Setting Up Sites

• Genie URL: https://gcsurge-docs.nxgen.cloud/gcsurge/docs/setup-deployment/setting-up-sites

Before your team can start processing alarms in GC Surge, your cameras need to be connected. This page follows the Sites & devices screen exactly — every section below matches what you see in the UI, in the same order.

The Sites & Devices Screen

Open Configuration from the left sidebar. The screen has two tabs:

• ADDED SITES & DEVICES — your main view. Shows all sites and cameras, their connection status, site keys, and actions.
• IMPORT STATUS — tracks the progress of any spreadsheet import in progress. Shows row-by-row results and any validation errors.

At the top of the screen, four summary cards at the top show a live count of your sites, devices, deployment modes, and site statuses. For a full breakdown of each metric, see Configuration.

Click ADD (top right) to open the dropdown and choose one of four ways to add sites or cameras.

Before You Start

Have the following ready for each site:

• Camera brand, IP address, protocol, port, username, and password.
• A site name — review Site Naming Conventions below before you start. Names cannot be changed easily after activation.
• For Private/VPN or Edge sites: under WHO WILL INSTALL THE LOCAL AGENT? select I’m at the site if you are physically present (no contact info needed), or Delegate installation to send the site key and steps to someone on-site.

1. Guided Setup YellowRECOMMENDED

We pick your fastest path — answers a short set of questions about your camera type and network, then routes you to the correct setup automatically. Use this for first-time onboarding or when you are unsure which mode applies.

Which Mode Will Guided Setup Choose?

Mode 1 — Public IP

For cameras with a publicly reachable IP. GC Surge connects directly and configures alarm forwarding automatically — no on-site work required.

1. Click ADD → Guided setup.
2. Choose Add a new site and enter the Site name. (To add to an existing site, choose Add a camera to an existing site.)
3. Select A brand from our list — camera must be Axis, Dahua, Hikvision, or NX Witness. (Hanwha and SpykeBox cameras are also compatible — select NX Witness for those.)
4. Select Yes — public IPs or port forwarding.
5. Fill in: Camera IP, Camera brand, HTTP/S port, HTTPS (secure) toggle, Username, Password.
6. Click Add Site.

GC Surge automatically pushes SMTP alarm forwarding credentials to the camera (SMTP server: smtp.zeptomail.eu, port 587, TLS). A confirmation shows Surge is connecting to your device — alarms will start flowing shortly.

Mode 2 — Private/VPN

For cameras on a private network. GC Surge uses a local agent to discover cameras and configure alarm forwarding from inside the network. After setup, field activation is completed on-site using the GDA — by you if you are at the site, or by your delegate.

1. Click ADD → Guided setup.
2. Choose Add a new site and enter the Site name.
3. Select A brand from our list — Axis, Dahua, Hikvision, or NX Witness.
4. Select No — private network only. (Select I'm not sure if unsure — GC Surge assumes private.)
5. Fill in camera details: Camera IP, Camera brand, HTTP/S port, HTTPS toggle, Username, Password.

1. Under WHO WILL INSTALL THE LOCAL AGENT?, choose one option — the rest of the flow differs by choice:

Option A — I’m at the site (you install the GDA yourself):

The GDA Not Connected panel appears at the bottom of the form. Follow these steps:

1. Download the GDA — click Windows Installer or MacOS Installer. Install and run it on a PC on the same network as the cameras.
2. Click Retry Connection. Once GC Surge detects the agent, the panel changes to Agent connected (v1.1.0).
3. Click Add Site → confirm the dialog → click Proceed.

Option B — Delegate installation (someone on-site installs it for you):

• Enter Contact person, Contact email, country code, and Contact phone.
• Click Add Site → confirm the dialog → click Proceed. The site is created with status Pending.
• The delegate receives the site key and step-by-step installation instructions via WhatsApp or email and completes the GDA setup on-site.

Field activation is required to start receiving alarms — see Genie Discovery Agent (GDA) — Field Activation.

Mode 3 — Edge

For cameras that only stream video (RTSP) and cannot send alarms on their own. GC Edge software runs on a PC at the site, connects to the RTSP stream, and triggers alarms from it. NOVA99x runs locally inside GC Edge on the site machine.

1. Click ADD → Guided setup.
2. Choose Add a new site and enter the Site name.
3. Select Use GC Edge — works with any camera.
4. Fill in: Camera IP (local network), HTTP/S port, RTSP port (default: 554), HTTPS toggle, Username, Password. Camera brand is set to GC Edge automatically.
5. Under WHO WILL INSTALL THE LOCAL AGENT?, choose one option:I'm at the site — you install GC Edge yourself. Contact fields are not required.

• Delegate installation — someone on-site installs it for you. Enter their Contact person, Contact email, country code, and Contact phone. They receive the site key and installation steps via WhatsApp or email.

1. Click Add Site. Site is created with status Pending. Steps 2–4 are completed on-site (by you if you chose I’m at the site, or by your delegate).
2. On the on-site PC, open GC Edge, paste the Site Key, and click Connect.
3. GC Edge scans the network and shows discovered cameras. Select cameras and click Add selected cams.
4. ARM GC Edge — click the ARM button. Alarms will not flow until armed.

