Documentation for Axxon PSIM 2.0. Documentation for other versions of PSIM is available too.

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Getting started

How to install Axxon PSIM?

Axxon PSIM can be installed with one of these installation types:

  1. Server/Remote Administrator’s workstation

    Complete guide Installation of Axxon PSIM as a Server/Remote Administrator's workstation

  2. Remote Client

    Complete guide Installation of Axxon PSIM software to the Client

These installation types have the following purpose:

  1. Servers are meant for digital imaging, processing, recording, network transmission and video display from surveillance cameras.
  2. Remote Administrators’ workstations are meant for video remote monitoring, gatewaying and archiving of video streams, protocolling of registered events in Axxon PSIM. Also, they are meant for using as the web server for transmitting video via the HTTP protocol (used for transmitting video via the Internet and displaying by means of standard web browsers). The requirements for Remote Administrator’s workstation are being determined by their purpose of function.
  3. Remote Clients are meant for video and audio playback coming from the Servers of video surveillance system. Also, they are meant for controlling the cameras, microphones, PTZ devices and so on.

How to choose video card and select hardware platform?

If the video signal display is required on Server, RAW or Client, it means the video card is required for the Axxon PSIM proper operation:
  • Discrete: NVIDIA GeForce GT520 1GB RAM or more productive.
  • Embedded: Intel HD Graphics 530 or more productive.

Complete guide General requirements for PCs

You can select the hardware platform depending on the number of video channels using the calculator: https://sale.axxonsoft.com/calc/calculator.jsf. The documentation on calculator is available on the following link.

Where can I find the list of TCP ports?

There are default ports used for Axxon PSIM operation. You can change the ports using the ChangePort registry key.

Complete guides

The list of TCP ports used in Axxon PSIM

Registry keys reference guide


Which settings should I adjust in OS for the correct operation of Remote Administrator's workstation, Server and Client?

To ensure the correct operation of Remote Administrator's workstation (RAW) or Server, disable the UAC, give the OS user the rights on Axxon PSIM registry branch, allow access to installation, archive and DB backup copies folders, and configure the local security policy.

Complete guide OS settings for correct operation of Remote Admin Workstation or Server

To ensure the correct operation of the Client, give the OS user the rights on Axxon PSIM registry branch and installation folder.

Complete guide OS settings for correct operation of Remote Client

How to connect with Axxon PSIM from a mobile device?

You can use a mobile app to connect to Axxon PSIM from a mobile device (smartphone or tablet). There are Axxon PSIM mobile clients on iOS and Android platforms.

Use the following URL to connect (if Axxon PSIM Server settings are default):

<Server IP address>:<port>/web2

Example:

192.168.0.10:8085/web2 

Complete guides about Server connection

Connecting to the Server and working with Servers in the AxxonNet iOS mobile client

Connection and Server operations in AxxonNet client on Android OS

Complete guides about mobile apps

General information about the AxxonNet iOS mobile client

General information about the AxxonNet mobile client on Android OS


How do I merge separate servers into a single configuration?

To merge several separate Axxon PSIM Servers with separate license keys and separate databases to a single common configuration, do the following:
  1. Update all Servers and Clients in the distributed system to the same Axxon PSIM version.

  2. Make sure that your network or firewall settings do not restrict any ports required for Axxon PSIM operation on any Server. See the list of ports by the following link:

    Complete guide The list of TCP ports used in Axxon PSIM™

  3. Combine all license files into a single license file. It will be used on all servers. To do this, please contact your AxxonSoft manager. Please note that the maximum allowed number of Clients is only limited by the license. Please contact your AxxonSoft manager for details.
  4. Create the single common configuration as follows:
    1. Select a Server to be the main Server in the distributed system. Put the single license file you received from the manager to the Axxon PSIM installation folder on this main Server. If you don't have the license file yet, enable the Axxon PSIM Demo mode as follows:
      1. Shut Axxon PSIM down.
      2. Remove the psim.sec license file from the Axxon PSIM installation folder to any other folder (e.g. to the Desktop).
      3. Pull out the USB dongle (Guardant or MatrixLock).
      4. Run Axxon PSIM.

