IP SECURITY |
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unless there is an incident , will be kept for a certain timeframe and then deleted . There will also be video that will be meaningful for a short time frame , as well as some that must be kept for longer .’
Specialist storage architecture
With so much data to capture and preserve , performance of the storage solution is an important consideration . However , it ’ s not just a case of committing the data to disk as Wayne Arvidson , vice president , Intelligence , Surveillance & Security Solutions at Quantum , says : ‘ There is a lot of misconception around performance . Video is entirely different to IT data and so the storage solution must be architected differently .
‘ It is vital that the storage solution takes into consideration increasing video resolution , as technology continues to improve , as well as the fact that more and more footage is being stored for more than just security purposes ; being used for analysis to improve business processes , customer satisfaction etc . Tiered
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‘ With so much data to capture and preserve , performance of the storage solution is an important consideration .’ |
architecture creates a balance around storage needs versus days retained .’
It is this ‘ tiering ’ criteria that will define the type of storage chosen , for example , tape is a very good , cheap , non-corruptible solution for the video that needs to be stored for long periods of time , whereas hard drives are much more appropriate for video that needs to be accessed more frequently or used for analysis . Jermaine Campbell , North Europe sales manager at Western Digital , says : “ When considering the type of drive , first , is the drive designed for 24 / 7 power on hours at 80 per cent or higher write versus read ? Surveillance storage is about writing data consistently and reliably . Second , does the drive meet the required workload ? ‘ A selection of drives are built to endure a higher amount of data written to the drive per year . This is the equivalent of driving your car for many miles at 7000rpm or at 3000rpm . Third , does the brand carry a good reputation for reliability , if you can tell a customer ‘ this DVR is using brand X ’ and the customer
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recognises that for the right reasons , then that helps with customer confidence .’
Storing video the right way
Organisations must comply and contend with many different external influences specific to them . Factors such as litigation , legal , insurance and health & safety , are driving the need to store video for increasingly longer periods , preserving the video in a way that ensures it is admissible evidence . It will defeat the purpose of the solution if , for example , video is thrown out of court for not being compliant .
To sum up , storage plays a vital role in a surveillance system . It is as important as the cameras and the management system itself . The whole point of storing video is to preserve it , to be able to retrieve it easily , quickly , and in a format that is easy to use . Video storage is not hard , but it is complex , as there are many requirements to take into consideration , which must be addressed in order to harness the true potential of video .
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32 | May 2017 |