Whether a surveillance system deploys one or 1,000 cameras, the 24/7 requirements of surveillance applications, combined with high-write duty cycles, can wear on even the most reliable hard drives. With increasing storage demands due to higher picture quality, and the incomparable costs and longevity of SSDs for surveillance applications, hard drives remain the best and most reliable method for surveillance storage. To protect critical video content, surveillance professionals must know the risks associated with hard-drive technology to help maintain systems and understand drive reliability.
Whether a surveillance system deploys one or 1,000 cameras, the 24/7 requirements of surveillance applications, combined with high-write duty cycles, can wear on even the most reliable hard drives. With increasing storage demands due to higher picture quality, and the incomparable costs and longevity of SSDs for surveillance applications, hard drives remain the best and most reliable method for surveillance storage. To protect critical video content, surveillance professionals must know the risks associated with hard-drive technology to help maintain systems and understand drive reliability.
Although the frequency of hard-drive failures in surveillance configurations varies widely among organizations, the costs of such failures are more calculable. According to ipvm.com, recovery costs for a single hard drive can span from US$1,000 to $2,000. The cost to repair a failed drive can reach $300 or more. Furthermore, liability issues conjure additional costs when critical video data is lost.
Factors related to these costly failures include:
- Environmental conditions (heat, workload, system architecture)
- Enclosure designs
- Hard-drive age and type (support for 24/7, high-write operations)
Many surveillance deployments experience hostile environmental conditions that include vibration, shock and heat, all of which can negatively affect drive longevity. The type and quality of drive enclosures vary significantly as well, from mount designs to cooling methods. Additionally, certain hard drives have higher reliability and are better designed for specific environments, like stand-alone DVR applications versus full surveillance drive arrays.
To enhance storage reliability and protect video content, surveillance professionals should:
- Follow best practices for hard-drive selection and integration (do you need enterprise or surveillance-optimized drives, and what system requirements will these drives have?)
- Implement storage redundancy when appropriate
- Utilize available data protection features when retiring/repurposing drives
In addition to choosing a reliable product designed for its specific workload, it is crucial to implement smart and strategic practices for hard-drive integration. By evaluating effects such as vibration and shock on the storage system, developing a proper enclosure design to protect it and following thermal management procedures, surveillance professionals can ensure optimal performance and reliability from their storage solution for years to come.
Implementing storage redundancy can be a useful way of handling drive failures that may occur. The criticality of an organization's video content will often determine the level of redundancy. For small surveillance systems, lower-cost redundancy is available, including inexpensive NAS units featuring RAID 1. As drive counts increase, RAID 5 and RAID 6 arrays become cost-effective and valuable options. In addition, IP SANs aid the use of redundancy for large deployments by providing RAID as a standard feature.
When the time comes to retire/repurpose hard drives, using products with options like Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) and Instant Secure Erase (ISE) ensures protection of sensitive data. Such features help secure data even at the end of a drive's life.
Assuming immunity from drive failures can cause significant problems. Surveillance professionals can avoid unnecessary costs and safeguard critical data by implementing intelligent methods to prevent such failures and deal with issues that do occur.
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