    2. Configure the distributed system on the Hardware tab: add all the Servers, Video capture devices and other objects.

      Complete guide Configuration of hardware

    3. Configure connections on the Architecture tab: specify all the IP addresses and/or DNS names.

      Complete guide Configuration of distributed architecture

    4. Having configured the above, distribute the single license file between all Servers and enable database synchronization on each Server. Synchronize each secondary Server with the main Server. The SQL database of the main Server must be the source of synchronization.

      Complete guide Configuring database synchronization

    5. If the above configuration was performed in the Axxon PSIM Demo mode, proceed as follows:

      1. Create a backup copy of the database.

        Complete guide Creating the database backup copy

      2. Restore this backup on each Server.

        Complete guide Restoring database from backup copy

      3. Put the single psim.sec license file to the Axxon PSIM installation folder on each Server.

The merging according to these instructions will help you to start using Axxon PSIM immediately after completing all the actions described. If everything is configured correctly, Axxon PSIM will launch in a single distributed system.

Only the archive recorded from the main Server cameras will be available in Axxon PSIM. The archive recorded from other Servers can only be viewed using the Axxon Player utility. This is due to the fact that the camera unique IDs are changed when merging, so the archive becomes unavailable.

However, if cameras are numbered "continuously" on all the Servers so that their IDs and names are not repeated, the archive will be available on all the cameras given that they are added to the new DB with the same old IDs.

How to change the computer name in the system?

You can change the computer network name in the Axxon PSIM database in the Distributed configuration section of the tweaki.exe utility.

Complete guide Changing computer names and IP addresses in the Axxon PSIM configuration database


License

Where is located the license file (activation key)? How to find out the information on license contents?

The activation key file is called psim.sec and located in the root of the Axxon PSIM software installation directory, by default: C:\Program Files\Axxon PSIM\

To find out which Axxon PSIM objects are permitted by the license, you need to decode the license key. To do this, go to the website: https://sale.axxonsoft.com/

Complete guide Decoding license key

Startup errors

What should I do if I'm getting the ‘Key file is not corresponding cards’ error when running?

The "Key file is not corresponding cards" error means that one or several codes read from the equipment, to which the activation key is attached, do not match the specified keys in the license. The license can be bound to the dallas-codes of video capture cards, the Guardant dongle, the MatrixLock dongle, and to the computer equipment.

When the "Key file is not corresponding cards" error appears, do the following:

  1. Decode the psim.sec key. To do this, go to the website: https://sale.axxonsoft.com/

    Complete guide Decoding license key

  2. Run the CodeReader.exe utility.

    Complete guide The utility for reading video capture card code and dongle

  3. Compare the codes present in the key and the codes read by the CodeReader.exe utility. The lists of codes must be completely identical to each other.
  4. If the CodeReader.exe utility is reading the codes which are not present in the key, you need either to add them to the key (for this purpose you should apply to the AxxonSoft manager), or switch the corresponding equipment off.
  5. If there are codes present in the activation key which are not listed among the keys read by the CodeReader.exe, check the following aspects:
    1. If the activation key is attached to the Guardant USB-dongle, check whether the corresponding key is being connected to the computer physically.
      1. If the activation key is not connected, then you should connect it.
      2. If the activation key is connected, you should update the Guardant driver (Start – Control Panel – Device Manager – Guardant dongles – Update drivers…). If the driver update has not fixed the problem, check the working capacity of the Guardant dongle: when the key is inserted into the slot, the indicator should be flickering on its case. If the key is not working properly, then it should be replaced (for this purpose, you should apply to the AxxonSoft manager).

      3. If the activation key is connected, it operates and matches the model, but the codes are not read, check the functionality of the USB port in which it is inserted.

