Very large video surveillance system (C01)

Building a Very Large Video Surveillance Site

This article is a real-life case study of the first video surveillance site designed by Compucon initially in 2008. The site has organically grown over the interval to a very large video surveillance site. How large is very large? The current capacity is around 300 cameras, and it can be increased to 400 or 500 if needed. Designing a very large system for quality cost-effectively is not the same as installing a small system which can be done without design. The site is a large residential complex in Newmarket Auckland with carparks, retail shops, and a large public square. This article summarizes 7 features of the project that collectively make this project special. The features reveal how digital technology helps.

1. 1. All cameras were installed after the site was occupied (as against during construction before close-in). As such, the installation procedure must not cause disruptions to tenants. Also, all previously installed camera assets must be reusable as part of the expanded assets. We went for digital as early as 2008.
   2. The cameras installed are Internet-Protocol (IP) enabled allowing the use of standard Internet Protocols for linking all cameras to two servers that are designated for Territory A and B respectively. The management company is located in the Auckland CBD. It can access the two servers over the Internet via virtual private network tunnelling for security.
   3. The servers are equipped with redundant hard disks to reduce the chance of footage loss due to disk corruption. No footage was lost for the last 14 years of operation thanks to the redundant backup arrangement.
   4. Since the site is large and the public can enter the site without limitation, the decision was to use cables instead of wireless to connect all hardware including cameras, switches, and the servers together.
   5. The commissioning process for a large number of cameras was not without glitches. Owing to the long distances some cameras are allocated to cover, human movements at the far end were not picked up initially. Special techniques were subsequently applied successfully to amplify the sensitivity for the far ends.
   6. Though all cameras operate in common areas (as against private areas), an apartment owner complained seeing the cameras from his apartment. The complaint was based on the argument that if “I can see the camera, the camera can see me”. We successfully installed a shield in such a way that the camera continued to monitor common areas whilst the camera body was not seen from the private area.
   7. The system has been remotely monitored for system health monthly since Day One. The efforts have allowed preventive maintenance to take place which has reduced corrective maintenance and loss of monitoring to the minimum.
   8. The Compucon team has dealt with 3 generations of managers on the client side since 2008 and both sides have remained appreciative of the quality of communication of the other party. The client over 3 generations has never challenged Compucon on quality and pricing issues. The trust and appreciations given by the client have made our team proud of our professionalism. The client keeps motivating and awarding us. Is it what every business wants?