Why AI Surveillance Systems Need 24/7 Hard Drives
AI surveillance systems often record and analyze video around the clock. Their storage devices must support continuous operation, sustained data flow, and the additional activity created by analytics. Desktop drives are not generally designed around the same surveillance workload profile.
Continuous Recording
A 24/7 surveillance system may write video throughout the day while also supporting playback and system maintenance. The drive must maintain consistent recording performance under continuous use.
AI Analytics Activity
AI analytics can add metadata writes and random access to the workload. A purpose-built AI surveillance drive is optimized for video and analytics activity occurring at the same time.
Heat and Multi-Bay Systems
Always-on systems can generate heat, especially when several drives operate in one enclosure. System airflow, drive-bay compatibility, and rotational-vibration management should be reviewed during design.
Reliability Metrics
The S300 AI is designed for 24/7 operation, supports workload rate up to 550TB per year and MTBF up to 2.5 million hours, depending on model. These values are statistical measurements that do not reflect actual operation and are not guarantees of product life.
Compatibility
Confirm that the selected drive is included on the DVR, NVR or server manufacturer’s compatibility list. Actual support can vary by hardware and software configuration.
Product Recommendation
The Toshiba S300 AI is designed for advanced AI-powered video recorders, video analytics servers and multi-bay surveillance systems.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a desktop HDD be used for 24/7 surveillance?
What does 24/7 operation mean?
Does 24/7 operation remove the need for backups?
1 One Terabyte (1 TB) means 1012 = 1,000,000,000,000 bytes using powers of 10. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1 TB = 240 = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes, and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system and other factors. Actual formatted capacity may vary.
2 Compatibility may vary depending on user's hardware configuration, and operating system.
3 Product specifications, configurations, components, and features are subject to change without notice.
4 Annual Workload Rating: HDDs keep track of various drive usage such as power on hours, lifetime writes and lifetime reads from the host computer. With this data we calculate an Annualized Workload Rate, under 40 deg. C ambient environments, Annualized Workload Rate = (Lifetime Writes + Lifetime Reads) * (8760 / Lifetime Power On Hours) in case Power On time is 8760h or longer. Otherwise (i.e. Power On time is shorter than 8760h), Annualized Workload Rate = (Lifetime Writes + Lifetime Reads) Each drive is designed to perform up to the Annualized Workload Rate stated, after which the drive may be expected to decline. The Annualized Workload Rate in no way alters the warranty policy for such drive. Workload is defined as the amount of data written, read or verified by commands from host system.
5 Number of surveillance cameras support capability is defined by performance simulation with High Definition cameras at up to 10 Mbps rate, depending on the HDD model. Actual results may vary based on various factors, including the types of cameras installed, the system’s hardware and software capabilities, and the video compression technology used, as well as system variables such as resolution, frames per second, and other settings. Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system. “High Definition” is calculated assuming Full HD 1080p, 30fps, transfer rate of up to 10Mbps/stream.
6 For "Drive Bays Supported", please contact your Solutions Provider because the compatibility with the host device will vary based on the system.
7 MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) or MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) is not a guarantee or estimate of product life; it is a statistical value related to mean failure rates for a large number of products which may not accurately reflect actual operation. Actual operating life of the product may be different from the MTTF or MTBF. MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) or MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) of the HDDs during its life time is 600,000 hours and AFR(Annualized Failure Rate) is 1.46%, or 1.0 million hours and AFR is 0.88%, or 1.2 million hours and AFR is 0.73%, or 2.5 million hours and AFR is 0.35% (depending on HDD models). This assumes power-on hours are 24 x 7 in normal usage (8760 h/year power on hours, up to 180 TB/year, or up to 300TB/year, or up to 550 TB/year total data transfers (depending on HDD models), and average HDA surface temperature:40°C or less). Use at case HDA surface temperature above 40°C may degrade product reliability and reduce warranty period.
8 Drive life may vary depending on usage and workload. See also MTTF and Annual Workload Rating for more details.
9 CMR is Conventional Magnetic Recording technology.
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