Full Deployment Journey

This guide is an end-to-end, step-by-step guide for bringing a new customer or new site cluster onto GC Surge. Use it as a pre-deployment checklist, a reference for tracking progress during rollout, and a post-deployment validation reference. Covers: About This Guide, Phase 1: Account and User Setup, Step 1 – Create the account.

About This Guide

This guide is for Super Admins responsible for bringing a new customer or site cluster onto GC Surge. Follow the phases in order — each phase builds on the previous one. The guide covers six phases: account and user setup, site creation, Site Key distribution, field activation, operational setup, and go-live confirmation. Use it as a pre-deployment checklist before you start, a progress tracker during rollout, and a validation reference before handing off to the operations team.

Phase 1: Account and User Setup

Step 1 – Create the account

1. Navigate to the GC Surge signup page.
2. Complete all required fields: email, tenant name, phone number with country code, password. The Tenant Name cannot be changed after creation — choose it carefully before submitting.
3. Complete OTP verification via SMS. Successful OTP verification logs you in automatically — no separate login step is needed.
4. Verify login completes successfully and the Home dashboard is accessible.
5. On first login, an Email Verification — Action required callout appears on the Home dashboard. Click through it to confirm your email address before you can receive shift reports or scheduled notifications.

Step 2 – Invite all required users

1. Navigate to the Users module and click Invite New User. Enter the user’s name, email, and phone, then select their role — Super Admin or Operator — from the GCSurge Role dropdown in the invitation modal, and click Send Invitation.
2. Invite all Super Admins first – they need access to complete the remaining steps.
3. Then invite all operators who will handle incoming alarm events during shifts.
4. After each invitation is sent, confirm the user appears in the Users table with the correct role and an Active status.
5. Each invitee completes first-time login (including phone OTP verification) to activate their account — have operators do this before you assign them to sites and shifts.

Phase 2: Site Creation

Step 3 – Create sites in Configuration

1. Navigate to Configuration.
2. Click Add Sites and select Add One for a single site or Add Multiple for bulk import via spreadsheet.
3. For each site, complete the required fields. Required fields vary by connection type. For Public IP sites: Site Name, Camera IP address, Camera brand, Protocol and port, Username, and Password. Contact Info (name, email, and phone) is optional for Public IP sites. For Private and Edge connection types, see Setting Up Sites for the relevant fields.
4. Use consistent site naming conventions. Site names appear in Video Search, Analytics, and subscription filters. Inconsistent names create operational confusion downstream.
5. After all sites are created, review the Sites Table and confirm every Private/VPN and Edge site has a Contact email populated (the Contact email column) — the Site Key is delivered to this contact, by email or WhatsApp, for field activation. Contact info is optional for Public IP sites.

Step 4 – Validate site data before proceeding

1. Confirm the Camera brand fields are correct for each site.
2. For Private/VPN and Edge sites, confirm all Contact Info fields are populated — empty contact fields block Site Key delivery. Contact Info is optional for Public IP sites, which do not use a Site Key.
3. Confirm site names follow your agreed naming convention before distributing Site Keys. Names cannot be easily changed once sites are active.

Phase 3: Site Key Distribution

Step 5 – Distribute Site Keys to onsite contacts

Each site has a unique Site Key, beginning with the GCSK- prefix. This key must reach the person who will run the GDA activation app at the physical site before they travel to the location.

1. In Configuration, locate the site in the Sites Table.
2. Open the site Actions menu and select Send Site Key.
3. Choose the delivery method — WhatsApp deep link is recommended as it pre-fills the key automatically in the GDA app, email works but requires manual entry, and QR code is best for in-person handoffs. Confirm receipt with the contact before they travel to the site.
4. Treat Site Keys as temporary passwords. Do not share them via unsecured channels or public messages.

Phase 4: Field Activation

Step 6 – Activate cameras using the GDA app

This step applies to Mode 2 (Private/VPN) and Mode 3 (Edge) sites. Mode 1 (Public IP) sites do not require this step — cameras are configured automatically by GC Surge when the site is created in Configuration.

