General Windows Setup

Debloat Windows

You'll want to remove as much bloatware from your PC in order to optimize your system and make sure minimal unnecessary background processes are running. Background process can take up valuable CPU resources from Motive and cause frame drops while running your camera system.

There are many external resources in order to remove unused apps and halt unnecessary background processes, so they will not be covered within the scope of this page.

Windows Settings

Firewall and Antivirus Settings

As a general rule for all OptiTrack camera systems, you'll want to disable all Windows firewalls and either disable or remove any Antivirus software. If firewalls and Antivirus software is enabled, this will cause frame drops while running your camera system.

Priority

In order for Motive to run above other processes, you'll need to change the Priority of Motive.exe to High.

• Right Click on the Motive shortcut from your Desktop

• In the Target: text field enter the below path, this will allow Motive to run at High Priority that will persist from closing and reopening Motive.

C:\Windows\System32\cmd.exe /C start "" /high "C:\Program Files\OptiTrack\Motive\Motive.exe"

Processor Affinity (Optional)

If you're running a system with a CPU with a lower core count, you may need to disable Motive from running on a couple of cores. This will help stabilize the overall system and free up some cores for other Windows required processes.

• From the Task Manager, navigate to the Details tab and right click on Motive.exe

• Select Set Affinity

• From this window, uncheck the cores you wish to disallow Motive.exe to run on.

• Click OK

Network Setup in Windows

Switch Settings

NIC Settings

NIC

Your Network Interface Card has a few settings that can change in order to optimize your system.

To navigate to the camera network's NIC:

• Open Windows Settings

• Select Ethernet from the navigation sidebar

• Under Related settings select Change adapter options

• From the Network Connections pop up window, right click on your NIC and select Properites

• Select the Configure... button and navigate to the Advanced tab

Speed & Duplex

For the Speed and Duplex property, you'll want to change this to the highest throughput of your NIC. If you have a 10Gbps NIC, you'll want to make sure that 10Gbps Full Duplex is selected. This property allows the NIC to operate at it's full range. If this setting is not altered to Full, Windows has the tendency to throttle the NIC throughput causing a 10Gbps NIC to only be sending data at 2Gbps.

Interrupt Moderation

Interrupt Moderation allows the NIC to moderate interrupts. When there is a significant amount of data being uplinked to Motive, this can cause more interrupts to occur thus hindering the system performance. You'll want to Disable this property.

NIC Adapters (Laptop)

Although not recommended, you may use a laptop PC to run a larger or Prime Color Camera system. When using a laptop PC, you'll need to use an external network adapter for. The above settings will typically not apply to these types of adapters, so no properties will need to changed.

Overview

PrimeX and SlimX cameras use Ethernet cables for power and to connect to the camera network. To handle the camera data throughput, cables and networking hardware (switches, NIC) must be able to transmit at 1 Gigabit to avoid data loss. For networks with color cameras or a large camera count, we recommend using a 10 Gigabit network.

For best performance, we recommend that all OptiTrack camera systems run on an independent, isolated network.

This page covers the following topics:

• Switches and power load balancing.

• Ethernet cable types and which cables to use in an OptiTrack system.

• Recommended network configurations for small and large camera systems.

• Adding an eSync2 for synchronization.

• Checking for system errors in Motive.

Switch Requirements

Network switches form the backbone of an Ethernet-based OptiTrack camera system, providing the most reliable and direct communication between cameras and the Motive PC.

Power Budget and Camera Power Requirements

Switches also power the cameras. The total Watts a switch can provide is known as its Power (or PoE) Budget. The Watts needed to power all of the attached powered devices must be within the Power Budget for best performance.

The number of cameras any one switch can support varies based on the total amount of power drawn by the cameras. For example, a 65 W switch can run 4 PrimeX 13 PoE cameras, which require 15.4 W each to power:

4 x 15.4 W = 61.6 W

61.6 W < 65 W

If the total Watts required exceeds the Power Budget, cameras may experience power failures, causing random disconnects and reconnects, or they may fail to appear in Motive.

Network switches provided by OptiTrack include a label to specify the number of cameras supported:

Redundant Power Supply

Depending on which OptiTrack cameras are used, a switch may not have a large enough power budget to use every one of its ports. In a larger camera setup, this can result in multiple switches with unused ports. In this case, we recommend connecting each switch to a Redundant Power Supply (RPS) to extend its power budget.

For example, a 24-port switch may have a 370W power budget, supporting 12 PoE+ cameras that require 30W to power. If the same 24-port switch is connected to an RPS, it can now power all 24 PoE+ cameras (each with a 30W power requirement) utilizing all 24 of the ports on the switch.

PoE Switch Types

PoE switches are categorized based on the maximum power level that individual ports can supply. The table below shows the power output of the various types of PoE switches and lists the current camera models that require each power level.

