Safeguarding Your Surveillance Video Recordings

 By: Steve Wilber

Hard drives are the backbone of the world’s data storage. Most devices are now equipped with a solid state drive (SSD) which has no moving parts to reduce the chances of mechanical failure. However, mechanical hard drives still dominate the security industry, with millions being used inside servers, network attached storage (NAS) devices, and network video recorders (NVRs). 

Butjust like any mechanical device with a motor, servos and bearings will eventually fail. According to Backblaze, a leading cloud storage provider, only half of the mechanical HDDs in use will be functional by the seven year mark. ^[1] Backblaze also noted that 5% of hard drives fail within 18 months.

Users can protect themselves against devastating data loss and hard drive failures by implementing recording redundancy.

Do You Need Recording Redundancy?

Not all applications require recording redundancy. It may not be necessary if:

●      You need to store less than a week’s worth of recording.

●      You only need to review recordings within 24 hours of an event.

●      Events of interest rarely occur.

However, recording redundancy should be considered in the following scenarios.

Regulatory Requirements

Highly regulated industries (i.e., banks, casinos, and cannabis) have strict requirements for the total number of cameras, defined coverage zones, and recording durations to be compliant. Additionally, insurance providers may require you to have reliable video recordings to support claims.

Retail Applications

Liability claim scams can be mitigated by recordings made during the event time. Video recordings can also be used to determine peak hours, loss prevention blind spots, and optimizing business operations.

Dangerous or Crime Ridden Areas

Video recordings of incidents and events can be useful for forensic review or prosecution. The presence of surveillance infrastructure can also act as a deterrent.

What Redundancy Options Are There?

Cameras With a Micro SD Card Slot

Most IP cameras can accommodate a memory card which can store video recordings, and record to the NVR. Some NVRs have the Automatic Network Replenishment feature, which restores recordings to the NVR once it comes back online after an outage.

NVRs With Redundancy Mirroring

Some NVRs allow you to add another drive and designate it as redundant and record simultaneously to the primary and redundant drive. This option is not available when using RAID 1.

NVRs With RAID

RAID allows you to configure multiple drives into a logical unit for protection against single or multiple drive failure. This option is available when using RAID 1 or higher. It is also common for RAID-compatible NVRs to support hot swapping, allowing for drives to be replaced without taking the NVR offline.

Cloud Backup and VMS Options

Most Luminys NVRs support LumiCloud, our cloud solution. When used in conjunction with onsite NVR recording, LumiCloud provides redundant storage of events in the cloud.     VMS integration can provide  enterprise-level backup and failover options.

Cluster Service

Select Luminys NVRs offer a cluster service feature for seamless service continuity without the need to change connection settings. The cluster uses one virtual IP address as a central access point for a group of NVRs in a high-availability setup. The sub-NVR monitors the primary NVR(s) and will take over recording duties in the event of a failure. An operator can access the system using the virtual IP address and be automatically directed to the active NVR in the cluster.

Which Option is Best for You?

The best redundancy option provides an optimal balance between cost, reliability, and accessibility.

For smaller or cost-conscious applications, cameras with SD card storage or cloud storage are recommended. For NVR protection, using an NVR that supports redundancy mirroring such as the Luminys R5 and R6 NVRs is the most cost-effective as it only requires a spare HDD.  The primary HDD will store recordings until it is at capacity before overwriting the oldest files.

If available, RAID is the better choice for whole-NVR protection. RAID 5 is space-efficient, particularly when protecting large amounts of data.

The most complete protection would be backing up data to an external device or a cloud or cluster service.

Summary

Redundancy is one of the most important features to consider when installing a video security system. Most Luminys products offer multiple failover options to keep you covered. Protecting your application goes beyond its physical location. To protect your data for the future, complete your security system by backing up your data today!

To learn more about Luminys’ redundancy options and how it can benefit your system,join us on September 26, 2025 for our September webinar.

[1] https://www.backblaze.com/blog/drive-failure-over-time-the-bathtub-curve-is-leaking/