    2. If the activation key is attached to the dallas-codes of video capture cards, check the video capture cards drivers in the Device Manager. Install or reinstall the missing or incorrectly installed drivers. If you cannot install the required drivers, check if there is possibility to install the drivers given that the card is connected to another slot or computer. If there is no such possibility (i.e. the drivers are not installed in any case), it means the card has been burnt or damaged. You need to send it to the vendor for diagnostic and replacement.

What should I do if I'm getting the ‘key file not found’ error when running?

The "key file not found" error appears in case if there is no psim.sec license file in the root of the Axxon PSIM installation directory (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Axxon PSIM\). Also, this error is going to appear if the license file has been renamed.

Moreover, the "key file not found" error is going to be displayed when running if Axxon PSIM  cannot be run in the Demo mode (i.e. if more than two months have passed since the moment of creating the psim.exe executable file or the computer’s time is more than 00:00 and less than 08:00).

In the event of such error, put the psim.sec file in the Axxon PSIM installation directory. If the activation key file has been renamed, rename it as psim.sec. If you don’t have this file, you should apply to the AxxonSoft manager in order to acquire it.

What should I do if I'm getting the ‘limit exceeded’ error when running?

The "limit exceeded" error appears in case if there are more created objects in the Axxon PSIM hardware tree than it is allowed by the key (for example, in the Axxon PSIM Demo mode). In the event of such error, run Axxon PSIM in the Demo mode and delete the extra objects, or apply to the AxxonSoft manager and ask for a new activation key allowing to use all the created objects. 

Complete guide Specifics of the Axxon PSIM operation when the object limit is exceeded

What should I do if I'm getting the ‘key file expired’ error when running?

The "key file expired" error appears in case if the temporary activation key is being used in the system despite the fact the expiry date has been already over. In this case, you need to apply to the AxxonSoft manager and ask either for the extension of license validity period or for the replacement with a permanent license.

What should I do if I’m getting the errors like ‘not authorized’, ‘IDS_STRING_DISCONNECT’ and so on when connecting Client?

The "not authorized", "IDS_STRING_DISCONNECT" and errors of that kind are going to appear when the Client fails to connect to the Server.
Complete guide Operations using the Client

In this case, check that the connection between the Client and Server is configured in a correct way and there are no network restrictions:

  1. The Computer object corresponding to the Client must be created on the Server in the Axxon PSIM hardware tree. The NetBIOS-name of the Client must be specified as the identifier of this object.

  2. The Client and Server IP-addresses must be specified in a correct way on the Architecture tab on the Server. And, the check boxes must be enabled in the Connection column.

    Complete guide Configuring the interaction of distributed system components

  3. The Server and Client must ping each other via NetBIOS-name or IP-address. You can check this by opening the command line and entering the following command "ping <IP-address or NetBIOS-name>".
  4. Firewall, antivirus, smart screen and so on must be disabled or configured in a way that does not block system activity.
  5. The Client 21111 connection port and also the ports (21050, 20901, 20902), by which the video is being transferred, must not be occupied or blocked. You can check whether the port is being occupied or not by entering the following command "netstat -ano" from the command prompt. For the Axxon PSIM operation, the state of all the required ports must be LISTENING.

Hardware

How to check whether my hardware is integrated and how to choose the method of connection?


On the page:

Integrated IP devices

To check whether the required IP device is integrated into Axxon PSIM, do the following:

  1. Go to the Documentation Drivers Pack page.
  2. Download the list of supported IP devices (the latest release) in the XLS format.
  3. Open the file and go to the Axxon PSIM tab. 

  4. If the IP device is present in the list and the specified firmware in the file is the same as the current device firmware, it means the device is integrated.    

    Complete guide Camera discovery tool

  5. If the IP device is not present in the list but it is known that it supports some common protocols (General device, ONVIF, RTSP), connect the device via these protocols:

    1. The General device generic drivers allow the AxxonSoft products to practically operate with all the devices of the corresponding vendor.

