HyperRAID™

The resilience offered by Wavestore’s proprietary HyperRAID technology suite means that the risk of data loss due to hard drive failure can be reduced to practically zero.

By taking the redundancy offered by conventional RAID solutions to a higher level, HyperRAID delivers peace of mind for applications where the safe storage of data and video evidence is crucial, from small projects up to fully integrated large scale and mission critical solutions.

A Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Drives, or RAID as it is commonly known, is a method of storing data across more than one drive in order to protect against data loss should one of the drives fail. Not all RAID solutions are able to offer the same level of redundancy and in this respect, HyperRAID stands out from the crowd.

HyperRAID enables up to N+2 (RAID 5/RAID 6) redundancy as standard.

Wavestore’s HyperRAID is designed to store data across multiple drives in an array. This means that if one or even two of the drives should fail, data can still continue to be recorded and safely stored.

Importantly, the data that is already stored on the array can still be read, thus ensuring that what could be vital video evidence can be retrieved. HyperRAID is capable of providing RAID5 (N+1) or RAID6 (N+2) redundancy.

HyperRAID Plus enables up to N+5 redundancy.

Regardless of the number of data storage drives in an array, HyperRAID Plus writes data across the drives in such a way that up to five of them can fail and yet recording will continue and all the recorded footage remains available for playback. This delivers a storage solution where the danger of data being lost because of drive failure is for all intents and purposes, non-existent, even if possible in theory.

Hot-swappable Drives can be included

To further enhance the level of redundancy, the HyperRAID technology suite also provides the ability to include hot-swappable drives in a recording server. These can be installed ready to automatically take over from any drive that has failed in order to keep the full array intact. The new drive, which is brought into the array on the fly and without disruption to the ongoing storage of data, is automatically designated as a replacement for the failed drive in the array.

Saving on hardware components

HyperRAID arrays do not need to be controlled by a RAID card. Instead they utilise a Host Bus Adaptor (HBA) within the recording server/NVR/HVR, which is a far more cost-effective component and enables HyperRAID to perform much faster than traditional RAID methods.

This is because Wavestore’s unique Large Allocation Storage System (LASS) file system can control exactly where data is written to and doesn’t need to rely on RAID card technology to perform this function. Another key benefit of LASS is that it arranges for data to be stored sequentially on each of the individual drives in the array, which reduces the wear and tear on the drives compared to conventional file systems when they are required to write and read data.

Enhanced Redundancy

The risk of losing data drops considerably in line with the level of redundancy in place in the storage array. In fact, with the average hard drive Annual Failure Rate (AFR) being commonly quoted at approximately 5%, it is worth noting that each redundant drive increases the reliability of the array by a factor of 100. For example, in a system with 15 drives in an array set to N+5 redundancy, the risk of losing all data in a well-maintained system is 0.0000000005%

Reporting and Planned Preventative Maintenance

Wavestore enables system integrators to proactivity replace drives in a timely manner on behalf of their end-user clients, rather than have to rush to site as an emergency if a drive or a whole array fails. Wavestore can detect and report on the state of drives in real time and alert, via e-mail for example, when drives are failing or have failed, allowing system integrators to replace them as and when they carry out routine maintenance visits.

When on site, system integrators are easily able to identify failed drives are easily identified from LED indicators on a recording server’s chassis. Replacement drives can be installed on the next service visit and because of the high level of redundancy, this can be done at a time to suit, rather than incur the expense of a specific trip to site.

EcoStore™

Wavestore’s EcoStore hard drive management technology works together with Wavestore’s HyperRAID technology suite to deliver substantial real-world savings on the total cost of ownership of a video surveillance solution. EcoStore can automatically spin down hard drives and HyperRAID arrays which are not in a read or write state. Over 80% energy can be saved using EcoStore by spinning down drives, as well as reducing the wear and tear on drives which are usually subject to constant use. This not only saves money on energy but prolongs the life of drives.