Test edge failover recording against the exact camera and firmware

Bottom line: enabling SD failover is not proof of continuous evidence. Camera and software behavior, recording mode, segmentation, storage health, outage duration, and reconnection timing all affect what returns to the server.

Source fact: failover behavior has documented conditions and possible gaps

The current AXIS Camera Station Pro User Manual — Failover recording describes SD-card failover and states that, when Copy SD card recordings to ACS Pro server is enabled, recordings are copied after reconnection. Its documentation distinguishes behavior by product and software version and notes that gaps of roughly one to four seconds can occur because the camera creates recording segments. It also documents conditions affecting motion-triggered failover behavior.

Those details make a generic checkbox inspection inadequate. A system may bridge one kind of outage while losing the first event, failing under a different recording mode, or returning footage that is not visible where investigators expect it.

Source boundary and applicability

The manual applies to supported Axis devices and AXIS Camera Station Pro releases. It does not guarantee zero loss, validate third-party cameras, or establish that a particular SD card has sufficient endurance and capacity. Confirm support and behavior for the exact camera model, AXIS OS release, server version, recording method, and storage media.

Applicability questions

Which failure is being covered: server process, recorder host, switch path, WAN, or planned maintenance?

Does the camera continuously record to the card or begin failover only after a condition is detected?

How much card capacity remains under the production frame rate and bitrate?

What happens to motion, analytics, audio, timestamps, bookmarks, and concurrent exports?

How long does copy-back take, and can another outage occur during reconciliation?

DSE recommendation: commission the entire outage timeline

The following steps are DSE recommendations based on the cited source.

Create test cases for short and extended loss of the recording server and relevant network path. Run them during continuous recording and every critical event-triggered mode. Place a visible clock and repeatable motion in view, record disconnect and reconnect times independently, and compare the camera card, server timeline, and exported clip frame by frame around each boundary.

Verify that copied-back segments inherit correct camera identity, timestamps, permissions, retention, and searchability. Alert separately on server disconnection, card failure, failover activation where exposed, and copy-back failure. Do not intentionally interrupt a life-safety or active security operation; use an approved test window and rollback plan.

Verification and evidence

Keep the test matrix, exact model and version inventory, card-health record, packet or monitoring timestamps, camera-side and server-side clips, measured maximum gap, reconciliation duration, alert delivery evidence, and acceptance sign-off. Repeat after firmware, recorder, storage, or network changes.

Official references

AXIS Camera Station Pro User Manual — Failover recording – Axis Communications