Milestone Tests Solid State Storage

Milestone Systems has disclosed it is lab testing solid state drives (SSDs) with Intel Corp. with an eye toward incorporating the high-capacity, flash-based storage technology into its XProtect video management software.

Word of the work came during the annual Milestone Integration Platform Symposium held Feb. 12-14 in Las Vegas. Milestone hosts the annual event for its U.S. channel partners.

Milestone has been evaluating the effectiveness of Intel’s X-25E 32-Gigabyte SATA SSDs for video surveillance storage applications, said Christian Bohn, head of product management at Milestone. The SSDs, which began shipping in October, are flash drives similar to those used with PCs, digital cameras and other consumer devices, yet are larger and designed to accommodate much more information. Data is written directly to flash memory. There are no moving parts.

Storage remains among the most challenging aspects of video surveillance system architecture. Mechanical drives used for storage of live camera feeds, because they are constantly writing large files, handle far more wear and tear than drives used in most conventional IT applications. They also consume large amounts of power and can generate considerable heat.

Milestone’s lab tests, Bohn said, have found that two X-25E SSDs can perform at the same level as a six-disk storage area network (SAN). Early lab work has also concluded:

  • SSDs will reduce power consumption.
  • SSDs will reduce overall cost of the storage solution.
  • Two to three SSDs in Redundant Array of Independent Disk (RAID) 0 configuration, properly right-sized for the application, may improve storage performance.
  • SSDs offer a unique performance boost to Milestone’s XProtect solutions because of the software’s inherent archiving function.

Milestone plans to offer the SSDs as fast short-term storage media, replacing local disk drives. Milestone software feeds live video to local storage, where data accumulates until the next archive cycle. Archival occurs one or more times per day, depending on user preferences, emptying the live camera feed area by moving or copying the video data to the archive.

Currently, the SSD technology is targeted at larger installations, Bohn said. Separately, Eric Fullerton, chief sales and marketing officer for Milestone, said SSDs could be available with XProtect as early as April. He added that the company is looking to ride the price curve, which could decline by over the next 36 months.

Intel currently prices the X-25E SSD at $695 in quantities on 1,000. According to chip manufacturer, the drive handles 35,000 input/outputs per second (IOPS) in 4 KB random read, 3,300 IOPS in 4KB Random Write and 75 microsecond read latency. The product also achieves up to 250 megabytes per second (MB/s) sequential read speeds and up to 170 MB/s sequential write speeds.

Podcast: Milestone Systems
Milestone executives Lars Thinggaard and Eric Fullerton discuss the industry’s economic outlook in this podcast with Security Products Editor-in-Chief Ralph Jensen.

About the Author

Steven Titch is editor of Network-Centric Security magazine.

Featured

  • Security Today Announces The Govies Government Security Award Winners for 2025

    Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 winners in The Govies Government Security Awards. The awards honor outstanding government security products in a variety of categories. Read Now

  • Survey: 60 Percent of Organizations Using AI in IT Infrastructure

    Netwrix, a cybersecurity provider focused on data and identity threats, today announced the release of its annual global 2025 Cybersecurity Trends Report based on a global survey of 2,150 IT and security professionals from 121 countries. It reveals that 60% of organizations are already using artificial intelligence (AI) in their IT infrastructure and 30% are considering implementing AI. Read Now

  • New Research Reveals Global Video Surveillance Industry Perspectives on AI

    Axis Communications, the global industry leader in video surveillance, has released its latest research report, ‘The State of AI in Video Surveillance,’ which explores global industry perspectives on the use of AI in the security industry and beyond. The report reveals current attitudes on AI technologies thanks to in-depth interviews with AI experts from Axis’ global network and a comprehensive survey of more than 5,800 respondents, including distributors, channel partners, and end customers across 68 countries. The resulting insights cover AI integration and the opportunities and challenges that exist with regard to security, safety, business intelligence, and operational efficiency. Read Now

  • SIA Urges Tariff Relief for Security Industry Products

    Today, the Security Industry Association has sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting relief from tariffs for security industry products and asking that the Trump administration formulate a process that allows companies to apply for product-specific exemptions. The security industry is an important segment of the U.S. economy, contributing over $430 billion in total economic impact and supporting over 2.1 million jobs. Read Now

  • Report Shows Cybercriminals Continue Pivot to Stealthier Tactics

    IBM recently released the 2025 X-Force Threat Intelligence Index highlighting that cybercriminals continued to pivot to stealthier tactics, with lower-profile credential theft spiking, while ransomware attacks on enterprises declined. IBM X-Force observed an 84% increase in emails delivering infostealers in 2024 compared to the prior year, a method threat actors relied heavily on to scale identity attacks. Read Now

New Products

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Hanwha QNO-7012R

    Hanwha QNO-7012R

    The Q Series cameras are equipped with an Open Platform chipset for easy and seamless integration with third-party systems and solutions, and analog video output (CVBS) support for easy camera positioning during installation. A suite of on-board intelligent video analytics covers tampering, directional/virtual line detection, defocus detection, enter/exit, and motion detection.