• Mode 2 (Private/VPN) — the onsite contact runs the GDA (Ground-level Device Activator) app on an Android device (Android only — iOS is not supported), or alternatively the Windows/macOS local agent on a laptop on the same network. See Setting Up Sites for the local agent option.
• Mode 3 (Edge) — the onsite contact uses the GDA app on Android with a QR code to configure the camera’s alarm forwarding from on site. There is no local agent option for Edge — the GDA app is required.

In both modes, the contact must be physically present at the site. The app discovers all ONVIF-compatible cameras on the local network and configures event forwarding to GC Surge automatically.

1. Ensure the Android device running GDA is connected to the same local network as the cameras — same Wi-Fi network or switched Ethernet segment. If cameras are on a separate VLAN, additional network configuration is required before activation. See GDA App – Field Activation for network topology options.
2. Open the GDA app and enter the Site Key when prompted.
3. The app runs WS-Discovery to find all ONVIF-compatible cameras on the subnet. Review the discovered camera list and confirm the count matches what is expected.
4. If cameras are missing from the discovered list, confirm ONVIF is enabled on the devices and that UDP multicast is not blocked on the network switch.
5. Confirm activation in the app. GDA configures event forwarding for all discovered cameras automatically — no per-camera manual steps required.

Step 7 – Confirm activation status in Configuration

1. Return to Configuration and monitor the Site Status. A site’s Site Status reaches Done once all its cameras are configured and events begin flowing. (The separate Status column shows the site as Active once it is enabled, regardless of onboarding progress.)
2. Allow up to 10 minutes after the GDA app confirms success. The cloud status update is not instantaneous.
3. Verify the device count shown in the Sites Table matches the number of cameras activated at the site.
4. If a site remains Pending after 10 minutes, open Video Search and check whether events are arriving. If events are visible, the activation succeeded and the status display has a lag.

Phase 5: Operational Setup

Step 8 – Enable NOVA99x

1. Navigate to My Subscription.
2. Locate the NOVA99x configuration control for each active site.
3. Click enable, review the confirmation modal explaining that all alarms — filtered and unfiltered — count toward billing, then accept to enable. All alarm ingestion counts toward your monthly allowance: 3,000 alarms per camera per month on a paid subscription.
4. After 24 to 48 hours, check the filter ratio in Analytics. A high filter ratio confirms NOVA99x is active and reducing operator-facing alarm volume.

Step 9 – Verify event flow in Video Search

1. Navigate to Video Search.
2. Select the customer and site from the top selectors. Events will not display without both selections.
3. Confirm events are appearing. If no events appear within 10 minutes of a confirmed camera trigger, follow the “Events are not appearing in Video Search” section in the Troubleshooting Guide, which walks through customer/site selection, site status, activation, and (for SMTP cameras) delivery checks.
4. Open one event and confirm the event detail view loads correctly with image and metadata.
5. Confirm operators can navigate Video Search filters confidently and locate events without assistance. If they struggle, run a short training session on the filter panel before go-live.

Phase 6: Go-Live Confirmation

Step 10 – Final validation checklist

Before marking the deployment complete, confirm each of the following:

• All sites show a Site Status of Done in Configuration (no sites left in Pending, Error, or Partial states).
• All operator accounts are active and verified in the Users module, and operators can log in successfully.
• Events are flowing in Video Search for all active sites.
• NOVA99x is enabled on all sites where it has been configured.
• At least one operator has completed a live monitoring session in ZenMode.
• The Alarm Center — Admin View dashboard shows operator activity during an active shift.
• Analytics shows data for all active sites.
• The primary Super Admin has reviewed My Subscription and confirmed all camera counts are as expected.

Ongoing Operations

Once go-live is confirmed, hand the platform to the operations team with the following standing instructions:

• Super Admins check Alarm Center — Admin View at the start of each shift to review active operator status and overnight performance.
• Operators use ZenMode during active monitoring shifts and Video Search for investigations and evidence review.
• My Subscription is reviewed monthly to monitor usage and identify any unexpected overage exposure.
• Configuration is audited monthly — remove any sites or cameras that are no longer active to keep counts accurate.