Archive Methods

Archive Methods

Pick whichever fits how you already store stuff. Sentry USB archives your dashcam clips, sentry events, and (optionally) saved clips to one of four backends.

CIFS / SMB

For Windows file sharing, macOS file sharing, and most consumer NAS devices (Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS).

On your server: create a shared folder, give a user read/write access, note the share name.

In the wizard:

Field	Example
Archive Server	192.168.1.100 or nas.local
Share Name	TeslaCam or media/dashcam
Username	tesla
Password	your password
CIFS Version	leave blank unless you know you need 2.0 / 1.0

If the connection fails, the most common cause is an older NAS that needs CIFS_VERSION=2.0 set explicitly.

rsync

For Linux/Unix servers. Faster and more reliable than CIFS over the open internet, but requires SSH key setup.

On your server: create a user, create a destination folder.

In the wizard:

Field	Example
Server	archive.example.com
Username	tesla
Remote Path	/home/tesla/dashcam

After the wizard finishes, you need to copy the Pi's SSH public key to the server. SSH into the Pi:

ssh-copy-id <username>@<server>

You'll only have to do this once.

rclone

For cloud storage — Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, S3, Backblaze B2, and ~60 other providers. Best for offsite backups.

Set up the remote first by SSH'ing into the Pi and running:

sudo -u sentryusb rclone config

Follow the prompts — it'll ask which cloud service, walk you through OAuth, and let you name the remote (e.g., gdrive).

In the wizard:

Field	Example
Remote Name	gdrive (matches the name you set in rclone config)
Remote Path	Dashcam or Backups/TeslaCam

NFS

For Linux NAS devices that prefer NFS over CIFS (some Synology and TrueNAS setups). Typically faster than CIFS / SMB on the same hardware — worth using if you have a lot of clips to back up and your NAS supports it.

On your server: export a directory in /etc/exports (or your NAS's GUI), allow the Pi's IP.

In the wizard:

Field	Example
NFS Server	192.168.1.100
Export Path	/volume1/TeslaCam (the exact path from your exports file)

NFS is unauthenticated — anyone on your LAN with the path can read/write. Use CIFS or rsync if that's a concern.

Switching methods later

You can re-run the Setup Wizard from Settings to switch backends. Already-archived clips stay where they are — Sentry USB doesn't re-archive past clips, only future ones go to the new destination.