, and event metadata on the MicroSD Card during an outage.

Once connectivity is restored, the buffered data will be uploaded.  Note:  There may be some loss of events and snapshots during the first 1-2 minutes of the outage and/or if the MicroSD Card does not have enough space to accomodate all events generated during the outage.

No notifications will be sent in response to any event that occured during the outage.

You can review the footage once service resumes. Until it resumes you cannot log in to OnCloud so you cannot view or replay anything.

For OnCloud, what should I expect if I have cloud recording set up with trickle back SD storage?

OnCloud cameras that record direct to the cloud continue to buffer video, snapshots, and event metadata on the MicroSD Card during an outage if a local SD card is configured for trickle-back recording.

Once connectivity is restored, the buffered data will be uploaded.  

NOTE: There may be some loss of events and snapshots during the first 1-2 minutes 
of the outage and/or if the MicroSD Card does not have enough space to accommodate 
all data generated during the outage.

No notifications are sent in response to any event that occurred during the outage.

You can review the footage once service resumes. Until it resumes, you cannot log in to OnCloud to view or replay anything.

OnCloud and other ONVIF cameras that record to the cloud via the Cloud Gateway Appliance will buffer in the camera, provided they have local storage and are ONVIF G compatible.

For OnCloud, what should I expect if I have cloud recording set up with no local storage?

OnCloud cameras that record direct to the cloud and have no local storage cannot buffer anything. All video, snapshots, and events during the outage will be lost. No notifications are sent.

Can I view an OnCloud camera during the outage?

No. You cannot use OnCloud to view cameras during an outage because you cannot log in to OnCloud.

However, if you have the necessary permissions, you can access an individual camera live feed directly through its built-in web page. Even if you configure the camera for edge recording, you cannot replay video via the camera’s webpage.

SightMind

Will I keep SightMind events that happen during the outage?

No. Hanwha cameras continue to tally events in the Analytics section, but those events do not appear in SightMind after service resumes. As a result, SightMind event counts may be lower than in-camera counts.

WiseAI analytic events, such as slip and fall, will also be lost.

HealthPro

Will I get a flood of HealthPro notifications?

In most cases, no. You do not receive a flood of notifications that devices are offline. When service resumes, you also do not receive a flood of messages as devices become visible to HealthPro again.

Depending on the situation, there is a possibility of numerous offline/online events. Cloud services are not distributed in a single data center and are comprised of many services and facilities. Issues may occur based on the nature of the failure and the recovery process.

Will HealthPro Bridge buffer health events?

No. HealthPro Bridge does not buffer health events.

For example, if a camera goes offline during an outage, the system does not record the exact moment it went offline. However, if the camera remains offline after the service resumes, the system notifies you. HealthPro reflects real-time conditions accurately.

OnCAFE

For OnCAFE, can I control a door/elevator/group during the outage?
No. You cannot use OnCAFE to interact with entities during an outage because you cannot log in to OnCAFE.

For OnCAFE, will controllers still function?
Yes. All controllers have a local database where they can store their configuration so that they continue to function. 

This means that during a service outage, all cardholders that had access to an entity (door/elevator) on that controller continue to have their proper access (in terms of specific doors/elevator floors, as well as their assigned schedules). 

The controller also maintains the lock/unlock schedules and can properly control when to lock and unlock the doors and elevator floors. 

Single controller automation also continues to function properly during a service outage, and all events from any action on the controller are stored in the controllers local cache.
 

For OnCAFE, will controllers buffer events?
Yes. All controllers have a local database where they can cache events (typically around 250,000 events) to ensure that no event data is lost. 

This means that during a service outage, all events that occur (such as access granted, access denied, door open, door held, etc.) are saved locally on the controller. 

Once the service outage is resolved, those events are then uploaded to the cloud along with their correct timestamp and become available for review and reporting.

SalesHub

Will I still be able to purchase licenses via SalesHub?

No. SalesHub cannot to generate licenses during a cloud service outage.