Re: webcam html and ftp servers: restricting access
* Russell L. Harris <rlharris@oplink.net> [071002 03:42]:
> Motion looks good; it has been a long time since I last looked at it.
> I now am printing out and reading the manual/wiki and the FAQ.
>
> To get started with motion, would I likely be OK with the Debian
> packages, which are 3.2.3 in the testing repository, or should I
> install the 3.2.8 release from SourceForge?
Andrew,
This was almost too simple. Many thanks! I used aptitude to install
motion, and I discovered that the Debian maintainer had created and
installed a minimal configuration file "/etc/motion/motion.conf". I
edited the configuration file to specify a non-zero port number (the
maintainer suggested 8000) for the mini-http server, and to change the
parameter webcam_localhost from "on" to "off" in order to enable
external access to the mini-server. I then went to another machine in
the LAN, and I found the web cam image displayed at
http://hostname:port.
So, thanks to your recommendation, I now have a working system, and it
could not have been easier to implement. Refinements can be made
later, when I have more time.
P.S. I went shopping for a web cam, and found the Philips
SPC900NC/27, which has a glass lens (not plastic) and good sensitivity
for extreme low-light conditions. The SPC900NC was less expensive
than were many of the cameras which had plastic lenses. I had an
image as soon as I plugged the camera into the USB port of my Debian
"testing" machine. The driver (PWC) was already present. The
installation and configuration was easier than is setting up a webcam
in Window$.
RLH
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