3VR Hirsch Integration Guide

Owned by Anand Rajaraman
Last updated: Nov 13, 2019
9 min read

Prerequisites

Before starting the installation process verify the following:

  • The Hirsch Velocity server is licensed for Message Queue Writer
  • The software installed on the 3VR SmartRecorder is version 6.0.6 or later
  • The Hirsch Velocity server and the SmartRecorder are configured to sync with the same NTP (Network Time Protoctol) server

  • You have downloaded the 3VR Hirsch Plug-in Installation Package, which contains the following items:
    • Plug-in file: Plugins.HirschMSMQTransaction-Release-1.0.0.xxxxx.3pg
    • Patch file: disable-firewall.3pa

Configuring Velocity Server

Configuring SQL Database



  1. Log in to the Hirsch Velocity server and launch Velocity.

  2. Select SQL Manager from the Console menu (alternatively, launch SQL Server Management Studio Express from the Start menu > Microsoft SQL Server 2005).

  3. In the Connect to Server dialog window, verify that the Authentication mode is Windows Authentication and click Connect.

  4. Right-click the server and select Properties from the menu.

  5. In the Server Properties window, make note of the
    database instance Name (e.g. HIRSCH or if you have
    multiple databases installed, <IP address>\HIRSCH).

    This information is required to configure the plug-in settings in referred in 

  6. Select the Security page.
    1. In the Server authentication section, select SQL Server and Windows Authentication mode radio button.
    2. Click Ok button twice in the resulting pop up window.
  7. In the Object Explorer, click the plus sign next to Security.

  8. Right-click Logins and select New Login.

  9. In the Login - New dialog window:

    In the General page:
    • Select SQL Server Authentication radio button
    • Type a user name, such as 3vr, in the Login name field

    • Type a password in the Password and Confirm password fields

      Record the user name and password you entered for future reference. You will need this information when configuring the 3VR plug-in settings in

    • Uncheck the Enforce password policy checkbox.
  10. In the User Mapping page:

    1. Check the checkbox under the Map column in the Velocity row. Your newly created user name (“3vr”) should be automatically populated in the User column. If not, please enter it.
    2. In the bottom right window, check the checkbox next to db_datareader.
    3. Click the OK button.

  11. Exit Microsoft SQL Server Management.












Installing MSMQ

The steps for installing MSMQ may vary depending on the operating system of the Hirsch server. The following instructions are for Windows Server 2008:



  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.

  2. Click Programs and Features.

  3. Select Turn Windows features on or off from the left-hand panel.

  4. In the Server Manager dialog, right click Features and select Add Features.

  5. In the Add Features Wizard, expand Message Queuing and Message Queuing Services.

    If Message Queuing Services and Message Queuing Triggers
    are already installed, proceed to Creating MSMQ Queue

  6. Check the checkbox next to Message Queuing Services and
    Message Queuing Triggers.

  7. Click Next and Install to complete your installation. 


Creating New MSMQ Queue



  1. On the Velocity Server, open the Windows Start menu and select Control Panel.

  2. Click Administrative Tools.
  3. Double-click Computer Management.

  4. Expand Services and Applications.

    1. Expand Message Queuing.

    2. Right-click Private Queues and select New > Private Queue.

    3. In the New Private Queue dialog window, enter a queue name, such
      as 3vr, in the Queue Name field.

    4. Click the OK button.

      Record the new queue name for future reference. You will need this information when configuring the 3VR plug-in settings in

  5. Right-click the newly created 3vr private queue and select Properties in the right-click menu.

  6. In the [Queue Name] Properties window, select the Security tab.

  7. Select ANONYMOUS LOGON.

    If ANONYMOUS LOGON is not available:

    • Click Add.

    • In the Enter the object names to select field, type “anonymous”.

    • Click Check Names. The field should be repopulated with ‘ANONYMOUS LOGON’.

    • Click OK.

