Rhombus Relay

Topics included in this article:

• Overview
• Relay Core (N100)
  • Ethernet Ports
  • Installation and Console Setup
    • Adding a Multisensor Camera
    • Assign Validated Cameras
    • Assign Third-Party Camera
    • Add Another Stream
    • Bulk Upload
  • Console Navigation
  • Notifications
• Relay Lite
  • Console Setup
  • Console Navigation
• Helpful Links
• Contact Support or Sales

Overview

Rhombus has two Relay solutions available, Relay Core and Relay Lite. 

Relay Core (N100) is physical hardware that integrates existing third-party cameras for a phased migration to cloud-managed physical security. The N100 lets organizations easily upgrade their existing cameras and gain the benefits of the Rhombus platform.

Relay Lite is ideal for mixed camera environments. Relay Lite is a no-hardware solution that uses Rhombus cameras to integrate third-party cameras for seamless, extended visibility. Rhombus Relay Lite enables organizations to incorporate select third-party cameras into their existing Rhombus deployment for complete visibility.

Note: We recommend using h.264 encoding.

Relay Core (N100)

Relay Core transforms up to 10 (ten) third-party RTSP streaming cameras into a smart camera on the Rhombus Console. The N100 comes with a 2TB SSD that provides up to 20 days of storage per camera. Increased resolution and bitrate can reduce the number of days stored for a specific device.

Third-party cameras that are ONVIF Compliant or listening on the standard RTSP port (554) can be auto-discovered. Otherwise, a camera can be manually entered using the RTSP URL as detailed in step 6.

Note: Some third-party camera manufacturers may have various requirements.

Ethernet Ports

The N100 is equipped with two ethernet ports: a primary port used for connecting to the external internet, and a secondary port used for connecting to a closed internal network. The primary ethernet port is outlined in red in the below image.

Note: All other ports, aside from the power connection and ethernet ports, should not be used.

Installation and Console Setup

1. Power on the relay and connect it to the same network the third-party cameras are connected to. Note: The first time the relay boots up, it needs to update which can take up to 20 minutes. Once the update is complete, the registration should go through.

2. Navigate to "Settings," and select "Third-Party Cameras."

3. Select the "Rhombus Relay Cores" tab. Any pre-registered devices will show up here.

4. While the relay core is updating, click "Manage Usernames & Passwords." Usernames and passwords are required for third-party camera streams to be validated. Storing them allows Rhombus to automatically validate any streams and reduces the need to manually validate.

5. Enter the username, password, and any additional notes to identify the third-party camera. Click "Add."

6. Click the name of the relay core. On this page you can assign cameras, remove cameras, reboot, unregister, and edit the name/location. Assign Validated Cameras - These are cameras that the core has already validated and can automatically detect. Add Camera - Manually validate by adding the camera's RTSP URL and then add a camera that is not showing up under validated cameras. Note: Some manufacturers will require additional parameters in the RTSP URL. Refer to the manufacturer's documentation for the correct format.  If a camera cannot be validated, you may need to log into the camera stream and adjust the encoding format to h.264.

Adding a Multisensor Camera

Adding a multisensor camera to a Relay Core is supported in the Rhombus Console. There are several pathways to do so.

Note: Third-party multisensor camera support is also available for Relay Lite. To assign a camera stream via Relay Lite, click the "Assign To" dropdown menu and select "Relay Lite."

Assign Validated Cameras

Assign Third-Party Camera

1. Navigate to "Settings," and click "Third-Party Cameras" at the bottom of the page.

2. Click the "Add Third-Party Camera" button.

3. Select a location from the "Camera Location" dropdown menu. The RTSP URL field accepts multiple URLs. Enter the URLs from the multisensor camera, click "Validate," and cilck "Assign" when validation is complete.

Add Another Stream

1. Navigate to "Settings," and click "Third-Party Cameras" at the bottom of the page.

2. Add a third-party camera stream via the "Add Third-Party Camera" button or use an already added camera.

3. Click the "Actions" menu beside the added stream from the multisensor camera, then click "Add Another Stream."

4. Edit the RTSP URL as needed, select the Relay Core from the "Relay Core" dropdown menu, and click "Assign." Note: Multiple URLs can be entered in the "RTSP URL" field.

