icamsource 2.4.1 memory leak

[clubber1966]

Hello,

I have updated to 2.4.1 on Mac OS X Lion Server version 10.7.2 and I have noticed that the server has been crashing/locking up a lot lately. I stopped icamsource for a few days and the server remained stable. I am now tracking the icamsource executable and noticed that it appears to have a fairly large memory leak as per below. The icamsource monitors 11 trendnet IP cameras with motion events recorded for all cameras but there are no defined specifically defined motion areas.

memory used at Launch
15.8MB
after 5 minutes
19.8MB
after 10 minutes
28.4MB
after 15 minutes
37.0MB
after 20 minutes
46.8MB
after 25 minutes
57.3MB
after 30 minutes
72.5MB

At this point I am now closing the app as I cannot afford the server to lockup and I cannot monitor the usage all day long.

I am a huge fan of icamsource and really want to get this working in a stable fashion on my OS X Server.
Any chance of getting the app as a native 64bit app?

Many Thanks
Andrew Campbell-Laing

[Stefan]

Do you know what version you used to be running? Does version 2.4 exhibit the same issue? - http://skjm.com/icam/iCamSource2.4.dmg

Are you actively connected to the iCamSource cameras using iCam when the memory increases?

What type of Mac are you running? (Specifically, click the Apple menu, choose About This Mac, and click the More Info button for the general info about your Mac.)

Do you know if this issue is present in the non-server version of Lion, if available? (If you install version 2.4.1 of the iCamSource onto a non-server Mac running Lion and copy the com.skjm.icamsource.plist file from your server's home / Library / Preferences folder does it also leak?)

Are you using MJPEG URLs for all of the TrendNet cameras? Do you know what the frame rate settings are for each camera?

We don't have plans on making the iCamSource a 64-bit application in order to maintain backwards-compatibility with older PPC Macs running Tiger and Leopard.

[clubber1966]

Stefan, I will dig out some more specific details of the cameras etc when I get home a bit later tonight but I am using MJPEG urls for all the cameras and the frame rate for each camera is at the furthest left (better frame rate setting) assuming this avoids the CPU being overloaded but willing to move wherever to get this working/test. I did not have any icam clients running or any connection from icamweb during this test. I will test out the non server version later when I get some more time. I update pretty regularly but only recently (last 15 days) upgraded to LION server and thats when I noticed the issue so have not tried this on an earlier version. I can download and attempt the same test on 2.4 on LION server and let you know the results.

The mac spec is mac mini early 2009 (macmini3.1) 4gb memory 1067mhz DDR3 2.26 Intel core 2 duo.

cheers
Andrew

[Stefan]

Thank you for that additional information.

Actually, the frame rate setting is internal to the camera, usually under the video settings that you can access by directly connecting to the camera via the web browser. The default for the cameras is likely 30 fps, but I personally set my network IP cameras to 2 fps since that is how fast the iCamSource will record motion events. We usually recommend a frame rate between 2 and 5 fps to keep the iCamSource's CPU usage down. If you have 11 MJPEG cameras I doubt that they are all at 30 fps since the iCamSource would most likely be maxing out your Mac's CPU. The slider in the iCamSource simply effects the quality and size of the images sent to iCam.

Were you running Snow Leopard or SL Server on the mini before upgrading to Lion Server? Or were you just running the client version of Lion?

You might also try cycling power on your cameras (if that is feasible to do) just in case one of them has gotten into a strange state.

[clubber1966]

OK the frame rate for each camera is set to 5.

previous os was snow leopard server and I did used to get quite a few crashes (icamsource would not be running when left for a while) but did not notice a memory leak. All cameras have been rebooted and the problem persists. I am about to load on an older version and try to see if the problem is there. I will also try the current version with the server plist file on a non server.

Andrew