      Complete guide Using Generic Drivers (General device, generic)

    2. Before connecting via the ONVIF protocol, check the device operation in the ONVIF Device Manager utility. If you can get the IP device video in this utility, then the device can be connected to Axxon PSIM.

      Complete guide Connecting devices via the ONVIF protocol

    3. Before connecting via the RTSP protocol, check the device operation in the VLC Media Player utility. If you can get the IP device video in this utility, then you can connect the device to Axxon PSIM.

      Complete guide Configuring multimedia receipt using RTSP protocol

Integrated ACS/FSA/PIDS

To check whether the required Access Control System (ACS), Fire Security Alarm (FSA) and Perimeter Intruder Detection System (PIDS) are integrated into Axxon PSIM, go to the ACFA PSIM List of Integrated Equipment page and find the required system in the list.

The integrated systems connection setting is described in the documentation on the corresponding integration module. The full list of documents is available on the page.

If the system is not present in the list but it is known that it supports the general-purpose protocols (OPC, BACnet, SNMP), connect this system via these protocols.

Complete guide General-purpose protocols integration modules

Integrated cash register system and truck scales

To check whether the required cash register system or truck scales are integrated to POS PSIM, go to the Equipment/Hardware integrated into the POS PSIM software page and find the required system in the list.

If the system is not present in the list, the connection setting is executed on the POS-terminal object setup panel.

Complete guide Selecting the type of POS terminal and setting the connection parameters

If the system is not present in the list, you can put in a request for integration.

Complete guide How to integrate a new POS terminal into POS PSIM

You can also implement the integration on your own using the POS SDK.

What should I do if I can’t get the video from analog video capture cards?

If you can’t get the video from the camera connected to video capture cards, do the following:

  1. Check the video capture cards channels.

    Complete guide Testing video capture cards

  2. Check whether the video capture cards driver is installed in the Device Manager (Start → Control Panel → Device Manager). You can install or update the driver, if necessary.
  3. For the FX-4 and FX-8 cards proper operation in Axxon PSIM, you need to install the KB3033929 and KB3004394 updates. You can download them from the Microsoft website.

What should I do if I’m having problems when connecting the IP device?

If you have problems when connecting the IP device to Axxon PSIM, do the following:

  1. Check whether the device is integrated and choose the way of connection.

    Complete guide How to check whether my equipment is integrated and how to choose the way of connection?

  2. Check the correctness of IP device parameters in web interface. The IP device setup peculiarities are given in the list of integrated devices in the Note column.

    Complete guide IP device configuration in the Windows OS

  3. Check the IP device connection parameters on the settings panel of the Camera object: whether the device type is being chosen correctly and the connection IP address, login, password and port are being specified.

    Complete guide The Settings panel of the Camera object

Archive

What should I do if the archive is unavailable or partially not displayed?

If the archive is unavailable or partially not displayed, check the following aspects:

  1. Check if the OS user is given the corresponding access permissions to the archive folder.

    Complete guide OS settings for correct operation of Remote Admin Workstation or Server

  2. Check if Axxon PSIM user is given the required permissions for working with archives.

    Complete guide Permissions for working with archives

  3. Check for the required archive records on the disk selected for recording the archive.

    Complete guide General information on video archiving

  4. Execute the archive reindexing manually using the index.exe utility. To run the reindexing utility, you need to run the index.exe executable file in the Modules64 folder which is located on the Axxon PSIM installation catalogue—for example, C:\Program Files\Axxon PSIM\Modules64.

    Complete guide Index.exe utility for reindexing archive files

How to configure recording on a network drive?

To add network disks to Axxon PSIM, it is necessary to specify UNC paths to them in the list of disks in the settings of the Computer system object (on the Hardware tab). The UNC path is specified in the format \\server_name\share_name, where server_name is the name of the file server and share_name is the network name of the general folder. Network disks can be used to record the archive.

Complete guide Using network disks

Why is there no visual change in speed when the archive is played back faster?

