The challenge
Dedicated Micros delivered two of its resilient RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) high capacity systems to Tayside Police to help support the Force's security commitments for the G8 summit, which took place from the 6th to 8th of July 2005 at the Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland.
The solution
The simple to install RAID units were used in the Tayside Police's custody suite at the Force's District Headquarters in Perth for the duration of the summit, providing extra capacity for the secure storage of CCTV images of those being held, supplementing that offered by the hard disks on the Force's existing BX2 digital recorders.
Sarah Craig, Senior Media Relations Officer at Tayside Police, said: "As the lead force for the policing of the G8 summit it was important that we had the right CCTV systems in place. We are delighted that DM has been able to provide the RAID units at such short notice to ensure that all the storage capacity we need is available to retain vital images."
Tayside has opted for the six hard disk 1.2TB capacity version of the RAID unit (also available with eight hard disks), which can typically provide 100 days of recording time in 24-hour time-lapse mode.
When connected to the BX2 (and other compatible DM systems) the RAID unit and its hard disks are automatically detected by the DVR. Crucially, all DM RAID systems are pre-configured and tested at RAID Level 5, which automatically reserves a disk to store error-correcting information.
In operation the redundancy built into the RAID system ensures that the video from a failed disk is ‘mirrored' on one of the other disks in the system.
In addition, hot swapping allows disks to be removed and replaced without interrupting the system or causing a loss of information. For non-stop maintenance, the power supply and fan can also be replaced without the need to switch the unit off.
Commented Pauline Norstrom, Worldwide Head of Marketing Manager, at Dedicated Micros: "We were delighted to be able to respond rapidly to Tayside Police's request, the RAID units continue to be extremely popular with our professional customers, given their ability to offer additional storage capacity and the 'peace of mind' that, in the unlikely event of disk failure, vital video evidence will not be lost."