Based on the amazing work by LinuxServer.io, TheHomeRepot aims to provide additional quality, reliable containers.

thehomerepot/nxwitness

NX Witness VMS is a free to view VMS that adds recording capability with the purchase of camera licenses.

Usage

docker run -d \
--name=nxwitness \
--restart=unless-stopped \
--net=host \
-e PUID=<UID> -e PGID=<GID> \
-e TZ=<timezone> \
-v </path/to/config>:/config \
-v </path/to/recordings>:/archive \
thehomerepot/nxwitness

Parameters

The parameters are split into two halves, separated by a colon, the left hand side representing the host and the right the container side. For example with a port -p external:internal - what this shows is the port mapping from internal to external of the container. So -p 8080:80 would expose port 80 from inside the container to be accessible from the host's IP on port 8080 http://192.168.x.x:8080 would show you what's running INSIDE the container on port 80.

• --net=host - Shares host networking with container, required prior to version 3.1.x.
• -v /config - Configuration files
• -v /archive - Recordings will be landed here.
• -e PGID= for for GroupID - see below for explanation
• -e PUID= for for UserID - see below for explanation
• -e TZ - for timezone information eg Europe/London, etc

User / Group Identifiers

Sometimes when using data volumes (-v flags) permissions issues can arise between the host OS and the container. We avoid this issue by allowing you to specify the user PUID and group PGID. Ensure the data volume directory on the host is owned by the same user you specify. DO NOT USE ROOT

In this instance PUID=1001 and PGID=1001. To find yours use id user as below:

  $ id <dockeruser>
    uid=1001(dockeruser) gid=1001(dockergroup) groups=1001(dockergroup)

Setting up the application

You will need to install and run the NX Witness Desktop Client and connect to your docker host using port 7001. You will be prompted within the client to configure the new server instance.

Licensing

In order to record from your security cameras, you will need to purchase licenses. These are purchased PER actively recording camera and can be moved between cameras.

However, the licenses are tied to a uniqely generated HWID (hardware ID) and cannot easily be moved. This may change in v3.1.X but currently you must log a support request to have licenses moved to a new server. For this reason be mindful of where you install licenses. I would not currently do so inside a docker container

Info

• Shell access whilst the container is running: docker exec -it nxwitness /bin/bash
• To monitor the logs of the container in realtime: docker logs -f nxwitness

Versions

• 2019.08.17: Updated for v4 changes
• 2017.09.21: Initial creation