Bulk Upload

Bulk uploading cameras will create discovery entries for third-party cameras and will not automatically assign them to Relay Core or Relay Lite. Once cameras have been bulk uploaded, they will need to be manually assigned using one of the above methods.

1. Navigate to "Settings," and click "Third-Party Cameras" at the bottom of the page.

2. Click "Bulk Upload."

3. Select a location from the "Camera Location" dropdown menu. Following the example CSV format, select a CSV file with the RTSP URLs for the multisensor camera using the "Browse" button, and click "Upload" when finished.

Console Navigation

Once cameras have been assigned to a Relay Core, the camera streams will be available to view under "Cameras" in the Devices tab.

You can differentiate these from Rhombus cameras because "Third-Party" will be displayed in place of a serial number.

• You can apply an alert policy, use AI analytics, and share a stream as you would with other Rhombus cameras.
• An Enterprise license can be applied by navigating to "Settings" and clicking "Manage" under Licenses & Features. For more information on how to apply and toggle on features for an enterprise license, review the Console Features & Licensing article.

Note: Enterprise licenses can only be applied to Relay Core cameras. Cameras added via Relay Lite cannot have an Enterprise license applied.

• Relay Core streams can be added to video walls. For more information, review the Managing Video Walls article.
• Alarm Monitoring is compatible with Relay Core ONLY. 

Note: You cannot set a static IP address, as the Relay Core is the IP address.

Image Settings

Activity Regions are supported for use with third-party cameras. 

All other image settings for third-party streams will need to be changed directly through the camera's manufacturer UI. Once the changes are made, they will be reflected in the Rhombus Console.

Notifications

Relay core streams can be selected for notifications, similar to other Rhombus cameras. 

Note: Disconnect/Connect notifications will not work for third-party camera streams, as the Rhombus system does not have access to the health of third-party cameras. 

Relay Lite

Relay Lite provides a simple path for consolidating existing cameras into the Rhombus Console for unified live viewing and management. One third-party camera stream is supported per Rhombus camera.

The third-party camera needs to be manually entered using the RTSP URL.

Console Setup

1. Power on the third-party camera, and connect it to the same network the Rhombus cameras are connected to.

2. Navigate to "Settings," and select "Third-Party Cameras."

3. Click the "Third-Party Cameras" tab.

4. On this page, you can manage usernames & passwords for the third-party camera streams, add a new third-party camera, and validate and assign any streams to a Rhombus Core.  Adding Usernames and Passwords under "Manage Usernames & Passwords" will allow the associated RTSP streams to be automatically connected by Rhombus.

5. If a camera stream has not auto-populated, click "Add Third-Party Camera."

6. Assign the camera to a location and enter the RTSP URL.  Note: Some manufacturers will require additional parameters in the RTSP URL. Refer to the manufacturer's documentation for the correct format.  If the username and password has been saved under "Manage Usernames & Passwords", toggle on the Authentication to auto-connect. Otherwise, toggle this selection off to manually enter the Username and Password for the third-party camera.  Click "Validate." Once the validation has completed, you will be able to give the camera a name and assign it to Relay Lite. Click "Assign" to finish the process.

7. To assign an auto-validated camera to Relay Lite, click "Assign."

8. Provide the camera with a name and select "Relay Lite" from the "Assign To" dropdown menu. Click "Assign" when finished.

Console Navigation

The assigned camera will now be available for viewing under cameras in the "Devices" tab. 

Relay Lite provides footage over a 24-hour rolling period. To use features with the stream, the third-party camera needs to be assigned to a Rhombus Core.

You can edit the name/location as well as unassign the camera.

Relay Lite streams can be added to video walls. For more information, please review the Managing Video Walls article. 

Image Settings

Currently, image settings for third-party streams will need to be changed directly through the camera's manufacturer UI. Once the changes are made, they will be reflected in the Rhombus Console. 

Helpful Links

• Creating and Assigning Alert Policies
• Save, Share, and Delete Video Clips
• Console Features & Licensing
• End User License Agreement
• Managing Video Walls

Contact Support or Sales

Have more questions? Contact Rhombus Support at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 2 or support@rhombus.com.

Interested in learning more? Contact Rhombus Sales at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 1 or sales@rhombus.com.