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12.5 System configurations
Small system (1 to 30 cameras)
A small system usually consists of one server running a surveillance application that records the
video to a local hard disk. The video is viewed and managed by the same server. Although most
viewing and management will be done at the server, a client (local or remote) can be connected
for the same purpose.
Figure 12.5a A small system.
Medium system (25 to 100 cameras)
A typical, medium-sized installation has a server with additional storage attached to it. The
storage is usually configured with RAID in order to increase performance and reliability. The
video is normally viewed and managed from a client rather than from the recording server
itself.
Figure 12.5b A medium system.
Large centralized system (50 to +1000 cameras)
A large-sized installation requires high performance and reliability in order to manage the large
amount of data and bandwidth. This requires multiple servers with dedicated tasks. A master
server controls the system and decides what kind of video is stored at what storage server. As
there are dedicated storage servers, it is possible to do load balancing. In such a setup, it is also
possible to scale up the system by adding more storage servers when needed and do mainte-
nance without bringing down the entire system.
Workstation client
(optional)
Application and
storage server
IP NETWORK
Workstation
client
Application and
storage server
IP NETWORK
RAID storage
BANDWIDTH AND STORAGE CONSIDERATIONS - CHAPTER 12
