How Network Storage Conquers Avalanche of Data

The proliferation of digital and IP surveillance systems is generating vast amounts of data that requires careful management and storage. Scalable, cost-effective network storage options are now available to help systems integrators protect their clients’ business assets. Matching the right solution to the customer’s needs is key.

Now more than ever, your customers’ businesses are dependent on the strategic use of information and data to provide a vital competitive advantage. We are all abundantly aware of the exponential information growth that has changed our dynamic industry landscape. Redundancy, the need to ensure high data availability and data security, has placed a bright spotlight on the need for reliable, scalable and affordable data storage solutions.

The phenomenon of data growth has impacted how we approach managing and securing mass quantities of video data. In some industries, legal and regulatory requirements have mandated that businesses maintain accurate and secure customer information for predetermined periods. Emerging developments, such as the growth of software as a service (SaaS) and cloud computing, have also enabled new models for data storage and management.

While information storage and management used to be a reasonably straightforward operation, it has developed into a mature and sophisticated cornerstone of IT. Customers are looking to the integration community to provide solutions that make their business operations more efficient, offering options for storing, managing, networking, accessing, protecting, securing, sharing and optimizing information.

Fortunately, storage technology advancements continue to evolve offering increasingly higher levels of availability, security, scalability, performance, integrity, capacity and manageability. These approaches have created new options for keeping IT overhead low with flexible, efficient and scalable methods of storing and accessing corporate data in the on-command, on-demand world.

The emergence of scalable and affordable video surveillance solutions is a welcome development for a growing organization. Clients, from small, local operations to distributed, multinational business entities, are demanding solutions that will save money over the short and long haul. The economical and operational advantages of network storage-based video surveillance offer an ideal response for this business climate. By anticipating future needs based on the latest technologies, the prepared installing security contractor can recommend solutions that can be integrated into the client’s current operations, on budget.

The following primer is intended to bring you (and your clients) up to speed on the latest approaches to network video surveillance storage. These solutions address the need for expanded capacity, global access and accommodation of systems already in place.

Options for Video Surveillance Storage

When using network storage for managing and securing video surveillance data, there are three preferred approaches to consider for protecting your customer’s business assets: surveillance storage target, integrated video management system (IVMS) and hosted video surveillance solution (HVSS). Let’s take a closer look at these methodologies along with an overview of installation examples and the typical clientele best suited for each type.

Surveillance storage target

Featuring simplified, scalable network storage for your client’s recorded or archived surveillance video files, this approach uses a network storage device as a simple surveillance storage target in conjunction with a wide variety of available video management software (VMS) to deliver high capacity, reliable storage.

In this approach, VMS applications or IP cameras write to a network storage device using common protocols like Network File System (NFS), Common Internet File System (CIFS) or Internet Small Computer System Interconnect (iSCSI). Typical network storage devices in this approach might include desktop models or multidrive rack-mount arrays.

Ideal for enterprises that already have a video surveillance model in place, this approach delivers expanded storage space (perhaps due to regulatory requirements), affording the end user the opportunity to pair their preferred VMS with cost effective and scalable storage and data protection.

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