RDX - Digital Video Surveillance

Traditional analog video has been around since the 1920s and that same basic technology is used by CCTV today. But just as CDs and DVDs have replaced audio cassettes and VHS tapes, digital networking and video storage systems are replacing analog. Just as the camera never blinks, neither do security surveillance cameras. So while they do not replace security guards, they do help keep watch at a fraction of the cost of a human being.

Today many industries use video surveillance, some mandated through laws, some industries use video to discourage theft. Federal, state and city laws exist which mandate the use of video recording in certain industries.  Examples of federal laws include security cameras at banks, airport security, casinos and government research installations. State laws include such laws as the Texas “Granny Cam” law which provides video surveillance rights for residents in nursing homes.

It is common practice in the retail sector to use video surveillance to discourage theft. The city of El Cerrito, CA has even put city ordinances in place, governing required video surveillance. In El Cerrito certain business are required to use digital surveillance to aid in the apprehension and prosecution of criminals. Businesses bound by this law include: liquor stores, gun stores, pawnbrokers, check cashing stores, fast food restaurants and convenience stores. This law requires 24/7 recording and a minimum of 30-day retention period.  Many of these are small businesses.

The RDX Solution

Many of these businesses do not have adequate DR policies and equipment in place. RDX provides a cost-effective superior answer for these businesses. RDX rugged removable disk cartridges’ low cost, ruggedness, expandability and easy retrievability make this technology ideal for DR.

Fixed Disk Option

Depending on the type of facility retention times of 30 days or longer may be required. Many facilities use only local hard disk storage to retain surveillance videos. Local storage is often in the form of local hard disk such as DVR, or internal or external hard drives. Disaster recovery should be part of the data protection plan to protect from the limitations of local storage capacity and failures.  

DVR can retain but not archive, so redundancy is lost.

One major advantage of RDX removable disk technology over fixed disk is that fixed disk is not a complete long-term retention management system – there is no built-in protection for the data. Customers either have to buy two complete SATA-based systems, with expensive replication software or a removable solution (tape or optical), with its accompanying software, to make backups. In addition, fixed-disk archive systems do not scale as well – once the user’s system fills up, the end user has to purchase another system. With an RDX Removable Disk Technology storage system, all users have to do is swap out RDX cartridges.

Tape Option

One key reason RDX removable disk technology is superior to using tape for retention management is that the sequential nature of tape does not allow for fast searching and rapid retrieval of information. An RDX device appears just as another hard drive on the computer, thus specific files may be dragged and dropped for select file transfer. Unlike tape, the RDX media is randomly accessed so stored files can be immediately retrieved without the time-consuming sequential seeks of tape technology. With data transfer rates of 45MB-per-second, 100GB can be backed-up in under an hour and, files can be retrieved in milliseconds.

In addition, tape requires data migration and drive replacement to manage forward- and backward-compatibility from generation to generation. Since RDX drive upgrades occur inside the cartridge, the interface to the RDX dock remains constant as capacities increase, so users won’t face the format changes or data migration issues they do with tape drives. When RDX cartridge capacity upgrades are made retention, DR and Archive using RDX can be achieved at a fraction of the cost of tape.

Unlike tape RDX cartridges are rugged for easy and safe transport. Sustaining a 1 meter drop shock the RDX cartridges can be easily transported via FedEx, Iron Mountain truck or hand-carried to a secure location.

RDX

For Video Surveillance, RDX removable disk technology offers the best of fixed-disk solutions (high-performance, random access), and the best of removable solutions like tape or optical (offsite data protection, low power usage, infinite capacity). Retention management is simplified by RDX removable disk technology, while compliance and disaster protection are automated. To achieve these same benefits with other technologies, additional software and hardware purchases are required.

RDX systems are plug-and-play, interoperable and can seamlessly integrate with most common back-up applications. Set-up is as simple as plugging in the data cable, power cord, and inserting an RDX cartridge into the drive.