Technical Overview - Axis 2100

Introduction
Supported Environments
Theory of Operation
Feature and Benefits
Installation
Ultra Fast JPEG Compression
Security
Management
Performance
Hardware Description
CCD Camera Description
High speed internet such as Cable-modem or DSL
Built on the Linux operating system

Introduction.

The Axis 2100 is a network camera running TCP/IP with built in web server to be used with a web-browser. It is a camera connected directly to the network, as stated about the predecessor Neteye, on the slashdot.org web-site in July 24 of 1999: "http://www.axis.com makes the neteye, a real web cam (not some pc connected camera) which has an integrated web server and uses normal ethernet." Later they state "To sum up: The Axis camera was the best of the crowd. It is basically a camera with an ethernet plug. _Great_ image quality, very easy to use in a network. A bit pricey, but definitely worth it.". http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/07/23/2247249

The camera can be connected in three  ways:

• Directly to an Ethernet network running TCP/IP where the camera is a web server on its own. You simply monitor what's going on in your web-browser - in astonishing 10 frames/second.

• In a dial-up mode, where you attach an external modem to the serial port to have the camera dial-up to an ISP. The Axis 2100 can be set to deliver snapshots at certain intervals or triggered by external events, e.g. to send you an email in case of an alert.

• In a dial-in mode. You attach a modem to the serial port and can then dial in to the camera using windows standard dial-up-networking to connect to the camera. Images are then monitored through your web-browser.

The Axis 2100 Network Camera is not to be confused with ordinary "webcams". It is a network camera that attaches directly to a network providing live video with a frame rate of up to 10 frames/second and with high quality images. In contrast to existing video servers it is using digital technology with Ethernet networks. The Internet style software used, based upon the TCP/IP protocol, makes it easy to manage. The camera can be monitored locally (intranet) or wherever desired in the world by taking advantage of the Internet. This means a quantum leap in terms of technology. As it is based on open standards, the users can take and view pictures remotely over the network with a standard web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

Supported Environments .

Any standard browser capable of viewing JPEG format images can be used. Taking, transferring and viewing live images as well as configuration and product set-up is easy. No extra hardware or software is required.

Today the following browsers can be used:

• Netscape Navigator 4.x and 5.x. For motion pictures the Axis 2100 is using "server push" technology. This is only available in Netscape, which therefore is the recommended browser.

• MS Internet Explorer version 4.x or 5.x. As there is no support for server push in IE, we provide an ActiveX component that is packaged in the product.

The AXIS Network Cameras are using the TCP/IP suite of protocols. All transportation of data is done through HTTP (the format used in the Internet) or FTP. Alerts can be sent as an email using SMTP.

Theory of Operation.  

The AXIS 2100 Network Camera is as a stand alone camera, with a built in web server. You use the URL of the camera to access the images. There is no need for a PC - the unit has its own IP address!
A snapshot or video stream is triggered by the request from the browser (using the camera's URL). The snapshot is then taken by the camera, compressed into JPEG format and transmitted over the network back to the browser. Up to 10 frames/second can be transmitted, mostly depending on the speed of your PC and network congestion. There are three basic types of  picture URLs available:

An Internet Example 

Imagine that you want to create a home page where you have a live picture of an aquarium. If you have already made the basic installation and have given your camera a name, then:

• Run the installation wizard. Your camera will then upload snapshots as you desire. If triggered by an alarm condition - it may send you an email as an alert. Or even better - to your security provider.

• You use the HTML reference to the picture at the position where you want it to be. If your camera's name is cam.yourbusiness.com, then the image reference should be <http://cam.yourbusiness.com/cgi-bin/image320x240.jpg>

• Let the installation wizard upload the snapshots to the web server at your ISP, then monitor what is going on over Internet.

• As the homepages can refer to external pictures, your virtual picture is now created and ready to use!

