STEP 5 – WE HELP YOU CALCULATE ENOUGH STORAGE AND SERVES FOR ANY RECORDING LENGTH REQUIREMENTS (BY SPECIFIC SOFTWARE/TOOLS)

When designing a network solution, it is crucial to decide the storage needs, the accessibility and retrieval of pictures and associated information as well as scalability, redundancy, and speed.

One of the most significant advantages of IP surveillance is the ability to utilise open storage solutions, and there are two primary methods for doing this. The most popular way is to have the storage device connected to the computer hosting the programme, such as in a Network Video Recorder (NVR). Network-attached storage (NAS) and storage area networks, on the other hand, are storage solutions in which the storage is independent of the server executing the application, as opposed to a traditional storage solution (SANs). Storage area networks (SANs) allow the designer to incorporate redundancy into the storage devices, allowing video data to be saved in multiple locations at the same time.

This setup may incorporate a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) set up which also enables failover when two servers operate with the same storage device (clustering issue) to minimise system downtime. When this issue happens, it may cause the failure of the whole system, which is difficult to troubleshoot later on.

Fortunately, most manufacturers provide system design tools that allow the system designer to select the appropriate amount of storage for the specific application being designed. This information is often analysed by software or tools to provide you with the exact numbers.

There are two types of recording: video and audio (continuous or event-based)

• If the system is event-based, how many hours of events/movements are there each day? 
• The number of frames per second
• Video resolution required
• Video compression type 
• Image complexity 
• How long data must be stored and archived