Power Requirements for External Devices

When calculating the number of switches needed, include the eSync2 (if used) and all BaseStations needed for the capture:

• eSync2: 4.4W

• BaseStation: 2.2W

SFP Module

A Small Form-Factor Pluggable Module (SFP Module) is a transceiver that inserts into an SFP port on the switch to allow the switch to accommodate different connection types than just the standard RJ45 Ethernet ports. This can include higher speed copper or fiber optic connections.

Managed Features

Switches often include functions for managing network traffic that can interfere with the camera data and should be turned off. While these features are critical to a corporate LAN or other network with internet access, they can cause dropped frames, loss of frame data, camera disconnection, and other issues on a camera system.

For example, features such as Broadcast Storm Control may identify large data transmissions from the cameras as an attack on the network and potentially shut down the associated ports on the switch, disconnecting the camera(s) in the process.

OptiTrack switches ship with these management features disabled.

VLANs Not Supported

Ports on a switch can be partitioned into separate network segments known as Virtual Local Area Networks, or VLANs. Your IT department may use these to allow one switch to provide a virtually isolated network for the camera system and access to the corporate LAN and internet. This is not a supported configuration for an OptiTrack camera system.

Ethernet Cable Requirements

Cable Types

There are multiple categories of Ethernet cables, each with different specifications for maximum data transmission rate and cable length.

*In general, the maximum cable length for an Ethernet cable is 100 m. While Cat7 and Cat8 cables can transmit data at higher rates, it reduces the maximum distance the data can travel before signal loss occurs.

• Cat6a cables are recommended.

• Cat5 or Cat5e cables run at lower speeds and are not supported.

• Cat7 and Cat8 cables will work, but do not offer any added benefits to offset the increased cost.

Round vs. Flat

Round cables are better for long distances and high data transmission speeds. They are more insulated, easier to install without issues, and more durable, making them our recommended choice.

Flat cables should not be used on an OptiTrack network as they are highly susceptible to cross talk and EMI.

Electromagnetic Shielding

Electromagnetic shielding protects cables from cross talk, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and radio frequency interference (RFI), all of which can result in loss of data or stalled cameras.

Shielding also protects the cameras from electrostatic discharge (ESD), which can damage them.

Ethernet cables are categorized based on the type of shielding they have overall and whether individual twisted pairs are also shielded.

Overall shielding wraps around all of the twisted pairs, directly below the PVC jacket. This shield can be a braided screen (S), foil (F), or both (SF). Cables without an overall shield are designated with a (U).

Individual Twisted pairs can be shielded with foil (FTP), or left unshielded (UTP).

Examples of cable shielding types:

• S/UTP: The cable has a braided screen overall, with no shielding on the individual twisted pairs.

• SF/FTP: The cable has two overall shields: a braided screen over a foil shield. The individual twisted pairs are shielded with foil.

• U/UTP: The cable has no overall shield or shields on the individual twisted pairs. We do not recommend using these type of cables in an OptiTrack camera system.

Tools for Cable Management

• Gaffers Tape: This offers a good solution for covering a small run of wires on the floor.

• Labels: Label both ends of each cable before connecting the PC and cameras to the switch(es). This will allow you to easily identify the port where the camera is connected.

• Velcro Strips: These work best for cable bundling in flexible setups. While Velcro may take more effort to remove then plastic zip ties, they can be reused multiple times and create less clutter when changes are made to the setup.

• Truss Cable Management Clip: This is a specialty product used for Truss cabling. Clips help with cable organization, but can be size restrictive for a large bundle of cables.

• Wire Conduit: These products cover the entire cable bundle. They are size-restrictive and can be difficult to put on or take off.

• Floor Cable Covers: This product offers the best solution for covering floor cables, however they can be quite bulky.

Camera Network Setup

In addition to camera count, the type of video being captured can affect the system's bandwidth needs. Reference video modes (Grayscale and MJPEG) and color video require significantly more bandwidth than object mode.

As noted above, always use 10 Gigabit shielded Ethernet cables (Cat6a or above) and a 10 Gigabit uplink switch to connect to the Motive PC, to accommodate the high data traffic. Make sure the NIC installed in the host PC can accommodate 10Gbps.

Setup Steps

Connect the Motive PC

Start by connecting the Motive (host) PC to the camera network's PoE switch via a Cat6a Ethernet cable. When the network includes multiple switches, connect the host to the aggregator switch.

If the computer used for capture is also connected to an existing network, such as a Corporate LAN, use a second Ethernet port or add-on NIC to connect the computer to the camera network.

Connect the Ethernet Cameras to the PoE Switch(es)

Connect Other System Devices

Connect any BaseStation(s) needed for the active devices directly to the aggregator switch, if used.

When the network includes multiple switches, connect the eSync2 to the aggregator switch. See the section below for more details on connecting the eSync2.

