Optimizing NVR Performance with Video Surveillance Hard Drives

Rainer W. Kaese, Senior Director of Business Development at HDD Toshiba Electronics Europe, explains the tests carried out to show how the manufacturer's range of hard drives meets the demands for compatibility and performance in a video recorder environment.

The Video Surveillance Systems and control are the backbone of modern security and ensure the protection of the facilities 24/7. It's natural, therefore, that engineers who work with network video recorders (Nvr) are very aware of the importance of their Reliability and efficiency.

Note, first of all, the importance of the Compatibility and performance, since the function of an NVR in a video surveillance system is to manage and record video transmissions from IP cameras. Specifically, for applications that use Artificial Intelligence Technology (The), like facial recognition, it is imperative that the NVR and its storage media work in harmony.

To evaluate its compatibility and performance within an NVR environment, The Toshiba video surveillance hard drives, including MG series, S300 and S300 Pro, have been put to the test in a typical video surveillance scenario.

Methodology and configuration

For this evaluation, the NVR was chosen Concept Pro VUHDIP-16-3 of Sixteen channels, What counts with two hard drive bays. In the test, two HDDs were installed operating as a Combined Video Storage System.

The setup included thirteen PoE-powered network cameras of different types that recorded continuously with full motion, emulating a common scenario in large residences, SMEs and home offices (Top image).

The assessment covered recording and playback with search functionality, Total retention time, Overwriting capabilities (for some disc models), Total drive power consumption and hard drive operating temperature.

HDD Models and Test Conditions

Different models of Toshiba HDDs were tested in the evaluation, including the basic series S300 (1Tb, 2Tb); the unit S300 Pro (4Tb, 10Tb), and a business model MG (18Tb) for extended retention time. Thirteen PoE cameras were connected recording the full motion 24×7.

In addition, Test conditions were configured to reflect real-world usage, with Smart Storage Compression turned off and continuous recording. For remote client access (via web), NVR performance was optimized by setting frames per second (FPS) network streaming by camera by clicking on the Settings icons, Recording.

With a ambient temperature maintained at 26°C, HDD temperatures were monitored using the SMART parameter (self-monitoring, analysis and reporting technology) in the NVR GUI. With a high-precision professional energy analyzer of Rhode & Schwartz Accurately measured power consumption (Second image).

Results and recommendations

The tests confirmed that Concept Pro VUHDIP-16-3 is compatible with all tested Toshiba HDD models. A Efficient energy consumption, which was between 25W and 30W in idle mode, and at 70W and 80W during recording.

The Operating temperatures, from a functional point of view, remained within acceptable limits: 70℃ (S300/S300 Pro) and 60C° (MG09). However, it was observed that average temperatures above 45°C could affect the reliability of hard drives in the long term.

Taking into account these data, and while the result of using 4/6/8TB S300 Pro drives is optimal, the 10TB model should be avoided. For high retention and storage demands, Toshiba's 12TB business models are recommended (MG07ACA12TE) going forward (14Tb: MG07ACA14TE; 16Tb: MG08ACA16TE, 18Tb: MG09ACA18TE, 20Tb: MG10ACA20TE, 22Tb: MG10AFA22TE).

The technical reason for this recommendation is that Toshiba hard drives up to 10TB (both business and S300/S300 Pro models) are filled with air. Hard drives that have lower capacities use fewer platters, while the 10TB model of the S300 Pro employs a stack of seven platters that, Spinning in air, require a lot of energy, which results in high consumption and heating of the device.

Starting at 12TB, Toshiba's enterprise hard drives are full of helium, a light and homogeneous gas that, compared to air, Helps reduce flapping of thinner plates. As a result, The hard drive enclosure can fit more thin platters and achieve higher capacities. In addition, Helium Gas, being thinner than air, Reduces friction and significantly minimizes the energy required to spin the pile of plates.

The temperature results of the 10TB air and 18TB helium drives can be seen in the attached table.

Performance and retention times

Tests confirmed overwrite performance on the S300 1TB and 2TB models, as well as in and S300 Pro 10TB. Video retention times for the thirteen IP cameras with continuous motion were, Approximately, five days for 2x2TB configurations and around thirty days for 2x 10TB configurations.

The Conventional magnetic recording technology (Cmr) and that of Staggered magnetic recording (Smr) and both worked well. In the first, Tracks are written with a space between them, while with SMR they overlap, leaving a smaller surface area for the read head. This means that more tracks can be written in the same area, increasing storage capacity.

It was also shown that, for NVR recording applications, the perceived disadvantage of not being able to randomly overwrite smaller blocks when using SMR technology is irrelevant.

Toshiba's wide range of video surveillance hard drives, from the S300 series to the MG business series, has proven to be highly compatible and effective with the Concept Pro VUHDIP-16-3 NVR.

These hard drives are suitable for various security applications and offer reliable recording capabilities, Reproduction and search. In addition, Recorded data is accessed smoothly, and power consumption and heat dissipation are low.

Rainer W. Kaese

Senior Director of Business Development for HDD at Toshiba Electronics Europe

 

 

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