When you play back the archive 2-10 times faster, visual change in speed may not be noticeable if the computer processing power is insufficient (processor doesn’t have time to process each frame of the video). 12x and more speedup becomes noticeable because only key frames are played back, that is, decimation is enabled. You can change the speed at which decimation starts in the MonitorForwardSkipSpeed registry key.

Full article: Video playback controls


Databases

How to transfer DB configuration from one server to another?

To transfer the Axxon PSIM database from one server to another, you need to create a database backup copy on the source server and then expand it on the new one.

Complete guides

Creating the database backup copy

Restoring database from backup copy

MS SQL Server 2014 is supplied as the part of the Axxon PSIM distributive.

Why do I need database synchronization on Servers and RAW in the distributed system and how to configure it?

In Axxon PSIM, the Servers and Remote Administrator's workstations (RAW) configuration parameters are being kept in the distributed database. The local copy of the distributed database is kept on each Server and RAW. To ensure the Axxon PSIM distributed operation and data replication (i.e. synchronous implementation of modifications in the local copies of the main database), the local copies of databases must be synchronized with one another.

In general, Axxon PSIM is set up in the way that the synchronization of all databases is executed from one centralized database only which is located on the administration Server.  

The database synchronization setup is implemented with the help of the Database update (idb.exe) utility and described in the documentation.

Complete guide Configuring database synchronization

You can separately set up the configuration database synchronization and event protocol databases.

Complete guide Synchronizing the databases of servers and remote workstations

The Axxon PSIM database is in the Suspect mode. How do I recover it?

The Axxon PSIM database can go into Suspect mode because of a sudden server reboot or file system damage.

To restore the database from this mode, do the following:

  1. Check the system disk for errors. If there are some, fix them and check again.
  2. If no errors were found at step 1, start testing and restoring the database.

Complete guide Restoring the Axxon PSIM database from the Suspect mode


How do I fix the SQL error "failed to INSERT into dbo.PROTOCOL because PRIMARY filegroup is full"?

To complete the following steps, it is required that SQL Server Management Studio is installed on the server.

If this type of SQL error occurs, it means that the database has grown too large. Usually it happens when a large number of events are written to the PROTOCOL table.

To fix this problem, do the following:

  1. Clear the PROTOCOL table partially or completely:
    1. If the PROTOCOL table contains important events that should not be removed, or if the Report System is used, then you should manually remove some events from the event database. Do it as follows:
      1. Determine which events can be removed from the database.

      2. Remove these events using SQL queries.

        Complete guide Removing the events from the PROTOCOL table using SQL queries

      3. After that, go to step 4, and then sequentially complete steps 2 and 3.

    2. If the PROTOCOL table does not contain important events, and the Report System is not used, then manually delete the PROTOCOL table for the server with error.

      Complete guide Removing the event table from the Axxon PSIM database

  2. Compress the database.

    Complete guide Compressing the database size

  3. Set the minimum parameters for storing log files for the database. You can do it either on the settings panel of the Axxon PSIM section in the tweaki.exe utility, or by using the registry keys.

    Complete guide Enabling and configuring the debug mode of Axxon PSIM

  4. Set a time limit for storing events in Axxon PSIM.

    Complete guide Configuring events logging

    You can also disable event logging using the ddi.exe utility. Disabled events can be deleted, which also helps clean up the database. For this, use SQL queries.

    Complete guide The Events tab

How do I fix the "Transaction (Process ID 53) was deadlocked on lock resources with another process and has been chosen as the deadlock victim" error?

This error can be caused by various reasons.

If this error was caused by the event log database overflow, then to fix it, do the following:

  1. Shut down Axxon PSIM on the server where the database to be changed is stored.

  2. Launch the SQL Server Management Studio utility and connect to the server, which caused an error.

    Complete guide Viewing Axxon PSIM database

  3. Go to the properties of the Axxon PSIM database.
  4. In the Axxon PSIM database properties, set the Recursive Triggers Enabled option to True.
  5. Click the OK button to save the changes.