Power the Switches

The switch(es) must be powered on to power the cameras. To completely shut down the camera system, power off the network switch(es).

For best performance, do not connect devices other than the computer to the camera network. Add-on network cards should be installed if additional Ethernet ports are required for the Motive PC.

Ethernet Camera System Diagrams

eSync2

External devices can include timecode inputs such as Video Genlock or Precision Time Protocol, or output devices such as force plates or NI-DAQ devices.

Only one eSync2 is needed per system. When one is used, it is the master in the synchronization chain.

Final Steps

Please see our and pages for detailed setup instructions for an Ethernet camera system.

Ethernet Camera System

An Ethernet camera system uses Ethernet switches and cables to connect to the Motive PC. Ethernet-based camera models include PrimeX series (PrimeX 13, 13W, 22, 41, 120), SlimX series (SlimX 13, 120), and Prime Color models.

Ethernet cables not only offer faster data transfer rates, but they also provide power over Ethernet to each camera while transferring the data to the host PC. This reduces the number of cables required and simplifies the overall setup. With a maximum length of 100m, Ethernet cables allow coverage over large volumes.

Main Components

• Host PC with an isolated network card for the camera system (PCI/e NIC)

• Ethernet Cameras

• Ethernet cables

• Ethernet PoE/PoE+/PoE++ Switch(es)

• Uplink switch (for a large camera count setup)

• The eSync2 (optional for synchronizations)

Ethernet Cable Requirements

Cable Type

There are multiple categories of Ethernet cables, and each has different specifications for maximum data transmission rate and cable length. For an Ethernet based system, Cat6 or above Gigabit Ethernet cables should be used. 10 Gigabit Ethernet cables – Cat6a or above — are recommended in conjunction with a 10 Gigabit uplink switch for the connection between the uplink switch and the host PC in order to accommodate for high data traffic.

Electromagnetic Shielding

We recommend using only cables that have electromagnetic interference shielding. If unshielded cables are used, cables in close proximity to each other have the potential to create data transfer interference and cause cameras to stall in Motive.

Network Switch Requirement and Setup

Our current general standard for network switches are:

• PoE ports with at least 1 Gigabit of data transfer for each port.

Switch Setup

We thoroughly test and validate the switches we offer for quality and load balancing, and ship all products pre-configured for easy installation right out of the box.

General Questions

Troubleshooting

Overview

This page provides instructions on how to configure the CameraNicFilter.xml file to whitelist or blacklist specific cameras from the connected camera network.

Starting with Motive 2.1, you can specify which cameras to utilize among the connected Ethernet cameras in a system. This can be done by setting up an XML file (CameraNicFilter.xml) and placing it in Motive's ProgramData directory: C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\CameraNicFilter.xml. Once this is set, Motive will initialize only the specified cameras within the respective network interface. This allows users to distribute the cameras to specific network interfaces on a computer or on multiple computers.

Applications

For common applications, there is usually no need to separate the cameras to different network interfaces. However, there are few situations where you may want to use this filter to segregate the cameras. Below are some of the sample applications of the filters:

Multiple Prime Color cameras

When there are multiple Prime Color cameras in a setup, you can configure the filter to spread out the data load. In other words, you can uplink color camera data through a separate network interface (NIC) and distribute the data traffic to prevent any bandwidth bottleneck. To accomplish this, multiple NICs must be present on the host computer, and you can distribute the data and uplink them onto different interfaces.

Active marker tracking on multiple capture volumes

For , this filter can be used to distribute the cameras to different host computers. By doing so, you can segregate the cameras into multiple capture volumes and have them share the same connected BaseStation. This could be beneficial for VR applications especially if you plan on having multiple volumes to calibrate because you can use the same active components between different volumes.

Configuring the XML File

To separate the cameras, you will need to use a text editor to create an XML file named CameraNicfilter.xml. In this XML file, you will specify which cameras to whitelist or blacklist within the connected network interface. Please note that it is very important for the XML file to match the expected format; for this reason, we strongly recommend to first copy-and-paste the template and start from there.

Attached below is a basic template of the CameraNicFilter.xml file. On each NIC element, you can specify each network interface using the IPAddress attribute, and then in its child elements, you can specifically set which cameras to whitelist or blacklist using their serial numbers.

Sample XML File

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<MotiveNicFilter>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.3">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.5">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
			<Serial>M#####</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
</MotiveNicFilter>

Network Interface

<NIC>

For each network interface that you will be using to communicate with the cameras, you will need to create a <NIC> element and assign a network IP address (IPv4) to its IPAddress attribute. Then, under each NIC element, you can specify which cameras to use or not to use.

Cameras

<Whitelist> / <Blacklist>

Under the NIC element, define two child elements: <Whitelist> and <Blacklist>. In each element, you will be specifying the cameras using their serial numbers. Within each network interface, only the cameras listed under the <Whitelist> element will be used and all of the cameras under <Blacklist> will be ignored.

