Foundations is the cold-start block: it explains the vocabulary (VMS, NVR, DVR), the IP-camera shift that defined modern surveillance, the end-to-end system anatomy from camera to viewer, the three deployment models (on-prem, cloud VSaaS, hybrid), how a stream gets into the VMS, the recorder-vs-platform decision, the cost model, and the build-vs-buy-vs-customize decision. Targets `video management system` and the lowest-KD anchor `vms software`.