GC SurgeDocsYour First 30 Minutes
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Your First 30 Minutes

This guide gives you the fastest path from a new GC Surge account to your first live alarm handled in ZenMode. Follow the steps in order — the whole sequence takes under 30 minutes when your devices are reachable over the network.

Covers: Before You Begin, Step 1 — Register and log in, Step 2 — Invite your operators, Step 3 — Connect your first site, Step 4 — Verify your setup, Step 5 — Run your first ZenMode shift, Evaluating your trial at Day 7.

Before You Begin

Confirm you have:

  • A GC Surge account, or are about to create one — Step 1 covers registration.
  • At least one device that is online and reachable over the network.
  • the device’s IP address or connection details available.
  • At least one person who will handle alarms during the trial (can be you). For a meaningful evaluation, plan for 2–3 operators — see Prerequisites & Customer Categories for the recommended team size.

Not sure if GC Surge is the right fit for your operation? See Prerequisites & Customer Categories first.

Step 1 — Register and log in (~5 minutes)

  1. Go to the GC Surge sign-up page and complete the registration form: Email, Phone number (use the flag on the left to select your country code), Company name, Password, and Retype password. Check I have read and agree to the Terms of Use, then click Create account.
  2. GC Surge sends a verification email and a trial welcome email to your inbox and shows a Check your email screen. You must confirm your email before the account setup wizard opens: open the verification email and click Verify Email Address.
  3. In the wizard, select your preferred language, then click Get started. The wizard guides you through three steps: Welcome, Your profile (set your display name), and Site & Device (add your first site and device). On completion you land on the Home Dashboard.

Your payment details are not required to start, but a payment method must be on file before Day 7 to continue into paid service.

Email verification: Because you confirm your email during registration, the Verify your email item in the Getting Started Checklist is already complete when you reach the Home Dashboard. Email verification is what enables shift reports and scheduled notifications.

For a full walkthrough of the registration flow, see First-Time Login.

Step 2 — Invite your operators (~5 minutes)

  1. In the left sidebar, go to Users.
  2. Click Invite New User.
  3. Enter the team member’s First Name, Last Name, and Email Address — phone number is optional — then select their GC Surge Role: Operator for alarm-handling staff, or Super Admin for managers who need full platform access.
  4. Click Send Invitation. The team member receives an email with a setup link valid for 72 hours.
  5. Repeat for each team member.

You can continue to Step 3 while invitations are pending — operators do not need to accept before you connect cameras. However, operators must complete their account activation (set password via the invitation link) before they can be assigned to sites or handle alarms in Step 5.

Step 3 — Connect your first site (~10 minutes)

  1. In the left sidebar, go to Configuration, click Add sites & devices, and select Guided setup.
  2. Choose what you would like to do:Add a site and device — set up a new location and connect its first device.Add a device to an existing site — pick one of your sites and add a device to it.Add multiple sites and devices — import several sites and devices at once with flash bulk import.Add demo cameras — load sample cameras instantly so you can explore GC Surge without setting up hardware.
  3. Choose your device type:A brand from our list (AXIS, Dahua, Hikvision, NX Witness) — GC Surge sets the device up for you automatically.My device can send alarms (API, FTP or SMTP) — your device pushes alarms on its own. See Adding Devices — Universal Device Support.Use GC Edge — works with any device — for devices that stream video only (RTSP). GC Edge software runs on a PC at the site and triggers alarms from the stream.
  4. For A brand from our list, answer Can GC Surge reach your devices directly? — two answers:Yes — public IPs or port forwarding (devices reachable from the internet) — GC Surge connects directly and onboards cameras automatically — up to 2,000 devices in under 4 minutes when devices are reachable.No — private network only (devices on a LAN or VPN with no public access) — a local agent bridges your devices to GC Surge. The on-site contact receives the Site Key to complete activation — or select I am on-site if you are physically present (no contact info required).I'm not sure — GC Surge assumes a private network — the safest starting point. The same local agent flow applies as for Private network.
  5. Fill in Device name, Device IP or hostname, Device brand, HTTP/S port, the HTTPS (secure) toggle, Username and Password, then click Add site & device. For a private site a Confirm Before Proceeding dialog appears — click Proceed.

For the full steps for each mode, see Setting Up Sites. For a full deployment checklist when rolling out multiple sites at once, see Full Deployment Journey.

Step 4 — Verify your setup (~5 minutes)

After connecting cameras, confirm the platform is receiving alarms before running your first shift:

  1. Open Configuration from the left sidebar. Find your new site in the table and confirm its status shows Active. On the Home dashboard, the Operations Overview section shows updated site and device counts (active / inactive).
  2. Trigger a test alarm on one of your connected cameras — walk in front of the device or use your device’s built-in test function.
  3. Confirm the alarm appears in Alarm Center within 30 seconds.

If no alarms appear after 10 minutes, check that alarm forwarding is enabled on the device side and that the site shows Active status in Configuration. See Setting Up Sites for per-mode troubleshooting steps.

Note on NOVA99x: NOVA99x filtering is always active from the moment you connect cameras — it runs automatically and does not require enabling or configuration.

Step 5 — Run your first ZenMode shift (~10 minutes)

  1. Have an operator open Alarm Center in the left sidebar and click Start Shift — the shift timer starts and the button becomes End Shift. A site cannot be worked until the shift is running.
  2. In the Sites Unassigned to Operators table, find a site with Available lock status and click Assign to me. ZenMode opens and the site is automatically assigned to you — alarm processing begins immediately.
  3. Process and close 10–20 alarms. This establishes your first APT baseline — the number you will compare against after NOVA99x is active.

For a full guide to the ZenMode interface and alarm closure workflow, see ZenMode — Operator Monitoring.

Evaluating your trial at Day 7

After 7 days, GC Surge reads your actual results — APT reduction, devices per operator, and alarm volume — and displays them on your dashboard alongside a subscription prompt.

To evaluate your results before Day 7, check:

  • Home dashboard — overall alarm volume and active device count.
  • Alarm Center (Admin View) — average APT per operator and team throughput.
  • Analytics — alarm trends across the full trial period.

If your APT has dropped noticeably since your Day 1 baseline, the platform is working. If results are not yet visible, the most common reason is alarm volume still below the entry threshold — see Prerequisites & Customer Categories for the minimum thresholds required for reliable gains.

For the full subscription and billing flow, see Subscription Lifecycle — Trial to Paid.

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