  8. Check the Allow checkbox for Receive Message, Peek Message and Send Message.

  9. Click the OK button.









Enabling Message Queue Writer



  1. Log in to the Hirsch Velocity server and launch Velocity.

  2. Select Server Extensions from the Add-Ins menu.

  3. In the Velocity Server Extensions Manager dialog window, click the checkbox to enable the Message Queue Writer extension.

  4. Click the OK button.

  5. Click OK in the resulting dialog box to confirm.

  6. Select Administration from the Console menu.

  7. In the Administration dialog window, expand Interfaces Configuration.

  8. Select Message Queue Writers.

  9. Double click Add New Message Queue Writer.

    If a Feature Activation dialog box pops up, enter the feature key and click the Register button. The customer is responsible for purchasing the feature key for Message Queue Writer from Hirsch Electronics.

    In the Message Queue Writer dialog box:

  10. Enter 3vr in the Name field.

  11. In the Queue field, enter <hostname>\private$\3vr where <hostname> is the hostname of the velocity server.

  12. Select Velocity XML 1.0 from the Format drop-down menu.

  13. Select <Always> from the Active during time zone drop-down menu.

  14. Check the boxes next to Alarms and Transactions {Granted/Denied}.

  15. Click the Select Events button.

    In the Advanced Event Selection dialog window, click the Select All button.

    1. Uncheck the checkboxes for the following event numbers:
      • 3054
      • 3088
      • 5002
      • 5004-5009
      • 5011-5018
      • 5022-5027
      • 5029-5043
      • 5059-5061
      • 5078
      • 5079
      • 5082-5084
      • 5093-5908
    2. Click the OK button.
  16. Check the Enabled checkbox.

  17. Click OK.

  18. On the windows task bar, right click the Velocity Service Control Manager task bar icon, and select Stop Velocity Extension Service. Click Yes to confirm.

  19. Wait a few seconds and right click the Velocity Service Control Manager task bar icon, and select Start Velocity Extension Service.









Opening Selected Ports in Windows Firewall (If Necessary)

If the Hirsch server is using the Windows firewall rather than an external firewall, you must open select ports in the firewall to allow communication between the server and the 3VR system. See Appendix B for instructions.

Configuring 3VR SmartRecorder

Installing Hirsch Plug-in



  1. Launch 3VR System Manager.

  2. In the Manage Servers tab, click the plus sign next to the system name.

  3. Right-click the Plugins folder and select Add Plugin.

  4. To acknowledge that you must reboot the SmartRecorder after installing the plug-in, click Install.

  5. Navigate to the folder containing the plug-in file.

  6. Click OK. The plug-in will now begin installing.

    The plug-in file should have the extension .3pg. If it is .zip, it will not be recognized as a valid plug-in.

  7. When the plug-in has been successfully installed, it will be listed under the Plugins folder in System Manager.




Configuring Plug-in Settings



  1. In the Manage Servers tab of System Manager, click the plus sign next to the system name.

  2. Click the plus sign next to Plug-ins.

  3. Select Hirsch MSMQ Transaction Application. Information and settings for the plug-in will appear to the right.

  4. Edit the Database Address setting to the location of the database instance in the format [server IP address or hostname]\[database instance name]. The database instance name is noted in configuring SQL Database.

  5. By default the Database Name field is set to Velocity. If your database has another name, enter it here.

  6. The default SQL Database User Name setting is 3vr. If the database user name you created in configuring SQL Database is different, enter it here.

  7. Type the password you created in configuring SQL Database in the SQL Database Password field.

  8. Set the MSMQ Host Server to the IP Address (recommended) or hostname of the server hosting the MSMQ queue. This is typically the Hirsch Velocity Server.

  9. The default Queue Name setting is 3vr. If the queue name you entered in Creating New MSMQ Queue is different, enter it here.

