Facing complex storage categories and not knowing how to match your project needs? Our Selection Guide provides a matrix-based methodology based on project scale, performance requirements, reliability levels, data retention periods, and budget ranges.
Determine the number of camera channels, total storage capacity required, and expected data growth over 3-5 years. This establishes the baseline for architecture selection.
Evaluate peak write bandwidth (concurrent camera streams × average bitrate), read performance for retrieval and analytics, and latency requirements for real-time applications.
Based on the criticality of your surveillance data, select the appropriate redundancy level: RAID for single-site, distributed erasure coding for multi-node, or geo-redundancy for mission-critical deployments.
Map out your retention requirements by data category: recent footage (hot), aging data (warm), compliance archive (cold). This determines the tiering architecture and total capacity planning.
Identify your existing VMS platform, analytics systems, and IT infrastructure. Ensure storage solution supports required protocols (ONVIF, GB28181, NFS, iSCSI) and APIs.
Compare total cost of ownership over 5 years including hardware, software, power, cooling, space, and operations. Select the solution that best balances performance, reliability, and cost.
| Project Scale | Recommended Architecture | Key Products | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small (< 64 channels) | NVR / Hyper-Converged | All-in-one NVR, HCI appliance | Retail stores, small offices, residential |
| Medium (64–512 channels) | NAS + VMS Server | Surveillance NAS, dedicated VMS | Schools, hospitals, medium campuses |
| Large (512–5000 channels) | Distributed Storage Cluster | Scale-out NAS, object storage | Large campuses, city districts, factories |
| Enterprise (5000+ channels) | Full Distributed Architecture | Object storage, AI data lake | Safe City, transportation, large enterprise |
| Edge + Cloud Hybrid | Edge-Cloud Collaborative | Edge nodes + cloud management | Chain retail, energy, remote sites |
| AI Analytics Focus | AI Data Lake Architecture | GPU-direct storage, metadata catalog | Smart traffic, smart factory, AI companies |
Our solution architects are ready to design a customized deployment plan for your specific requirements.