High resilience CCTV VMS

Through simultaneous recordings on cameras and a central server

To keep the server costs down and increase resilience, we can record centrally on a server and on the cameras simultaneously. So there is a redundant copy of the video on the SD card.

Our resilient and low cost IP-CCTV VMS recorder solution (plus live and playback) system records locally on Axis cameras (using the SD card) and the VMS server simply retrieves the resulting videos back to its storage disk array. This allows a much lower cost central server to do the archiving vs a streaming server, since it is allowing the cameras to do the hard work of recording ie distributed recording, and the server is simply copying the resulting videos back. This also allows the software to run as a service as it is not a graphical application which in turn allows it to run before log-in. Optionally these recordings can be trickle-fed back to a central server for multi-site operations.

Live views can still be viewed in the viewer via streaming.

Many more cameras using HD images at full frame rate per server can be recorded in this manner.

This approach also allows the use of outdoor wireless links in locations where the link may not be 100% reliable, for example in ports, harbours and marinas. The wireless links can be interrupted by multi-path issues with water, yacht masts going past, cranes moving & special events with temporary marquees etc.

The method also allows moving vehicles with intermittent connections to upload when connected either when moving into a hotspot or when stationary at a depot, using WiFi or 4/5G. (On a network with a tariff only manually selected videos, by the hour, will be moved on request to a central server for all to then access.)

The server attempts to retrieve a number of videos from the past few hours once a minute. Allowing the central server to fill in any communications gaps. Since we are also recording simultaneously to SD card, nothing is lost. If footage is requested by the user and that is not available on the archive server, the software automatically retrieves it from the camera's SD card.

All Axis cameras with SD card slots are fully compatible with this system.

This approach is also ideal for recording multiple higher frame rate cameras, 50/60Hz P13 cameras & Q16 120Hz cameras, useful for fast moving scenarios like production lines, vehicles and casinos.

This can be combined with other optional features like:

Remote viewing software for your phone, tablet, PC etc.
Web camera software, where certain cameras can be uploaded to a webpage on a predetermined schedule.
Audio recording for VHF radio etc.