Moving the Archiver role to another server

In Security Center, if the server hosting the Archiver role breaks, is too slow, or has limited disk space, you can move the role to another server without installing any additional software.

Before you begin

Make sure you have another server configured and ready to accept a new role.

What you should know

Each Archiver is responsible for the video archives of the cameras it controls. The video archives include the archive database and the archive storage which can be hosted on the server hosting the Archiver, or on a different server. When moving the Archiver to another server, ensure that the new server also has access to these video archives.

To move the Archiver role to another server:

From the Config Tool home page, open the Video task.
Select the Archiver role to configure, and then click the Resources tab.
If your current server is still running, and both the archive database and archive storage are local to your current server, back up the entire content of its video archives.
1. In the Archive transfer section, temporarily set the backup folder to a location that is accessible by the new server. Make sure that the location you choose has enough disk space to store the video archives of your Archiver.
2. Using the following options, perform a manual backup:
  - For the type of backup, select Backup.
  - For the source, select the current Archiver role.
  - For the time range, select a range wide enough to include all of the video archives.
  - For the data, select Everything since last transfer.
3. Return to the Video task.
In the Server drop-down list, select the new server.
Based on the characteristics of the new server, make the necessary adjustments to the following:
- The archive database
- The archive storage settings
IMPORTANT: If the new server is the same physical server as the old one, for example, same server but different GUID in Security Center, you do not need to make these adjustments.
Click Apply.
To restore video archives belonging to this Archiver role, consider the following:
- If you performed a full backup, restore it with the following options:
  - For the restore type, select Archiver.
  - For the Archiver, select your current Archiver.
  - For the time range, select the same start and end time used for the backup.
  - For the cameras you want to restore, select all.
  - Turn off the option Protect video from deletion.
- If your previous server broke and all your backups precede the server failure, restore all the video archives up to the archive retention period of the Archiver.
- If both the archive database and the archive storage remained at the same location, such as on a third server, you do not need to restore the video archives.
If you temporarily changed the Backup folder location, set the folder back to its original location.
Click Apply.