How to Edit Configuration Files in Red Hat

Beginning with version 2.10, some of the configuration settings can be edited from within the Orchid Core VMS software. (This is done using the Advanced Settings feature which is explained in the Orchid Core VMS Administrator Guide.) There are some settings, however, that will still need to be changed by editing the configuration file directly. These settings need to be protected from unauthorized changes because they are critical for program stability and reliability. These critical settings include the following:

Immediately after installation, and if it becomes necessary to change one of these critical settings later, you can edit the Orchid Core VMS configuration files using your favorite text editor. (If you don’t have a favorite, try nano.)

*You must sign in to the computer as a user with “root” access.

The default locations for Orchid Core VMS’s configuration files in Linux are:

• Orchid Server Properties: /etc/opt/orchid_server.properties
  • Stores all of the Orchid Core VMS settings and can be used to update things like the Orchid Core VMS port number, manually update the admin password, etc.
  • Settings entered in this file will override the default settings in the Orchid Server Default Properties file (described below).
• Orchid Server Default Properties: /etc/opt/orchid_server.properties.default
  • Stores all of the Orchid Core VMS default settings and may serve as a good reference. [Any changes made to this file will be ignored.]
• Orchid ONVIF Auto-Discovery: /etc/opt/orchid_onvif_autodiscovery.properties
  • Used to edit the default settings for the Orchid ONVIF auto-discovery service used by Orchid Core VMS.

Refer to the Installation Support Topics section for a complete list of available properties.

1. Open the configuration file in a text editor by typing the following command: nano /etc/opt/orchid_server.properties. Then press Enter.

2. Set the two parameters below. They take effect only when Orchid Core VMS is started for the first time [typically meaning that the Orchid Core VMS database (at /var/lib/orchid_server/orchid.sqlite) does not exist when Orchid Core VMS starts].

orchid.admin.password
Sets the admin password used upon first signing in. After the first sign in, the admin password can be configured via the user interface.

archives.dir
Specifies the directory to which video files are saved. After the first sign in, this property can be changed by editing the configuration file.

*You must set the administrator password and the archive directory before you start running Orchid Core VMS.

The following parameters may be changed at any time and take effect upon restarting Orchid Core VMS.

webserver.port
Controls the port on which the Orchid Core VMS user interface is accessed. The default port is 80, but if your RHEL system is running an HTTP server such as Apache or Nginx, you will likely need to change this value.

archivecleaner.usedspace.percentage
Controls the percentage of disk space Orchid Core VMS will use to store video archives. The default is 85%. Find the video archives on the volume specified in archives.dir.

locale
Sets the language for Orchid Core VMS. The default is en (English).

If, during the course of your modifications, the properties file becomes malformed, Orchid Core VMS may fail to start. If this happens, check the Orchid Core VMS logs (at /var/log/orchid_server/) for error details.

3. After you edit the configuration file, you must enable and start the Orchid Core VMS services. (Refer to the next topic for instructions.)