Going Mainstream
Server virtualization is a growing part of physical security
- By Lee Caswell
- Oct 01, 2011
Last year, I spoke at the ISC West conference regarding
the topic of virtualization as applied to physical security. For
most in the audience, it was a first exposure to a technology
that has revolutionized the way IT data centers across the
world are built. It is startling to note that this year marked
the first year in which more virtual servers than physical
servers were deployed.
I’ve spent the past year evangelizing virtualization to physical
security users since at first hearing that “virtualization” is often
perceived as scary and potentially “not real.” One analogy that
has worked is comparing virtualization to a car’s anti-lock brake
system (ABS) because most everyone has an appreciation for how
ABS enables braking power to be intelligently applied to all four
wheels without manual user intervention and without having four
brake pedals to manage. Virtualization technology accomplishes
the same benefits as ABS with some specific IT labels. So intelligent application of braking is analogous
to “automatic load balancing” and “high
availability” in IT lingo while the ability to
share one brake pedal becomes “consolidation.”
For surveillance users, these benefits
of higher availability and hardware
consolidation are as real and concrete in
making surveillance systems reliable and
easy to manage as they are for every automobile
driver using ABS.
Why is server virtualization important?
It allows multiple operating systems and
applications to run on one physical server,
reducing the need to run multiple software
applications on separate servers. Virtualization
is made possible by the use of a
software layer, called a hypervisor, that allows
the processor, memory, storage and
network resources inside a physical server
to be shared by multiple applications.
There are two major benefits to server
virtualization:
- Consolidation benefits: Virtualization
shrinks the server and storage infrastructure
required for physical security
systems. In real-life situations, video
management software, access control
software and video analytics can now
run on common hardware rather than
on separate physical servers. This delivers
substantial and immediate cost
savings because separate servers are
not needed. Also, long-term savings is
maximized as power, cooling and rack
space requirements decrease.
- Reliability benefits: In an array, VMS
and access control applications, for example,
can restart on another physical
server in the event of a failure, providing
maximum uptime for critical systems.
This failover technology is selfhealing
in the case of a server failure
without complex clustering software,
dedicated warm failover hardware or
expensive application failover licenses.
In surveillance environments, there is
no room for downtime. If a video surveillance
storage system fails, it is expensive,
may have compliance implications
and can lead to a security breach.
When an airport needs to shut down,
the cost per minute is approximately
$20,000 to $25,000. Storage technologies
that maximize uptime and reliability
are a necessity in any mission-critical
environment. The need for highly
available storage technologies provides
benefits that, over time, lead users to
expand the use of solutions with server
virtualization into other environments
within their business.
The Ole’ Desktop PC
As noted above, server virtualization can
be a difficult topic to understand. To get
the approach, let’s consider the example of
the desktop PC.
In the days before multitasking, your
desktop PC had to shut down one application
before starting another application,
and it wasn’t simply a CPU or processor
limitation. The disk storage capacities of
PCs were so limited that the application
disk (or floppy diskette, if you go back far
enough) had to be inserted in order for the
application to load and run. As Intel-powered
CPUs became faster and disk storage
capacities increased, operating system
companies like Microsoft and Apple introduced
multitasking to make it possible to
run applications simultaneously in graphical
“windows” that could be run, viewed
and updated together. Multitasking technology
for desktop PCs introduced consolidation
and reliability benefits that led
to quick adoption rates.
From a reliability view, the desktop
PC became much more robust because
an application could crash without necessarily
crashing the entire operating system.
From a consolidation standpoint, it
was then possible to simultaneously run
word processing and spreadsheet applications,
for example, on a single piece of
hardware. This approach changed the industry
dramatically and caused the demise
of single-application platforms like Wang
and Lanier. As a result of the far-reaching
benefits, multitasking operating systems
quickly became the norm within a fiveyear
period.
Let’s face it, even with the outlined
benefits, virtualization sounds scary. The
actual meaning does suggest that the process
is not real. At one point, the desktop
PC user struggled with the same concept
behind virtualization as the security end
user is today. But just as users adopted
multitasking operating systems, we will
see server virtualization solutions take
over the industry, and familiarity with the
technology will help forward-looking end
users and resellers.
