Advantages of the data-driven partnership
Data and its availability are critical to Bosch Building Technologies and its customers. Among other solutions, its extensive product portfolio includes solutions for video surveillance, intrusion detection, access control, fire detection and evacuation systems, that help empower their customers to build a safer, more secure world. To be able to reliably map and record events as well as objects, a security solution needs industry leading resolution, refresh rates, dynamics, and light sensitivity. However, data must also be manageable efficiently. This is why Bosch Building Technologies has been working with NetApp since 2011.
“We work with NetApp because they are the data authority”, said Bernhard Schuster, executive vice president sales and marketing at Building Technologies. “NetApp offers the technologies that ensure that our systems are up and running and makes managing large data volumes easy with maximum reliability while lowering costs.”
However, the digital vision of the Bosch team goes beyond security. For use at airports, company premises, hotel complexes and stadiums, recording alone does not do the job.
“Our video systems process image data in real time,” said Schuster. “Sharing the information with your security and other enterprise systems, such as warehouse or manufacturing is key for improving security and reducing costs.”
Greater security and efficiency can be achieved by a seamless transfer of data to higher-level systems. By adding IoT and AI, intelligent functions from sensor to connectivity turn the camera into an even smarter device that delivers valuable information in a digital infrastructure. Additional to the forensic capabilities of the system, suspicious activities are detected in real time by the device's algorithm. This can include the detection of inventory theft, tracking missing shipments in large warehouses, or flame and smoke detection in seconds. That in turn enables the security operators to act quickly and efficiently.
High standards: security and efficiency in video surveillance
What is special about the joint solution is the unique integration of Bosch Video Recording Manager (VRM) and NetApp E-Series Hybrid Flash Arrays as part of BVMS. The NetApp operating system is writing the data stream directly to the storage. By means of virtualization, all disks can be managed by the solution as one large storage pool. Like this, the VRM can automatically balance video streams and storage capacity ideally, and back it up in such a way that the processes continue to run even in the event of a hard disk failure. The solution includes the following features:
- Robust technology in a compact format and high-storage density on 12TB disks.
- High integration for low complexity and maximum availability enables mapping of highly specific workloads.
- High availability of data as two camera streams are recorded simultaneously in different recording qualities and sent to physically separated locations.
- High scalability thanks to an entry-level range of complex environments with 200 cameras. There is virtually no limit to the number of cameras that can be mounted on top, as additional storage space can be added via BVMS.
“We are excited that NetApp technology is helping Bosch to achieve its data-driven vision of security”, said Alexander Wallner, senior vice president and general manager EMEA, NetApp. “By leveraging NetApp technology, Bosch Video Recording Manager solution is further enhanced, resulting in a high-performance, flexible, scalable and reliable storage management solution for IP network video recording.”
Bernhard Schuster added: “With the help of NetApp and the power of data, we are pushing security to the next level.”