  10. Click Save to save the plug-in settings.



Binding Channels to Plug-ins



  1. Click Edit Bound Channels.

  2. In the Bind Plug-in to Channels dialog window, check the check-boxes
    corresponding to the desired channels.

  3. Click the OK button.

  4. For each channel bound to the plug-in:

    • Change the Transaction ID setting to the corresponding Velocity address (for example, XNET.001.0001.001.01.SM01).

      See Appendix A for assistance identifying transaction IDs.

    • If the channel will be used with access control, change the Image Compare setting to On.

  5. Click Save to save the plug-in settings.



Restarting 3VR Software to Initialize Plug-in

The 3VR VMS software must be restarted in order for any changes to plug-in configuration to take effect:



  1. In the Manage Servers tab of SystemManager, right-click the system name and select Restart 3VR Software.

  2. In the resulting dialog box, click Restart to confirm.

  3. Wait 1-2 minutes for the software to restart.

Applying Patch to Disable 3VR Firewall



  1. Launch 3VR System Manager.

  2. Click the Update Software tab.

  3. Click Browse and browse to the location of disablefirewall.3pa on your computer or USB drive.

  4. Select the SmartRecorder with the Hirsch plug-in and click the Inspect button. Make sure the Status field says OK.

  5. Click Update.

  6. Wait for the update to complete and the system to restart. This may take a few minutes.

Verifying Successful Integration



  1. Generate a test event on all of the Velocity devices that were mapped to channels in binding channels to plug-ins. For example, if the device is a card reader, swipe an access card.

  2. Launch 3VR OpCenter.

  3. In the Monitor panel, select the channel number that corresponds to the device.

  4. Click the drop-down arrow next to Click here to choose events to open the event type drop-down menu.

  5. Select Access Event check box and Access Alarm check box.

  6. Click OK and verify that your test generated an event card in 3VR OpCenter for all devices bound to the plug-in. A sample Velocity event card is shown to the right.

Appendix: A 

Identifying Transaction IDs

Use the following steps to look up the Transaction ID of a Velocity device:



  1. Log in to the Hirsch Velocity server and launch Velocity.

  2. Select Administration from the Console menu.

  3. In the Administration window, expand XNET (or SNET), then expand the remaining nodes until you locate the device you wish to associate with video footage in the 3VR system.

  4. Right-click the device and select Properties.

  5. The Transaction ID of the device is displayed in the title bar of the Properties window, for example XNET.001.0001.001.01.SM05. Record the Transaction IDs and channel numbers for each Velocity device here, then use this information to configure the plug-in:

Opening Ports in the Windows Firewall

If the Hirsch server has the Windows firewall enabled, you must open select ports in the firewall to allow communication with the 3VR system. Use the steps below to open ports 1030, 1043, 135, 1801, 2013, 2105 in the Windows firewall for TCP access

  • in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and later.


  1. On the Start menu, click Run, type WF.msc, and then click OK.

  2. In the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security, in the left pane, right-click Inbound Rules and then click New Rule in the action pane.

  3. In the Rule Type dialog box, select Port, and then click Next >.

  4. In the Protocol and Ports dialog box, select TCP. Select Specific local ports, and then enter the comma-separated list of ports:

    1030, 1043, 135, 1801, 2013, 2105

  5. Click Next.
  6. In the Action dialog box, select Allow the connection, and then click Next.

  7. In the Profile dialog box, select any profiles that describe the computer connection environment when you want to connect to the Database Engine, and then click Next.

  8. In the Name dialog box, type a name and description for this rule (such as “3VR Access”), and then click Finish.



  • in Windows XP and Windows Server 2003:


  1. On the Start menu, click Run, type firewall.cpl and then click OK.

  2. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Port.

  3. In the Add a Port dialog box, enter a Name for the port in the text box.

  4. In the Port number text box, type the first port number: 1030.

  5. Verify that TCP is selected, and then click OK.

  6. Repeat steps 2-5 for the remaining ports.

  7. Close the Windows Firewall and the Properties dialog boxes.

    If no Hirsch events are generated on the 3VR system, your first troubleshooting step should be to disable the Windows firewall entirely.