Connect cameras
Choose how each camera reaches Kalytera Cloud: RTMPS push, RTSP pull, or the Bridge Agent, what each needs from the site's network, and how to add, disable, and delete a camera.
Contents
Kalytera Cloud receives each camera's video in one of three ways. Choose the one that suits the camera and the site's network. Cameras are added by a tenant administrator under Cameras.
Choose a connection type
| Connection type | How the video arrives | What the site's network needs |
|---|---|---|
| RTMP (RTMPS push) | The camera, encoder, or recorder sends its stream to Kalytera with its own stream key. | Outbound connections only. Nothing is opened on the site's firewall. |
| RTSP (RTSP pull) | Kalytera's servers fetch the stream from the camera or recorder. | The camera must be reachable from the internet at the address you enter, which usually means opening a port on the site's firewall. |
| Bridge Agent (on-site) | An agent on a computer at the site finds cameras on the local network and relays their video. | Outbound connections only, from the agent's computer. |
RTMPS push and the Bridge Agent send video encrypted. Where opening a port for RTSP pull is not acceptable, use one of them instead.
RTMPS push
Use RTMPS push for any camera, encoder, or recorder that can publish an RTMP stream. The portal gives each camera a server, a stream name, and a stream key, which you copy into the device. The full steps are in Connect a camera by RTMPS push.
RTSP pull
Select RTSP as the Connection type and enter the Camera stream URL, with the camera's Username and Password. Under Advanced connection options you can add an Optional secondary stream URL, which analytics uses. Live view starts once Kalytera can reach the camera's main stream.
Open only the camera's RTSP port (normally 554, or 322 for RTSPS), and ask Kalytera which source addresses to allow.
Bridge Agent
The Bridge Agent is an add-on that Kalytera enables. It runs on a Windows or Linux computer at the site and needs no inbound port.
- Under Cameras, open Devices > Bridge Agents and select Add Bridge Agent.
- Enter a Name and select Create enrollment token. The next page shows the Cloud API URL, the Enrollment token, and the install steps for Windows and Linux. The token works once and cannot be shown again.
- Once the agent has enrolled, its status changes from Pending enrollment to Online. Select Discover cameras, then Scan network. The agent finds cameras with ONVIF, Hikvision SADP, Dahua DHIP, and Axis SSDP. A camera it cannot find can be added under Add a camera manually.
- Choose the Site for new cameras, and add each camera once the agent has verified its stream.
The agent relays each camera's main stream (H.264, no audio). Bridge cameras have no analytics yet, and Motion / object detection recording is offered only when the agent detects motion on site. If the relay drops, the camera shows Offline and a Stream interrupted alarm is raised.
The agent's computer needs outbound HTTPS (TCP 443) and outbound RTMPS to the address the portal gives the agent. On the site's network it talks to the cameras over HTTP, HTTPS, and RTSP, and it discovers them with these local broadcasts, whose replies its own firewall must let in:
- ONVIF WS-Discovery: UDP 3702
- Hikvision SADP: UDP 37020
- Dahua DHIP: UDP 37810
- Axis SSDP: UDP 1900
Discovery may not cross routed VLANs. Add cameras on other networks manually.
Add a camera
- Open Cameras and select Add camera.
- Under Video source, choose the Site, the Connection type, and a Name.
- Leave Enabled ticked to start connecting straight away, or clear it to keep the camera disabled for later commissioning.
- For RTSP and RTMP cameras, choose the Recording mode under Initial recording. See Recording, retention, and evidence.
- Select Add camera.
Disable or delete a camera
Open the camera and use More actions:
- Disable camera stops it streaming and recording until you select Enable camera.
- Delete camera removes a camera that has no recordings or alarm history. A camera that has either is retired instead: it stops for good and stays listed as Retired, and its recordings stay playable until retention deletes them.
Other connection methods
The portal also lists Hikvision ISUP, Dahua AutoReg, and Axis Edge Connector, where the device registers with Kalytera by itself. Kalytera enables each of them per customer after checking the device model, and this manual does not cover their setup yet. Ask Kalytera before you plan a site around one of them.