Digital Surveillance
New generation of IP-based solutions require IP- based archive solutions
Demand for digitally based surveillance systems is increasing at an unprecedented rate. Whether the surveillance system application is needed to monitor traffic levels, protect vital company assets or provide a safer environment for passengers, they all have one thing in common: the information must be reliably and safely archived for future reference.
Video surveillance applications place great demands on storage, especially long-term archival storage. With multi-camera installations and high-definition digital recording systems in use, users are employing high-resolution, high-frame rate, quality footage to protect their assets. Retention periods are increasing up to multiple years which exceeds the capabilities of VHS tape and single hard disk drives to store and quickly retrieve archived footage on demand.
Magnetic tape is environmentally sensitive, and highly-volatile, while hard drives require a backup component to ensure a proper archive solution. The optical library storage solution is a centralized archive which stores multiple video streams and ensures that users have continuous, random access to current and archived video footage. Built upon one of the most reliable storage technologies ever created, optical storage component shelf life is rated for up to 50 years of continuous use, and negates the need to backup files to another medium.
The latest generation of Digital Surveillance solutions are IP-based (Net-Attached) based technology which deliver video-on-demand and complex high capacity storage solutions. IP-based solutions integrate a wide choice of cameras, access control devices, and sensors for a variety of applications and environments, and manage the system with state-of-the-art software for intuitive operation. The result is a state-of-the-art solution that utilizes standard LAN and Internet Protocols (IP) to meet emerging requirements for "shared-resource" security. Whether installing a completely new IP-based video surveillance system, or upgrading an existing Analog CCTV system to capitalize on many of the IP benefits, StorageQuest's Net-attached (IP) appliances delivers modular architecture that will yield a highly effective optical solution for Digital Surveillance Archiving.
How MSM Addresses IP-based Digital Surveillance Storage Requirements
StorageQuest's MSM series of network attached appliances unify optical storage providing organizations with an integrated approach to streamlining IP-based digital surveillance archive storage and reducing costs in FIVE ways:
1. Unified Storage
The MSM network appliance with Web-based management provides file-sharing and management from anywhere on the network. Investments in the build-out of storage area networks and infrastructures, to better manage information and storage costs, are fully leveraged through the MSM. By enabling any optical storage library to easily integrate into the corporate infrastructure, it allows any application fast and easy access to compliant storage resources.
2. Open Storage
The MSM utilizes industry standards such as: Universal Disc Format (UDF), Linux, TCP/IP, NFS, CIFS, HTTP, SNMP, SCSI, Gigabit Ethernet and iSCSI. Complete system transparency is achieved through the use of UDF which is fully supported by all major operating systems including: Windows, MAC/OS and UNIX providing a completely open and transportable archive solution. Information stored through the MSM onto optical media can be read by any of the aforementioned operating systems as a standard operation - no special drivers or additional software to purchase. Your archived data is free from vendor "lock-in" as nothing is proprietary. The MSM provides total freedom of choice for compliant archiving regardless of Vendor, Format or Media.
3. Simplified Storage Management
The MSM provides total management for all of your optical library resources through its powerful, yet easy to use, Web-based management and control system. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) guides you effortlessly from the installation of the optical library to configuring it and managing it from anywhere on the network or in the world! Truly a Plug-n-Play experience as within minutes applications are archiving and retrieving data from anywhere on the network.
4. Complete Storage Support
The MSM supports the complete range of optical media formats including: WORM, Magneto-Optical (MO), DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, CCW,CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW as well as the latest advances in optical storage such as: Professional Disc for Data (PDD) by Sony and Ultra High Density (UDO) by Plasmon. The MSM also supports a wide range of optical libraries including: HP, Plasmon, IBM, Sony, ASACA, Pioneer, JVC and Kubota. A bright future in optical storage is assured as StorageQuest is working closely with industry visionaries such as InPhase Technologies' 3D Holographic Storage and the Blu-ray Disc consortium. By providing our unified storage solution as these products come to market, it insures a compliant archiving roadmap for many years to come.
5. Low Cost Storage
The MSM lowers the total cost of compliant archival storage in several ways: Through its simple Plug-n-Play appliance model systems administrators can easily install, configure and manage optical library systems. There is no need for high level technical resources to be employed to support an MSM Archival system. The MSM enables the sharing of the optical storage resources throughout the network, amortizing the archival costs across many applications, thus lowering the total cost of ownership for compliant storage within the enterprise. The MSM lowers costs through the utilization of low cost optical storage. For example: a DVD-R library system using the UDF format enables any data archived on inexpensive DVD-R media to be read on any Windows, MAC/OS or UNIX system directly. Today's systems have DVD drives already installed so there is no additional hardware or software to purchase. This totally open architecture greatly reduces long term storage costs and management, while eliminating the need for costly and risky data conversations from one system to another.