The Time Has Come for IP Storage
IP storage is a technology whose time has come for physical security. One-third to one-half of the cost of a typical surveillance system today is the storage component, making it the best place to deliver competitive advantage for the security integrator.
DVRs are a proven, familiar technology but their limitations are many. DVRs are “storage islands,” each with their own captive storage for video retention. Extra capacity in one DVR cannot be shared with another, and a failure can mean lost video and no access to existing recordings.[IMAGE]dvr11.jpg[/IMAGE]
Those DVRs that support the addition of more recording capacity can be so expensive that operators traditionally have chosen to add another DVR instead. While this model has ensured a solid revenue stream for integrators, it has significant challenges in the current economy.
In a post-911 world, security practitioners and integrators have been under increasing pressure to deliver more coverage, longer retention times, and improved video quality. For new installations, all-IP solutions are growing in importance as practitioners seek to reduce costs while adding new capabilities.
Reducing Costs While Maintaining Quality
Moving to an all-IP solution with megapixel cameras and video management systems from Milestone, OnSSI, AMAG, Exacq, JDS, VideoNEXT, VideoProtein, VidSys, or a host of other VMS and PSIM vendors is growing in popularity for new installations. These solutions typically deploy with network storage, reducing the cost per gigabyte while delivering data protection, shared capacity, and eliminating lost video and downtime.
With growth from as little as 2 terabytes (TB) to as much as 1,500TB in a single system, security integrators can offer cost savings, increased reliability and future-proof retention with shared video storage. Video retention can be increased as needed from a few days of edge recording through to months or years of video, supporting hundreds of DVRs, NVRs and cameras.
However, for those who simply need to increase the capabilities of their existing system, CCTV DVR upgrades are proving to be an even bigger competitive advantage to integrators.
When a DVR runs out of capacity, an upgrade can be added for less than the price of an additional DVR. Not only does the upgrade address the increased storage requirements of the surveillance application for less cost, but it increases reliability and provides advance warning of a number of potential problems before they can cause trouble.
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