Field activation is required to start receiving alarms — see Genie Discovery Agent (GDA) — Field Activation.

2. Add sites manually

Add a new site or cameras to an existing one — fill in the connection details directly. No wizard, no guided questions. One camera at a time.

To add multiple sites at once, use Import from spreadsheet below.

Step 1 — Site Info

Step 2 — Camera Info

Fields change depending on whether the GC Edge camera toggle is ON or OFF.

Default — Public IP

Private/VPN Site (auto-detected)

No toggle or selection needed. When you enter a private or locally unreachable IP address (e.g. 192.168.x.x), GC Surge detects it automatically:

• The Use case field changes to Private/VPN Site with the note “Auto-detected from IP accessibility check.”
• A note appears below the port field: “Port unreachable — site will connect via Private/VPN.”
• The WHO WILL INSTALL THE LOCAL AGENT? section and GDA Not Connected panel appear automatically — see Step 3 below for options and steps.

GC Edge camera (toggle ON)

Enable when GC Edge runs on a device at the site. No public IP or supported brand required.

Camera brand locks to GCEdge and Use case locks to Edge Deployment automatically.

Step 3 — Who Will Install the GDA? (Private/VPN and GC Edge)

I'm at the site

Delegate installation

Step 4 — Contact Info (Public IP only)

All optional: Contact person, Contact email, Contact phone (select country code first).

Click Add Site

• Public IP: GC Surge connects to the camera immediately.
• Private/VPN — I’m at the site: Download and run the GDA on a PC on the same network. Click Retry Connection until the agent is detected, then click Add Site.
• Private/VPN — Delegate: Site created. GC Surge sends the site key and installation steps to the contact via WhatsApp or email. The delegate completes the GDA setup on-site.
• GC Edge — I'm at the site: Site created. Install GC Edge on a local device. Site key shown directly.
• GC Edge — Delegate: Site created. GC Surge sends site key and steps via WhatsApp or email.

3. Import from spreadsheet

Add multiple sites and cameras in one upload — use the Excel template to add many sites at once. GC Surge validates the sheet before any site is created.

1. Click ADD → Import from spreadsheet.
2. Click Download Current As Template to get the correct column layout.
3. Fill in your sites (site name, camera IP, brand, port, credentials, contact).
4. Upload the completed sheet (.xlsx or .xls).
5. Optional: enable Auto-send site key to owners after import — delivers each site's key to the assigned contact via WhatsApp or email automatically. Leave off if you want to review the import first.
6. GC Surge validates the sheet and shows exactly what needs fixing before proceeding.

For bulk imports with private sites, a Bulk device configuration section appears after upload and applies settings to all private devices at once. See Bulk Spreadsheet Import for the full field reference.

4. Universal camera support

Works with REST API, SMTP, or FTP-enabled cameras — use when your camera will push alarms to GC Surge on its own. You pick the method the camera supports and copy the generated credentials into it.

See Adding Devices — Universal Camera Support for the full step-by-step procedure.

The Added Sites Table

The table below the cards shows all your sites. Use Search sites or the All statuses filter to find specific sites.

Click any site row to see its cameras in the Devices panel on the right.

Site Statuses

If a site shows Error

Common causes: invalid credentials, blocked or incorrect port, unsupported firmware, or camera behind access controls the cloud cannot traverse. Fix the specific issue in the site detail view and click Retry.

Manual configuration (fallback)

If a camera stays in Error after Retry, configure it by hand: take the SMTP/FTP details GC Surge generated, enter them in the camera's own alarm-forwarding settings through its web interface, then confirm in GC Surge. The device is marked Manually configured and sends alarms the same as any other device.

Validate Before Going Live

After adding a camera, confirm these before marking it operational:

1. In Configuration, confirm the camera appears under the correct site and device count has incremented.
2. In Video Search, confirm events from the new camera are appearing. This verifies the full alarm pipeline.
3. In the Home Dashboard, confirm KPI metrics reflect activity from the new site.
4. Do not mark the device as operational until the site status shows Active.

Site Naming Conventions

Site names appear across Video Search, Analytics, subscription filters, and Configuration. Consistent naming makes large deployments manageable.

• Use a consistent format mapping to your business structure: City-BuildingType-Number (e.g. Amman-Retail-01, Dubai-Warehouse-07).
• Site names cannot be changed easily after activation. Choose carefully before submission.
• Avoid special characters, spaces within identifiers, or inconsistent capitalisation — these cause issues in bulk imports and confuse search results.
• For bulk imports, run a small test batch of 5–10 rows first. Divide large imports into batches of 50–100 sites per upload.

Best Practices

• Plan site names before you start — they are permanent once a site is activated.
• Use Import from spreadsheet for large deployments — scales better than adding one at a time, and errors are caught before any site is submitted.
• Add a site contact for Private/VPN and Edge sites if someone else will handle on-site activation.
• Use Genie on each setup page — it adapts guidance to the site type you are working with.
• Check the Sites dashboard regularly after activation. Any status change from Active without a known cause needs immediate investigation.