VMS Managing Thousands Of Cameras - Share Experiences

Is this 5,000 cameras in a single (or few) locations ("campus") or is this 5,000 cameras scattered across hundreds of locations ("stores")? Features and fit vary depending on how the cameras are physically grouped.

My bad John. Next time I will email you.

Here is some key things to look for:

• Network Setup
• How is their network setup ? Types of switches/ WAN/ Wireless used ?
• This is huge and often missed - make sure you understand what you are going to be using for network transport from edge to core
• How is security's relationship with IT ?
• This will help you understand what you need to take on vs- leveraging their IT team
• DHCP / DNS host naming is w/ pre reserveration really helps with this many cameras- IPs get out of hand quickly without a simple way to reference what is what
• Look for camera manf. that have good independent managment tools- really helps in setting up and changing settings independent of VMS if needed
• Local vs Central Storage
• Are you going to store at each location or in the local telco closet or stream to central location ?
• Remote Access
• If you are going to be managing or implmetning the system VPN access is huge with this many cameras because things will go wrong and nice to be able to troubleshoot off site when needed
• Indepdent inventory managment
• Have a good system / CRM for managing each part of system- cameras IP / MAC server info etc- this will be vital as you build out and maintain

Whether you use Milestone or another large VMS they all have their PROs & CONs- talk to as many large users as you can - it will really help you shed light on the challenges- no matter what VMS you choose a lot of the challenges will be the same- network issues, servers problems, capciity etc- these are not unique to a single VMS.

I have been involved in deploying Exacq and Lenel video in those numbers. I have been involved with pushing large numbers with ipConfigure, but not at the 5,000 camera number.

I could list the lessons learned here, but it would take a while. If you want to message me separately, I can give you some of them.

-Robert Ansell

robert.ansell@ipconfigure.com