Gathering the Clouds
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Oct 01, 2010
The topic of clouds is no longer relegated to meterologists.
Now, you can’t talk about security convergence without
addressing cloud computing.
Cloud computing is the newest part of the Internet evolution.
It is a service that provides everything from computing power to
computing infrastructure.
The cloud is defined as the hardware, networks, storage, services
and interfaces that combine to deliver aspects of computing
as a service. A client’s expense is reduced by cloud computing;
however, how secure is it?
The short answer is, it’s completely secure.
“The system as far as cloud computing goes is a secure as any
software as a service provided today in the marketplace,” said Bob
Stockwell, director of systems operations and leasing at Niscayah.
Stockwell also said DVRs and NVRs have been in use for
years, and they are repeatedly hijacked, taken over and hacked
into. So far, no serious damage has been done. Hackers generally
look for an appliance, and in this case, we’re talking about DVRs/
NVRs. Once this device is discovered, hackers tamper with it and
fool around with it until they figure out what it does.
Often times, they aren’t sure what it is; however, they know
it’s a computer and recognize that it’s hanging out on the edge of
the network.
Enter the network-attached storage device, which is a convergence
of IP-based devices, offering more robust networks and
bandwidth capability.
Matt Krebs, business development manager of AVHS at Axis
Communications, said this type of security solution translates
into a higher-margin type of environment for dealers and integrators.
It also allows customers to have a video-based solution that
they can take advantage of in an operating-expense environment,
instead of spending a bunch of capital up front.
“This ultimately gives the end users the video solution that
provides high-quality video, greater availability of data from anywhere
there’s an Internet connection,” Krebs said. “It’s a transformation
from an analog to a digital society.”
The bottom line: When you talk about networking, storage
quickly becomes part of the conversation and solution.
Pat Snow, senior manager of physical security solutions at
EMC, said network storage comes at two levels—first as a NAS
device. This allows the customer to keep a copy of the current
or most-recent video at whatever resolution they want, at
a much cheaper cost than a DVR/NVR, while streaming video
over the cloud to a hosted service provider, which can be located
worldwide.
“So, if absolutely needed, it’s akin to a disaster recovery mode,
in regard to having video stored in the cloud at more than one
location, in case one location was not available,” Snow said. “Not
only can you store it locally in the cloud, but store in the cloud at
multiple locations.”
Typically, DVRs/NVRs have struggled with corporate IT infrastructure,
and installing one DVR/NVR on the IT network
seems to cause a rift within the IT world.
“When we converted and went to a NAS configuration, using a network-attached storage device, this becomes an approved
IT appliance that IT people are used to using every
day,” Stockwell said.
Truth be told, cloud solutions, or hosted and managed video,
is a hot topic in the network-security world right now. Previously,
when the solution included a DVR/NVR and there was a problem
with the application or the hardware, the IT people simply
would not service that equipment. In fact, they don’t monitor it,
and they don’t know when it’s not functioning or recording.
A cloud storage solution creates two very important propositions.
First is redundancy of a pathway and the ability to store
video even longer; second is the amount of images a customer may
be looking to store, especially in the financial services sector.
“Everyone in the industry is looking for a way to leverage a
path toward security as a service as a model that translates into
a recurring revenue stream that is long-term, sustainable and a
value add to the bottom line,” Krebs said. “From the user perspective,
it all comes down to a more user-friendly, easier, plugand-
play environment.”
I’ve said it before, but it really boils down to partnerships.
Krebs said Axis’ partnership with EMC allows all things to come
together, meaning a convergence of a lot of different factors, especially
with all this available in the market today. I believe consumers
are excited to get ahold of this kind of technology, and
what’s more, industries are excited to provide it.
The burden then seems to be on convergence; however, after
companies like Axis Communications, Niscayah and EMC held
meetings with IT staff to lay out the pathway, it was easy to explain
the functions and where it works. Another realism is what
customers actually fit the mode to give them pure elastic capability.
Let’s say an end user had networked 12 cameras and needs to
add four more. The cameras are added and can be streamed to the
cloud. It’s completely elastic, and the end user pays per month,
per gigabyte used.
Wherever there is video surveillance, hosted video always has
a place. The solution fits the private cloud where a large enterprise
puts its applications into a cloud that their IT department
is managing. It also fits the public cloud where the end user has
come onsite storage, equipment and infrastructure, but also putting
video streams out on to the public cloud or service provider.
The solution fits both needs.
Make way. Cloud computing and storage has proven to be a
secure methodology in which to dispatch cameras. It is an incredibly
easy and cost- and time-effective solution that is very secure.
Cloud standards ensure interoperability, so you can take tools,
applications, virtual images and use them in another cloud environment
without having to do any rework.
This article originally appeared in the October 2010 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Products magazine.