CCTV Backups

Kopite_21

[FONT=&quot]Good Afternoon,[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I am looking for ideas for backing up our CCTV footage that we have in the office. Basically there is no backup if the building was to blow up or crumble and everything will be lost. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]I have been thinking maybe I could back up each days footage to an External Hard Drive and store this off site somewhere or maybe Cloud based but I don't know how to go about this.[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Can anyone please advise?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Rob[/FONT]

gespenstern

The problem with cloud is it is as slow as your internet connection. It is usually not enough depending on the quantity of the cameras you have and the quality of the footage (resolution, frame rate, color). It can be used to backup only selected subsets, like video from most important cameras and/or video of a reduced frame rate.

I usually used a server/PC for this purpose with attached SATA RAID controller with created in RAID 5 or better 6 level storage and as huge disks as I can get and backed up continuously the videoarchive 24/7 using a mechanism built-in into CCTV software (depends on what you use) over a gigabit network into a nearby building of the facility.

Offsite backups can be complicated because of the volume. If the volume isn't that high and a day worth of video can fit onto one disk, you can use a huge dedicated disk in a hot-swap bay and have a person instructed to take and replace this disk everyday and transport it securely to a location deemed secure and not likely to be affected by the same disaster that could potentially hit the main location. Don't forget about Saturdays and Sundays here.

Kopite_21

Hi Guys,

Any other suggestions?

cyberguypr

This sounds like a good case for a cloud solution. How much data are you generating per day and what is the size of your internet circuit? Also, are you willing to spend money or looking for free-ish solutions.

Kopite_21

I would say looking for free solutions

cyberguypr

Well, I'm trying to help but since you are not providing answers it is hard. I can't say go physical or go cloud because I just don't know what you are backing up or what resources you have available. Gespenstern covered pretty well the physical option. I don't like that approach as the sole solution because I've seen it fail way too many times when the person in charge is sick, gets hit by a bus, forgets, drive is lost/stolen, etc. There goes your backup plan out the window.

A reliable cloud solution will most likely not be free, so you have to put a value on your data and determine what are you willing to spend protecting it.

PJ_Sneakers

Depends on the CCTV system. If it's a generic system you could be stuck doing local backups to an external hard drive, or even a USB drive. From that point, you would store it off site or manually upload to cloud.

What is the make and model of your system?