Working with Axxon PSIM

Why aren't the interfaces displayed?

The interface windows aren't displayed on the Server or the Remote Client in the following cases:

  1. The corresponding Screen object isn't assigned to the required computer.

    Complete guide Assigning the displays to the operator workstations

  2. The corresponding Screen object or interface object is prohibited by the rights of the current user.

    Complete guide Limiting access to the system objects administration, control and viewing functions

  3. The ports are closed for the required interface objects.

    Complete guide The list of TCP ports used in Axxon PSIM

  4. The wrong Screen object was selected for display. Click the Interfaces button on the Main control panel and select the correct Screen.

    Complete guide Main control panel

Windows 10/11 update can also be the reason why interface objects aren’t displayed. For example, if KB5020695, KB5019961, KB5020617 updates were installed, Windows may stop initializing the previously configured printers. Since the printers are used by some interface objects, the display problems occur. To fix this, you need to reconfigure the connection to the printers in Windows and restart Axxon PSIM.

How to reduce the CPU load?

To reduce the CPU load, the following is recommended:

  1. Use different video camera streams for the purposes of displaying the video signal on the Video Surveillance Monitor, recording to the archive, and using video analytics. By doing this, you can, for example, display a lower quality video on the Monitor, and record a higher quality video to the archive.

    Complete guide Configuration of multistream video

  2. Use automatic selection of video camera streams to display the video signal on the Video Surveillance Monitor.

    Complete guide Configuring automatic selection of video stream for display

     

Updating and uninstalling

How to correctly update Axxon PSIM saving the license and configuration?

When you are going to update the Axxon PSIM software, it is important to take the following peculiarities into account:

  1. Before updating the Axxon PSIM software, it is recommended to create a configuration backup copy and expand it after getting the new version installed, if necessary.

    Complete guides

    Creating the database backup copy

    Restoring database from backup copy

  2. You can update the Axxon PSIM software on top of the installed version without preliminary removing only in case if the second version number corresponds to both of the installed and new versions (i.e. you can update from 2.0.x to 2.0.y (x<y) or from 2.2.x to 2.2.y (x<y), but you cannot update from 2.1 to 2.2).

    Complete guide Updating Axxon PSIM™ software

  3. It is recommended to execute the Axxon PSIM software update with removing the old version in the following order:
  4. Execute the Axxon PSIM software removal using any of the ways described in the Removing Axxon PSIM™ software section.

  5. Remove the files left in the Axxon PSIM software installation directory (by default, C:\Program Files (x86)\Axxon PSIM\).

    Important!

    To save the license, you need to copy the psim.sec. activation key into the temporary storage before removing the files from this folder.

  6. Run the Axxon PSIM software new version installation.

    Complete guide Installing Axxon PSIM™ software


How to uninstall Axxon PSIM?

To uninstall Axxon PSIM, do the following:
  1. Remove the vertical solutions first if they are installed over Axxon PSIM. The step-by-step description of installing and removing vertical solutions is given in the documentation on the corresponding vertical solution. See AxxonSoft documentation repository.

  2. Uninstall Axxon PSIM.

    Complete guide Removing Axxon PSIM™ software

  3. If necessary, remove the registry keys from the registry section HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\AxxonSoft\PSIM for 32-bit systems (or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\AxxonSoft\PSIM for 64-bit systems).

    Attention!

    If any registry keys in this registry section or its subsections were manually created or modified, the custom values cannot be restored after deletion. If uninstallation is performed for the subsequent installation of a new Axxon PSIM version, this step is not recommended.

  4. Remove the DriverPack (Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features → DriverPack x32/x64 → Remove).
  5. Remove the MS SQL Server (Start → Control Panel → Programs and Features → Microsoft SQL Server 2014 → Remove).
  6. Remove the Axxon PSIM installation folder (by default, C:\Program Files\Axxon PSIM).

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