Managing video recording settings
Session recording is the default enabled feature of the solution for every session users initiate. Session recordings within a system context consist of video session logs, session metadata, and session data. Video session data is saved in flat files in storage locations. Associated metadata and session data are saved at the vault layer.
This session covers
How session recording works
Session recordings are based on the user access and proxy types configured. Sessions are recorded based on user activity over a session and converted into videos at a central location.
Session metadata is captured based on the access type used. WMON agents must be available on the server for RDP-based sessions to record session data. This allows capturing process data and keystroke information to be associated with the session. For SSH-based sessions, no agent installation is required to capture any metadata log.
The browser and client-based sessions are recorded in video-based formats along with session metadata (supported for specific access types).
Video log data is available after the user has closed the sessions and can be viewed in the Sessions View tab.
Proxy Type | Recording technique |
|---|---|
Session & Web Proxy | User machine level |
Remote Session Host | Proxy Level |
Jump Host | Proxy Level |
RDP Direct | Proxy Level |
SSH Direct | Proxy Level |
Video recordings are saved in an encrypted format both online and in archived storage that can only be played within the player in the session. The below table provides standard video log sizes for planning your storage settings:
Resolution | Quality | Continuous SSH screen activity for 1 hour (Size in MB) | Continuous RDP / Application screen activity for 1 hour (Size in MB) |
|---|---|---|---|
800x480 | 80 | 6 | 25 |
1024x576 | 80 | 8 | 33 |
1152x648 | 80 | 9 | 37 |
1280x720 | 80 | 10.5 | 43 |
1920x1080 | 80 | 11.5 | 47 |
The time considered is 1 minute per 40 screens, which may vary.
Modifying video recording settings
To configure video recording settings across the system, follow the below steps:
For choosing the storage location of video recordings, navigate to Platform Configuration, under the General Configuration section click on Video Recordings
Here, you may edit the Storage Path where you would like to store video recordings. By default, the application, at the time of installation, stores the video log data on the local drive of the application. The shared storage path should be mapped as a drive to all application instances. You can also validate the entered location by clicking on the Validate button.
You must use a network path to store and retrieve files from both instances when installing the solution in a clustered or high-availability environment.
It is essential to choose a storage type that is redundant, highly available, and preferably a SAN/ICSI Drive.
You can customize the video quality settings by selecting the Resolution, quality levels, or even make it Gray Scaled by clicking on the checkbox.
If you are looking for a watermark in your video recordings with your company logo or other text confidential logo, you can add an image from the watermark section. The watermark feature only works when you export the video recording and then play it.
Click Save, and your video recording is configured.
Archiving video logs
You can use Sectona's Auto Archival feature to automatically archive recordings older than a particular number of days and save them at your specified location. The system also allows playing and exporting session video logs from the default, custom, and archival storage paths. Ensure you have allocated adequate space for the drive based on sizing guidelines and user concurrency levels. You can also set purging policies based on time to purge old video log files.
Login to Sectona and select Platform Configuration from the product navigator. Navigate to System section and select System Status and then select the App Services tab. Make sure the SystemLogManagementService is enabled.
Follow the below-recommended steps to archive video logs:
- From the Platform Configuration, under the General Configuration section click on Video Recordings.
Under the Auto Archival section you will be able to configure the archival age with Archive Older Than that signifies the number of days before the video archiving process. Example: If you mention 1 day in this field, the system will archive all the videos exactly one day before in the allocated archival drive.
In the Archival Action, the Permanently Delete action will permanently delete the video logs which are older than the number of days mentioned in the Archive Older Than field.
In the Archival action, the Move to Another Location will move the video logs from the path mentioned in the Storage Path to the path mentioned in the Move to Another Location field. You can also validate the entered location by clicking on the Validate button.
Click on Save.
Ensure the paths mentioned in fields such as Storage Path and Move to Another Location exist and are entered correctly.
Remote site video log configuration settings
In a remote site deployment scenario, video recording settings are stored locally and synced with local storage. These session video logs must be available locally to be viewed from a central location. You can set a time interval after which logs from the local sites are purged. This helps in managing sync issues across sites.
- From the Platform Configuration, under the General Configuration section click on Video Recordings.
- Under the Remote Site Configuration section, the Retention Period signifies the hours after which the Video Files will get deleted from the Remote Site. Example: If you mention 1 hour in this field, the system will delete all the videos from the Remote Site precisely one hour after the sync is done.
Click on Save.