Applies to: WAVE

Summary

This article describes the most common storage-related errors a user may experience using WAVE. These errors are referred to as Storage Failure in the event log.

Error List

Not Enough HDD/SSD Speed for Recording

WAVE Servers store all video frames from every camera stream in separate memory buffers written to the physical drive according to the recording schedule. These buffers have certain reasonable limits, independently in megabytes and number of frames. 

Storage drive write speed can be affected by factors such as hardware limitations, which can cause the memory buffers to overflow. When this happens, the WAVE Server drops the oldest packages, generating an error with the number of the dropped frames.

NOTE: Users can find information on the affected camera(s) in the main WAVE Server 
log file.

When a system is nearing or at performance limits, a user may see this message at random intervals in error logs reporting low numbers of dropped packets. These messages are a warning, as any expansion to the system will drastically increase the number of dropped frames.

When this message appears regularly, immediate action must be taken, as it is possible a significant part of the footage is being persistently lost. In this case, the user should start with monitoring the write capabilities of the disk and check its state. If there are no hardware or other issues , the solution is the same as mentioned previously.

This error may also appear if the disk completely fails.

Solution

When the error is intermittent:

1. Decrease incoming bitrate by changing fps/image quality and resolution.
    
2. Replace slow drives with faster ones.
    
3. Increase drive array to disperse recording load.

When the error appears regularly:

1. Check your system to ensure that all drives are present and functioning.

NOTE: You can also check the health of the drives to ensure they are not failing,
such as reading the SMART error codes from the disk.

2. Monitor the write capabilities of the disk.
    
3. Replace if there is a hardware fault.
    
4. Decrease incoming bitrate by changing fps/image quality and resolution.
    
5. Replace slow drives with faster ones. See WAVE: Minimum Server/Client Hardware and Software Specifications.

I/O Error Occurred

This error appears if the Operating System returns a read/write error message to the WAVE server. Depending on the setup, this message might appear with the previous one and indicates major issues are occurring.

NOTE: There are a wide array of issues that could cause an I/O error, and they 
should be properly documented before contacting technical support.

Solution

Check your system for software that may be consuming large amounts of system resources, such as anti-virus, malware scanners, backup utilities, etc., which could lower the throughput and generate errors.