A Sample HTML Page Using the Network Cameras

In this example you can see how simple it is to refer to the picture from the AXIS 2100 Network Camera. The camera has a file called /cgi-bin/image320x240.jpg. This is the 320x240 pixel image, an appropriately sized image to fit in a browser application.

<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>Sample page</TITLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>

<H1>Welcome to Axis 2100 network Camera</H1>
<H1> <IMG ALT="Fullsize JPEG Image"
SRC="http://cam.yourbusiness.com/cgi-bin/image320x240.jpg"
WIDTH="320" HEIGHT="240"></H1>

<P>This picture is taken right now!</P>

<P>Follow <A HREF="http://www.axis.com">this link</A> to get
to our corporate home page!</P>

</BODY>
</HTML>

The AXIS 2100 Network Camera is primarily intended for unattended monitoring. Some suitable applications would be non-critical surveillance, Intranet and remote monitoring.

Features and Benefits.  

Connect a Camera Directly to the Network

Connection to the network is easy and there is no need for any other server, such as a PC with frame grabber cards, complicated image translations and network configurations. Simply assign an IP-address to the network camera and add a web-reference.

Self-contained Optimized Web Server

This network camera is installed as a web server. No PC or extra hardware and software are required. The open architecture makes it easy to integrate into other WWW/Intranet applications as well as to CGI scripts. It is possible to upload your own HTML files using FTP.

High Image qualities

As the Axis 2100 is using a high end CCD (Sony) and is very sensitive (color down to 3 lux) it is ideal for monitoring at places with limited light as well.

Wide Range of Applications

• In house Remote Monitoring applications in general - keep an eye on the server room, the reception, the cafeteria queue etc

• WWW sites aiming to increase the attraction value with live updated images

• Add remote monitoring capabilities to an existing system

• For factory automation, set up digital monitoring and store events on a file server.

Cost-effective

Until today, the only way to connect a camera to the Internet involved PC:s and web cams or UNIX workstations running special software with frame grabber cards. These solutions are difficult to set up and manage, and they also tend to be quite unreliable and/or extremely expensive. The AXIS Network Cameras provides a reliable low cost alternative with all the necessary features involved.

Installation . 

The Axis 2100 installs in 3 ways:

• Over a LAN where it is assigned an IP address using arp and ping.

• With the supplied null-modem cable and dial-up networking if you do not have a network card.

• Using the Axis IP installer (requires download of a free software from the Axis website)

Once the physical connection is established you will be guided through a couple of Wizards where an application is selected. After setting up some basic parameters (such as master password with clue) one will be asked for various applications:

• Connect the camera to an Ethernet network to monitor remotely

• Connect the camera to an optional modem to dial into the camera from a remote PC.

• Let the camera upload images to a website using ethernet or a modem

• Uploading and/or sending emails when an alarm condition is detected

As the application is selected some more questions on intervals and storage management will be asked.

Ultra Fast JPEG Compression. 

The AXIS 2100 has hardware support for the JPEG compression using it's own ARTPEC-1 chip, that delivers up to 10 frames/second in this product. In conjunction to this it has the ETRAX-100 processor that delivers 100 MIPS of raw performance, as well as driving the 10/100 MBit network. With the AXIS 2100 you get streaming JPEG images directly - no need for manual conversion between image formats. A stream of up to 10 frames/second can be generated. The ARTPEC and ETRAX chips are Axis in house developed chips.

Security.

The AXIS 2100  is a web server of its own. This means that the server is secured like any other Internet host. It is up to the network manager to restrict access so that either individuals, groups, the whole company or the whole world may access your AXIS Network Cameras server. Normally this is done in your company's firewall.
The configuration is stored in the product's config file in the product that is available using the web-interface, as well as over FTP. This config file requires root access and password to the product in order to be modified.

Management. 

With its nature as an Internet server, you can manage the video server from any Internet browser in the world - provided your fire-wall allows you and the product is configured to be open. 
Software in the Axis Video Servers can be obtained free of charge from the support pages. The camera server has FLASH memory that allows central and remote updates over the network.