Cloud or Virtual?
We’ve already discussed the idea of virtualization
and the concept behind it. But
how does virtualization compare, or contrast,
with cloud computing? There is a lot
of talk about the benefits of the cloud, but
let’s not forget that virtualization has been
successfully running in the surveillancerich
media and IT environments for years.
While virtualization lets companies
consolidate several in-house servers onto a
single piece of hardware, cloud computing
reaches beyond the brick-and-mortar confines
of an organization. Cloud computing
allows users to essentially “subscribe”
to servers and storage for a monthly fee
from a third-party provider, thus eliminating
local IT infrastructure. In the security
market, these services are often referred
to as security-as-a-service or remote managed
services. In these cases, video surveillance
data is stored “in the cloud” by a
third-party provider and, in essence, users
are letting someone else take over the
management, maintenance and the capital
expense of on-premise servers, storage,
VMS and networks.
These hosted security services have
traditionally been marketed to the smallto
medium-sized business that does not
employ a full-time security or IT staff,
or has fixed or minimum storage requirements.
Video surveillance hosting has a
set of unique requirements that makes
the hosted model suitable for only a small
segment of the market. Essentially, the issue
comes down to the bandwidth needed
to support streaming video. YouTube users
are well aware of the delays and interruptions
inherent in viewing just one
downstream, low-resolution image over
a DSL line. That problem is magnified
when sending video upstream because
most DSL providers cap upstream bandwidth
at a fraction of downstream rates
in order to maximize the use of the network.
A dedicated high-speed network
can solve the problem a different way, but
few customers outside of governments
can afford the expense.
Currently, bandwidth from the camera
to the cloud is limited and, therefore, hosted
surveillance makes most sense when
users decrease frame rates, resolution and number of cameras. That’s still compelling for a small business
with a limited budget and limited risk, but mainstream adoption
will take time to occur. Whether considering cloud services or
virtualization technologies, benefits must be considered on a perproject
basis based on the nature of the application or captured
data. Users need to evaluate a number of items, including server
workload, disaster recovery and compliance needs, security risks
(both IT and physical) and data retention requirements.
Bridging the Gap
The surveillance market has begun to embrace virtualization as a
way to maximize cost savings and increase long-term and immediate
ROI, but as with many emerging technologies, initial adoption
occurs in large, centralized installations. Casinos, transportation
and government customers realize the improved reliability
benefits in large-scale installations where storage capacities reach
petabyte levels and applications are monitored by regulated agencies
that require maximum uptime.
Adoption in distributed environments is underway now as
vertical markets including education, enterprise and retail look
to take advantage of the benefits made possible by virtualization
and as these solutions deliver extensive benefits to distributed environments
that plan for future expansion. These systems provide
the same video optimization features and failover protection
found in appliances in the enterprise market.
Surveillance . . . Today
Security practitioners realize the value and benefits IP-based
security devices bring to their facilities and are leaving analog
CCTV systems behind. One of the reasons for this shift is that
IP surveillance is a proven method for crime reduction. Furthermore,
the value of and desire for high-definition video surveillance
for forensic purposes has grown and, therefore, end users
are deploying more megapixel cameras.
Integrated solutions also are in demand, especially those
that integrate video surveillance with other technologies such
as access control, video analytics, intrusion detection and other
networked-based systems to streamline security operations and
reduce manpower.
All these trends further drive the demand for virtualization
in the security marketplace. And, as businesses look for ways to
further enhance business efficiencies, they will look to virtualization
technologies to help manage multiple applications while
reducing hardware.
Overall, there is high demand for IP storage devices that can
help organizations reduce upfront and long-term costs. In a typical
surveillance installation, storage can equal up to 50 percent
of the cost of the system, including acquisition and ongoing
maintenance fees. This can lead to a significant investment from
a user standpoint. Virtualization solves this problem by allowing
end customers to eliminate standalone servers and reduce rack
space, power, cooling and cost by up to 40 percent while meeting
the reliability, performance and management needs of today’s
surveillance systems.
This article originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of Network-Centric Security.