<Serial>

As shown in the above template, you can specify which cameras to whitelist or blacklist using the corresponding camera serial numbers. For example, you can use the following to specify the camera (M18883) <Serial>M18883</Serial>. You can also use a partial serial number as a wildcard to specify all cameras with the matching serial number. For example, if you wish to blacklist all Color cameras in a network (192.168.1.3), you can use C as the wildcard serial number since the serial number of all color cameras start with C.

<?xml version="1.0" ?>
<MotiveNicFilter>
	<NIC IPAddress="192.168.1.3">
		<Whitelist>
			<Serial>M18883</Serial>			
			<Serial>M18885</Serial>
		</Whitelist>
		<Blacklist>
			<Serial>C</Serial>
		</Blacklist>
	</NIC>
</MotiveNicFilter>

Save the XML File

Once the XMl file is configured, please save the file in the ProgramData directory: C:\ProgramData\OptiTrack\Motive\CameraNicFilter.xml. If everything is set up properly, only the whitelisted cameras under each network interface will get initialized in Motive, and the data from only the specified cameras will be uplinked through the respective network interface.

Samples

Overview

When enabled, the Broadcast Storm Control feature on the NETGEAR ProSafe GSM7228S may interfere with the transmission of data from OptiTrack Ethernet cameras. While this feature is critical to a corporate LAN or other network with internet access, it can cause dropped frames, loss of frame data, camera disconnection, and other issues on a camera system.

For proper system operations, the Storm Control feature must be disabled for all ports used in this aggregator switch. OptiTrack switches ship with these management features disabled.

Temporarily change the IP Address to Access the Uplink Switch

Type Network in the Windows search bar to find and open the Control Panel to View Network Connections. The image below shows the three NICs specified above.

• Double-click or right-click the NIC used to connect to the camera network and select Properties.

• With IPv4 selected, click the Properties button.

• Write down the IP address currently assigned to the Motive PC. You will need to change the address back to this once the switch configuration is updated.

• Change the IP address to 169.254.100.200.

• Enter 255.255.255.0 for the Subnet mask.

• Click OK to save and return to the Properties window.

Configure the Switch

• Open a browser window, enter 169.254.100.100, and press enter.

• This will open the Admin Console for the switch.

• Login to the switch with Username 'admin', and leave Password blank.

• On the Security tab, click the Traffic Control subtab.

• Select Storm Control -> Storm Control Global Configuration from the menu on the left.

• Disable everything in the Port Settings options.

• Click the Maintenance tab and select the Save Config subtab.

• Select Save Configuration from the menu on the left.

• Check the 'Save Configuration' check box. This will update the configuration and retain the new settings the next time the system is restarted.

• Log out of the switch by closing the browser window.

Restore the IP Address

Overview

The Link Layer Discovery Protocol (IEEE 802.1AB) advertises the major capabilities and physical descriptions of components on an 802 Local Area Network. This protocol provides network components from different vendors the ability to communicate with each other.

LLDP also controls the Power over Ethernet (PoE) power allocation. In the case of the PrimeX 120 cameras, LLDP prevents the switch from providing sufficient power to the port where the camera is connected. For this reason, the LLDP protocol must be disabled on any port used to connect a PrimeX 120 to the camera network.

Configure Settings

1. From the Motive PC, launch any web browser and type http://169.254.100.100 to open the Management Console for the switch.

2. This will open the login console.

3. Login using the Admin account.

4. If the switch has already been configured, the password is OptiPOE++. Otherwise, leave the password blank.

5. Click Main UI Login.

PoE Port Configuration

Set the values necessary to ensure the PrimeX 120 receives sufficient power once the LLDP settings are turned off.

1. On the System tab, select the PoE settings from the toolbar.

2. Click Advanced in the navigation bar, on the left.

3. Click PoE Port Configuration.

4. Select the port(s) to update.

5. Set the Max Power (W) value to 99.9.

6. Set the Power Limit Type to User.

7. Click the Apply button in the upper right corner to commit the changes in the current session.

LLDP Configuration

Update settings to prevent LLDP from interfering with traffic from the PrimeX 120.

1. On the System tab, select the LLDP settings from the toolbar.

2. From the Navigation bar, select LLDP -> Interface Configuration.

3. Disable Transmit, Receive, and Notify for all required ports.

4. Click the Apply button in the upper right corner to commit the changes in the current session.

Disable Storm Control

Storm control security features may throttle traffic from the PrimeX 120 cameras, affecting system performance.

1. On the Security tab, select the Traffic Control settings from the toolbar.

2. From the Navigation bar, select Storm Control -> Storm Control Global Configuration.

3. Disable all Port Settings shown.

4. Click the Apply button in the upper right corner to commit the changes in the current session.