Location offline: power, sleep and firewall

Keep the computer awake

A sleeping PC counts nothing. On the computer running CrowdSense Desktop:

1. 1

   Turn off sleep

   Settings › System › Power: set the screen to turn off if you like, but set sleep to Never, on mains and on battery.

2. 2

   Turn off hibernation and USB power saving

   In the advanced power options, disable hibernate, and stop Windows switching off USB devices if you use a webcam.

3. 3

   Tame Windows Update

   Set active hours to cover your opening hours or event days so it does not restart mid-count.

4. 4

   Use a UPS on event sites

   A small uninterruptible power supply rides through generator changeovers and loose leads.

After a restart

The cameras run as Windows background services, so counting resumes after a restart without anyone signing in to Windows. Events collected while the internet was down are sent when it returns. If the portal still shows the location offline a few minutes after a restart, open the app on the PC and check it is signed in.

Firewalls and networks

• Outbound: the PC needs internet access to reach your portal at cloud.crowdsense.events. Only outbound connections are used for the results, so there is no port forwarding to set up, and a 4G or satellite link works.
• If your firewall only allows named destinations, allow the portal host and write to support@crowdsense.events for the full list.
• To the cameras: the PC must reach each camera’s stream, usually RTSP on TCP port 554 (some makers use another port) or HTTP on port 80.
• Discovery: ONVIF discovery uses multicast on UDP port 3702 within the local network. If it is blocked, add cameras by address instead.
• Security software that blocks new programs may need CrowdSense Desktop added to its allow list.

Know when it happens

In the portal’s Settings, add emails for status alerts and switch on alerts for camera disconnects. The Locations page and Live view show an OFFLINE badge for any location that has dropped out.