It’s no secret that the video surveillance industry is proliferating - at a rate of nearly 9% year-over-year according to IHS, with a CAGR of 35% over the same period. Fewer people realize that this industry has a critical IT component at play - storage. Given the rapid growth and reliance on information technology, many organizations are looking for ways to modernize their IT infrastructures, including storage networks.
Low-cost solutions dominated by NAS technology are now abundant. What was once the sole domain of professional integrators and high-end traditional providers is now available at a reasonable price for most organizations.
So what makes NAS storage a good storage option for storing massive data generated for VMS.
The storage requirements for video surveillance systems have increased
Video surveillance has outgrown local storage devices making enterprise NAS storage an appealing option. This is personal cloud storage that is very affordable for small businesses and organizations with limited budgets.
NAS storage is becoming quite common in video management systems. Part of the reason is also that they are looking to be more efficient with their capital expenditures. Also, no one wants to be tied down to proprietary hardware that they can’t handle or upgrade themselves.
Here are some major benefits of NAS storage.
The benefits of NAS storage for video management systems
Network Attached Storage delivers many advantages over other storage mediums. Namely:
Affordability
You can store massive amounts of data on a single NAS device. Furthermore, they are also much less expensive than traditional storage. This is especially true if we consider the flexibility it comes with when choosing storage size. This can go from a couple of terabytes to multiple petabytes of storage with scale-out systems. Besides, high-resolution videos can take up terabytes instantly. You will be reaching your storage limits before you know it. This is why NAS is an excellent option for VMS.
Reliability
Reliability Is Vital for sensitive information. NAS devices often come with RAID (redundant array of independent disks) capabilities, which can help protect data from unexpected disasters. NAS storage is known for its high degree of redundancy. Since video surveillance holds extremely sensitive information like crime scene evidence, etc., NAS is a reliable choice to keep all that data safe with multiple copies of the data placed at different locations.
Scalability
With NAS comes unlimited scalability. If you want to expand your storage capacity, you simply add more disk drives to your device and push it to its limits. Even if that does not suffice, you can add more devices in a row and form clusters of storage devices that work in unison, giving you an extended capacity as well as increased performance.
Cost-effectiveness
You’ll pay less for higher capacity storage with a NAS system than you would with a traditional RAID tower. That is because you don’t have to spend as much money upfront as you would on a conventional storage system. Just buy as much storage as you need an upgrade in the future as your business grows.
Compatible Everywhere
NAS servers work just about anywhere globally because they’re compatible with a wide range of protocols and standards. They support Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, Novell Netware, and other operating systems.
Bottom Line
If you are interested in scalable NAS solutions that will cater to all your VMS needs and more, we recommend checking StoneFly’s super scale-out systems. With one of the best NAS solutions at your helm, you get unlimited horizontal scalability, so you never run out of storage anymore.
