A Mini-DIN 8-pole external connector is provided for auxiliary connections to the camera server. This page discusses the additional functionality that this connector provides.
The Auxiliary I/O connector provides the interface to one relay switch output and four digital inputs.
A pinout table and diagram for the connector is detailed below:
| Pin | Function |
| 1 - | Relay switch (Max 24V AC/DC, 100mA) |
| 2 - | Relay switch (Max 24V AC/DC, 100mA) |
| 3 - | N/C |
| 4 - | Input 3 |
| 5 - | Input 4 |
| 6 - | Input 1 |
| 7 - | Input 2 |
| 8 - | Ground |
Note:
GND on the IO connector is not connected directly to the
power connector. Always use two independent power sources!
Connecting GND to the power connector will permanenly damage your
camera server.
The status of the input/output interface can be monitored and controlled by the IO software within your camera server. From your Web browser, you can access the IO control file in order to either drive the relay output or monitor the status of the digital inputs. To access the IO files enter one of the following URLs:
http://cameraname/io/input.txt
http://cameraname/io/relayon.txt
http://cameraname/io/relayoff.txt
You will require root access to reach these files and may now be asked to supply a username and password. Login as root and supply the root password (default password is pass).
You can use this output to drive directly a maximum load of 24V AC/DC at 100mA. By connecting additional relay circuitry, you can also use this output to drive heavier loads.
You can drive the relay off and on simply by clicking relayoff.txt or relayon.txt. Clicking on either of these will return either of the following messages, respectively:
Relay is On
Relay is Off
Note:
You can also control the relay switch via a CRON script using the snapshot command.
The four digital inputs makes it possible to trigger your snapshots on chosen events. However, you must use a CRON script to implement this functionality.
By connecting a digital microcircuit to a particular door for example, it is possible to take a snapshot on each occasion that it opens or closes.
Status information for each of the digital inputs is presented within a text string. The status of the inputs may be ‘read’ by clicking on the input.txt. The string will amongst other things define the time and duration of the last trigger event for the each input:
| input:1 current:0 last:1
pulse:2 time of change:12.22 input:2 current:1 last:0 pulse:6 time of change:14.46 input:3 current:0 last:1 pulse:1 time of change:09.13 input:4 current:0 last:1 pulse:4 time of change:12.25 |
This table describes each digital input text string:
| String | Description |
| input: | Input reference (Input 1= pin 6, Input 2 = pin 7, Inpput 3 = pin 3, Input 4 = pin 4) |
| current: | Current port status (Logical high = 1, Logical low = 0) |
| last: | Status before last ‘read’ operation |
| pulse: | Elapsed time (number of pulses received since the last ‘read’ operation) |
| time_of_change: | Time of the last ‘read’ operation |
The way in which you use the auxiliary connector is of course for you to decide. Axis does not provide application software, but instead allow you to determine how this connector is best utilized. Naturally, we would be more than pleased to learn of any interesting applications that you might develop!