Improved Data Management
Video data, as noted earlier, is growing exponentially, and it often needs to be kept for a long time. However, when this data is combined with traditional data, optimizing its placement (for performance and access) is a challenge. Moving the data to specialty storage solves this issue by providing intelligent storage tiering, driven by either workflow or data usage.
Video is often integrated with a business workflow – a combination of multiple applications that deliver business result. Specialized storage for video is architected to work in combination with these applications (workflow-optimized) so that data is moved to the right storage automatically.
This capability allows you to make much more efficient use of your primary storage. If you're running near capacity on primary storage, the system automatically migrates data to next-tier disk, object storage, or tape, allowing you to maintain access until your primary disk upgrade is completed.
As an example of this tiered-storage approach, content associated with completed video projects can be automatically archived on direction by an application process. The specialty storage controller is also aware of content usage, so it can automatically move data to lower-cost storage while maintaining transparent online access. These combined capabilities give the user the right quality of service while the data is stored at the lowest cost. This can even occur at initial data write – e.g., video surveillance data can be transparently moved from camera to digital tape, and only restored to disk if needed for analysis.