Video Security and Surveillance Systems Shrug Off Their Big Brother Image

Forget the ‘Big Brother’ image evoked by George Orwell’s classic novel 1984. Video surveillance is fast becoming a vital component of modern security installations, providing an effective deterrent and an essential safety technology.

The heightened security surrounding this year’s Oktoberfest has reignited the debate in Germany about video surveillance. Munich Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair, annually hosting millions of visitors, and modeled in other cities across the world. 2010 marked the 200 year jubilee of Oktoberfest, with the event lengthened to run an extra few days into October to mark the event.

Threats of terrorist activity didn’t dampen the spirits, but they were an unwelcome reminder of the heightened tension that underlies any large modern event. The threats had to be taken seriously because of the similarities in the lead up to the Madrid bombing attack in 2004, when bombs on commuter trains killed 191 people, all in the run-up to a general election.

At Oktoberfest, two suspected terrorists were arrested and held for questioning, with a knock-on effect that visitors to Oktoberfest had to pass through police roadblocks and were subject to spot checks following the detention of the suspects, and car traffic during the event was restricted to local residents. The police presence was significantly increased throughout the event, as was video surveillance.

All of this has brought the wider question of CCTV surveillance back to the fore. One of the crucial areas of disagreement between Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats is how far the state should be allow to spy on its citizens in order to prevent acts of terrorism. The Free Democrats are arguing for more privacy, with fewer CCTV cameras. But talking of spying is highly emotive language. Across the world, industries and applications as diverse as power utilities, water plant, rail, traffic control, shipping, commercial buildings and facilities, and industrial plant are all turning to video surveillance technologies as a means of assuring the safety of employees and customers in dangerous areas, as well as securing assets against intentional or accidental damage. In addition, in our increasingly litigious society, effective surveillance and recording can provide a means of defence against frivolous claims.

Meeting these diverse requirements places stringent requirements on surveillance technology, and this has evolved rapidly in recent years to deliver a new paradigm for live monitoring (either on-site or remotely) and live analysis. Indeed, software analytics are one of the fastest growing applications for increasingly capable CCTV-based surveillance systems. Today’s computer based systems can use software models to make a judgement on what is normal behaviour and what is anti-social behaviour, or to provide early warnings as potential hazards become evident, or even to monitor patterns of travel/movement and derive improved systems/schedules for handling peak traffic.

The enabling technologies behind all this are high definition digital cameras and IP/Ethernet network topologies. The push for greater image quality has driven a fast transition to high-definition cameras, generating levels of data traffic that really only Ethernet is equipped to handle cost-effectively. Not only is Ethernet the most widely understood and supported networking technology, it also opens up the potential to rationalise a whole raft of security systems and IT systems onto a single IP-based network, dramatically simplifying installation, integration and support.

Having video surveillance as part of the IP-network also eliminates the requirement for on-site monitoring. A network may extend over an extremely wide area, but monitors can be connected into the network at any convenient location, or the video feed could be monitored in real-time over the internet, potentially from anywhere in the world.

While the attraction of IP-networks as the standard for video surveillance is a function of its massive, established installed base, and the fact that the technology is standardised, low cost and low risk, there is no doubt that high high speed, high bandwidth video traffic makes stringent requirements of the IP infrastructure devices that must handle it. The IP switches, for example, that provide connectivity to the cameras and route the data onto the Ethernet network must combine simple connectivity with the ability to handle demanding video traffic.

GarrettCom Europe has responded to the evolving needs of video surveillance for IP-based technologies with new ranges of Ethernet switches which form the critical infrastructure for a modern, high-bandwidth camera network. The latest Ethernet switches provide connectivity for clusters of surveillance cameras and indeed associated security devices – VoIP telephones, Ethernet-enabled sensors, access control devices, etc – and combine this with fibre-optic connectivity to the control network for high-bandwidth transmission of video data.

These best of breed infrastructure components also offer the benefits of IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol) software as standard. This is key, with modern high definition cameras transmitting data at rates as high as 5Mbps. This multicast traffic has to be effectively managed, to prevent unnecessary traffic flooding the various communications interfaces and bogging down the entire network. The IGMP protocol provides a means to manage this traffic.

Compact, reliable, rugged, and hardened for use in demanding plant environments and outdoor use, GarrettCom Europe managed switches for video security and surveillance applications meet the all the requirements of the modern surveillance installations. They offer flexible combinations of copper and fibre Ethernet ports, with appropriate port counts for typical clusters of IP-enabled security products, allowing networks to be developed highly cost-effectively. And for ease of installation of surveillance systems, many GarrettCom Europe Ethernet switches now provide PoE as standard, supplying power to connected devices over the standard data cables, and so eliminating the need for costly cabling back to a central power source.

PoE is fast becoming the preferred means of powering edge of network devices, representing the only truly universal power standard. The RJ45 connection and the 48V voltage of PoE are standard the world over. The technology delivers numerous benefits in the deployment of video surveillance equipment around a site. Access to hard-to-reach locations or places with a lack of space for power becomes much simpler, and associated maintenance is eased. Further, costs can quickly escalate when the installation of separate power outlets is factored into a project: PoE switches can save both time and money by avoiding the need for separate installation of power outlets. Multi-location also becomes much simpler, because wherever there is an Ethernet connection a powered device can be used.

Delivering ease-of-use, network security and redundancy, modern Ethernet switches are supplied with software offering a complete range of management services. Self-healing LAN support – including STP, RSTP and other standards-based technologies – can provide high-speed, fault detection and correction, particularly important the high availability that a surveillance system must provide.

GarrettCom Europe’s Ethernet switches are proven in security and surveillance networks across the world, with these IP-based technologies enabling surveillance systems of unprecedented performance, functionality and flexibility. Offering a step-change in operational benefits over traditional analogue installations, IP-technology looks set to completely redefine the benchmarks in video surveillance installations.