Performance . 

The AXIS Network Cameras uses the ETRAX-100, a 100 MIPS RISC CPU and the ARTPEC-1 chip for the JPEG transformation. The ARTPEC-1 is the first network camera specific chip developed by Axis supporting up to 60 compressed images/second. This is basic requirement in order to reach high performance.
When used in a network environment, the bottleneck is typically a combination of the network processing, the web-browser and image size. Using a modern PC (300 MHz or more), the PC should not be the bottleneck.
If used with a modem the slow speed communication is of course the bottleneck. A standard image is transmitted in around 3 seconds, which sets the limit. This speed can be improved by using the buffering feature of the 2100 at alarm conditions.

Camera specification .

The AXIS 2100 is build around a CCD sensor (the actual eye), rather than a CMOS sensor as a CCD offers superior image quality.

• Lens - replaceable CS-type lens that can be targeted for different applications.

• 1/4 inch Sony progressive scan RGB CCD sensor (640 x 480) for ultimate picture quality

• 4.0 mm glass lens, equivalent to 35 mm on a standard camera with aperture 2.0

• Shortest exposure time: 1/30000 s, longest exposure time: 0.7 s

• High sensitivity - works down to 3 lux (as a candle light)

Hardware description.

The AXIS 2100 consists of:

• UTP (10/100BaseT) Ethernet connector to the network  Attaches to 100 or 10 MBit networks.

• Power connector (12 V AC or DC, 9.6 VA), Axis PS-D
• A 9 pin serial DSUB connector for modem support using  a standard modem.
• A hidden push-key on the front to adjust focus and some other features
• Auxiliary connector with relay and inputs to trigger/control external devices.
• Sensitivity down to 3 lux for color images - with reduced frame rate and longer exposure time, see table below:

Lux: 2,  Maximum images/second: 1.3
Lux: 3,  Maximum images/second: 2
Lux: 4,  Maximum images/second: 3
Lux: 6,  Maximum images/second: 10

High speed internet such as Cable modem or DSL .

The AXIS 2100 Network Camera is built with high speed Internet services in mind. If you are lucky enough to have such a service in your area you will be able to experience the full performance of your 2100. If you have HomePNA, power line or even ISDN you will also benefit from these services and the problems are similar. There are just a few things to have in mind as most high speed internet services only give you 1 external IP address.
Ideally you have a service that provides you with several (e.g. 4) external static IP addresses. If this is the case you are really lucky! Then you can assign one of these IP:s to your camera, and it will be fully accessible through the internet.
If you have a service that only gives you one IP (which is normally the case), then you need to have this IP assigned for your PC in most cases. Here you have two options:

• Use the Windows 2000 NAT-feature (Network Address Translation) or wingate (for Win 95/98), that allows you to have multiple Ethernet cards in your PC. Then you will let one port go to the internet and the other for your internal network. Here you let your 2100 upload the image stream to an external web-server, e.g. at your ISP.
• A better solution is to get a small router/firewall that provides the NAT functionality. There are several such on the market today and this gives you the independence of the PC which may be switched off or hangs..

When you have ISDN you will most likely have a dial-up account with your ISP. There is only one thing you should really have in mind which is the connection charges if you do not have free local calls.
When using a Cable modem it may be tricky to install the Axis 2100 as these typically rely on DHCP. As the AXIS 2100 is a web-server, it does not work with DHCP as DHCP may change the IP address. For an advanced user this is possible to go around, but we do not recommend this for the average user.

Built on the Linux operating System .

The Axis 2100 is based on the Linux operating system. This in order to ensure maximum reliability and ease of use. Some of the benefits are:

• Well-known and well-documented OS
• Small footprint system, it does not take a lot of flash or ram memory.
• Longer term decentralized development.
• Much, much functionality available for "free".
• The source code for Linux is freely available to everyone.
• Developed under the GNU General Public License.  This means we publish our contribution to the Linux community  on our website developer.axis.com
• And much more....