Case Study

DNF Security SSO NAS Enhances Bank’s IP Video Storage System to accommodate 1000 cameras

The Challenge

The Problem The bank required a storage solution for a 1000 cameras that are streaming and writing 24/7 with computation capacities capable to run video analytics software for detection, tracking and recognition.

The Solution

An architecture capable of not just supporting the storage requirements but also the computation capacity was devised using DNF Security’s innovative SSOTM NAS (Network Attached Storage).

Cameras

Petabytes of data

Days a Year

The finance industry requires a very secure environment to be productive. Considering a bank’s range of services, it’s very important that not just the building but the district surrounding it is monitored. This in turn, requires an extensive surveillance system comprising of cameras ranging from hundreds to thousands.
One of DNF Security’s clients presented a similar challenge. Their surveillance system comprised of a total of 1000 cameras. They required not just surveillance but detailed video analytics:
1. Detection. 2. Tracking. 3. Recognition. This meant that the client needed enough computation capacity to not just effectively store and manage recorded data but also process and analyze it.
Breaking down the system of a 1000 cameras: a single IP-camera with Full-HD definition (1920x1080), basic H.264 codec, frequency of 25 fps and high frame activity results in an average traffic volume of 6.86 Mbit/s in this configuration.
Besides the volume, the storage capacity with 30 days depth, 1000 streams and 24/7 writing will amount to 2.1 PB (2119.67 TB) approximately. And this was the challenge for the client.
The generated data simply cannot be stored in a single server or boxed solution. That’s because it will fail to deliver the coveted reliability.

 

Architecture

DNF Security’s solution for the challenge was architecture with a configuration of 2.1 PB via 180 drives of 12TB each. As the drives wouldn’t fit into a standard server platform, the system was arranged in drive enclosures (JBODs).
The devised solution comprised of two socket 1U server and three 4U 60 HDD JBODs with cascade connection.
For RAID integration with third parity disks, the capacity was structured as follows:
3 RAID 7.3 groups comprised of 60 drives each: 54 drives of usable volume, 3 drives for checksums and 3 drives as hot spares.

Storage Network

The storage solution that was used is SSOTM (Super Scale Out) NAS Appliance. The appliance is a high performance and high density software defined storage technology. It is very suitable for the needs of CCTV and video analytics. Another option that could have been used for this challenge would have been DNF Security’s TSOTM (Twin Scale Out) NAS appliance. The parallel dual controllers within the appliance ensure high availability for the data. With SSOTM NAS appliance, the client can scale out as much as they wanted facilitating them to address the continuously growing volume of recorded data.

The appliance was able to sustain the client requirements of processing 1000 parallel video streams while ensuring full data integrity and uninterrupted operation of CCTV systems.

With the acquisition of DNF Security’s solution, the client gained more than just a solution to their problem. With DNF Security’s solution, the client also gained:

  • Multi-gigabyte volumes of cache memory.
  • High Performance Interface.
  • Cache protection against power failure.
  • Simplified scalability without limits.
  • Fault Tolerance on data writing.
  • Support of performance intensive analytical software.