*Device groups (Setup)

Owned by Tom Polman
Last updated: Sept 21, 2022
3 min read

Configuration Article | CA-20201130-TP-13

VDG Sense | Setup | Device Groups

Device groups have two primary functions in Sense.

  1. Device groups define which cameras a user is allowed to see.

  2. Device groups can be set to a sequence 

How can I use Device groups?

Device groups are used to define a group of devices and assign this device group to a user group. This allows the users of that group access to interact with these devices. Devices can be assigned to multiple groups, and multiple groups can be assigned to a user group.

 

Example

A Sense configuration has the following 5 cameras.

  • Back door

  • Emergency door

  • Front door

  • Lobby

  • Stairs Floor 1

These cameras are assigned on location by floor level. So “Stairs Floor ” is assigned to location “First Floor” and the other devices are “Ground Floor”. We can group the devices in various ways, but in this example, we will group the devices for user purposes. For example, a counter will only need to see the , “Front door” camera. So we create a “Counter” device group and assign the “Front door” camera. Next, we want a security user to have an overview of all the doors in the building. We create a “Doors” device group, and assign “Front door”, “Back door” and “Emergency door” to this group. There’s also a public guest account in Sense, and this group can only see the “Lobby” camera.

An organized group can look like this:

These groups can then be assigned to the corresponding user group. If a user group contains multiple device groups, a sum of all the devices will be available for that group. Duplicate cameras will not be shown.

Creating a Device group

Open tab ’Device groups’ to create a device group. On the left side is the list of created device groups. Using the buttons below the list device groups can be added, removed or edited. On the right side is the list of cameras.

Click ’+’ below the ’Device group’ list to create a device group. A dialog appears where the name of the device group can be entered. Use a meaningful name, like ’All cameras’. Click ’Ok’ to close the dialog and add the device group to the list. Drag and drop the cameras from the cameralist on the right to one of the device groups on the left.

Sequences

A device group can also be used as a “Camera Sequence”. For more information about sequences, read the Sequences page.