NAS compression is not done on the recorder, it is a separate application normally requiring a dedicated machine (audio compression is extremely CPU intensive so need to be very careful about running it on a shared server). There are two exe files to install on machine that s going to do the compression: NASCompressionService.exe NASCompressionConfig.exe Can be installed anywhere; only limitation is that exe files must be in same folder. All other files needed are then created at that location. Creates following sub-folders & files when active: Logs Log files for both service & config app. StateFiles Temp files to store authentication state info while compressing each call. Sub-folder for each NAS (NAS_xx) then a nnnnn.dat file for each call in progress from that NAS (where nnnnn is call ID). NASConfig.ini Config & state info of NAS set for compression (shared by both exes). NASCompressionService.exe This performs the actual compression; normally installed & run as a service (named: Red Box NAS Compression ), but can also be run manually. Command line options for exe: -i Install as a service -u Uninstall the service Service user account: Service is installed to log on/run using the NetworkService account (always exists and provides necessary access to network shares that are not available to local system account). By default this NetworkService account only has read permission for shared files on local file system. Service s user account needs to have Full Control permission to install folder (including all sub-folders and files) to allow it to run. There are two options for doing this: 1. Grant the NetworkService account Full Control permission for this folder. 2. Change service to use an alternate user account that already has the necessary permission 3. (e.g. a local administrator account). Page 2 of 5
NASCompressionConfig.exe Configuration Application for the service; runs in the system tray when active (has no visible window at startup). Used to: Control compression service (start/stop). Setup NAS to be compressed Monitor status of NAS being compressed Compression status list Any number of NAS can be added to compression list, but number that can be concurrently enabled for compression is limited (due to performance restrictions). Default max is 3, but this can be changed via INI file setting (see below). NAS Name Name as supplied by recorder when adding NAS (can be changed locally for compression status without affecting name on recorder). Status Current compression state (when service is active/running) Mode Compression mode (enabled/disabled) Size (GB) Current size of NAS (reduces as NAS is compressed) Comp. % Percentage of NAS that has been compressed so far Files Left Number of frame files on NAS still to be compressed Last Call Compressed Start time of most recent call on NAS to be compressed Recorder ID Recorder ID (that owns this NAS) Adding NAS for compression Connect to a recorder (via RAI) to retrieve list of NAS available for compression (recorder/rai user must have system configuration permission). The recorder must already be licensed for NAS compression. A compression license only applies to calls recorded on that recorder, so only NAS owned (i.e. created/written) by that recorder are shown for selection. Enter the account username & password for connecting to the NAS (can be a different user to that used by recorder). Select required NAS for compression and Add to compression list. NAS from the recorder already in compression list are disabled and can t be selected. Page 3 of 5
On a site with multiple recorders, all with their own separate NAS, each recorder needs to be licensed for compression to enable all the NAS to be compressed even if all the NAS have been imported into a single recorder. Connect to each recorder in turn to build up the complete list of NAS for compression. No point ever licensing a Media Server for compression (never records any calls); NAS have always been imported from a recorder. Configure NAS Change details for connecting to recorder (IP address, RAI username & password). Change NAS connection details (Name, UNC path, account username & password). Can only re-configure a NAS when compression is disabled. Compression licensing Licensing of NAS compression is re-checked each time compression of a NAS restarts (e.g. at service startup or after enabling). This means recorder that owns a NAS must be running/available to query its licensing. Until the recorder has confirmed that compression of a particular NAS is licensed then compression won t start/resume. If recorder is initially unavailable when compression restarts then it will pause and periodically retry until connection can be made (and licensing checked). NASConfig.ini Useful INI file settings than can be set manually: 1. Max number of NAS that can be concurrently enabled for compression (default: 3): [Configuration] MaxNASCount=3 2. Compress NAS in readonly mode; this applies to ALL NAS (default: 0 off ): [Configuration] NASReadOnly=1 In this mode all data on NAS remains unchanged; instead compressed files are written to alternate location. Mode has a number of limitations and won t work for all NAS (e.g. it doesn t support NAS with existing update files); really just intended for testing only. Alternate location must be set per NAS and done BEFORE compression of each NAS is enabled. Page 4 of 5
Defaults to local sub-folder, but can be path to anywhere on local machine or a different location on source NAS. No login support for connecting to another location so can t be on a different machine (but this could be done by mapping a drive manually). [NAS_xx] OutputPath=\\192.0.0.220\NAS\Test or OutputPath=D:\Compressed\NAS1 3. Max number of un-compressed frame files that can be buffered in frame store (in memory). This is effectively how far ahead NAS files can be read & buffered waiting to be compressed. Increasing this can be useful way to improve data throughput for NAS with large number of small frame files (prevents audio converters running out of data while waiting for next file to be read). This is a per NAS setting (default: 3): [NAS_xx] MaxFrameStoreCount=3 Warning: Frame files are up to 15MB in size and are all buffered in memory. So need to be wary of total physical memory available to compression service when changing this setting (and consider the number of NAS being compressed concurrently). Page 5 of 5