Milestone Solution Partner IT Infrastructure
Components Certification Report
IBM Storwize Family used with Milestone XProtect Corporate and Expert
03-30-2015
Table of Contents
Executive Summary: .................................................................................................................. 4
Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 4
Certified Products ................................................................................................................... 4
Key Findings .............................................................................................................................. 4
Test settings: .......................................................................................................................... 5
Test to determine the performance limit of solution .................................................................... 6
The raw numbers: .................................................................................................................. 6
Results of the test ...................................................................................................................... 7
Solution Architecture: ................................................................................................................. 8
Topology ................................................................................................................................ 8
Storage System Configuration ................................................................................................ 8
Conclusion: ...............................................................................................................................10
Appendix A: ..............................................................................................................................12
Full Lab Equipment List .........................................................................................................12
Recording and management server (System under test Rack server based) .....................12
Camera simulation, data archive, and Milestone client servers ..........................................12
Recording and management server (System under test Blade based solution) .................13
Camera simulation, data archive, and Milestone client server ............................................13
2
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
About IBM:
The International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is an American multinational technology and
consulting corporation, with headquarters in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and
markets computer hardware and software, and offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in
areas ranging from mainframe computers to nanotechnology.
About Milestone Systems:
Milestone Systems is the world’s leading provider of open platform IP video surveillance software.
Milestone has provided easy-to-use, powerful video management software in more than 100,000
installations worldwide.
Milestone XProtect® products are designed with open architecture and are compatible with more IP
cameras, encoders and digital video recorders than any other manufacturer. Because Milestone provides
an open platform, you can integrate today’s best business solutions and expand what’s possible with
future innovations. Visit www.milestonesys.com for more.
3
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Executive Summary:
Abstract
This report highlights the performance results of certification tests performed on the IBM Storwize family.
This product was used as the storage location for both the live and archive database during this
certification test, and the redundancy features of the solution were highlighted during the test. The
Milestone Technology Partner (MTP) Certification program seeks to confirm that server, storage and
network solutions provided by qualified MTP vendors meet the performance benchmarks required to
support the Milestone XProtect VMS applications, and to measure the maximum performance available to
Milestone customers if they choose to build a solution using certified MTP products. MTP certification
efforts include building a test surveillance system using the subject MTP product and gathering
performance data while the system is in operation at the benchmark levels, and capacity testing to
determine the upper limits of performance for the certified MTP solution. Certification of your product will
ensure that any surveillance system built using this product in combination with the Milestone XProtect
components will be able to record and archive an amount of video consistent with the recommendations
of the Milestone Server and Storage Calculator.
Certified Products


IBM Storwize Family
o
Model 2076 IBM Storwize® V7000 disk controller
o
Model 2077 IBM Storwize® V5000 disk controller
o
Model 2078 IBM Storwize® V5000 disk controller
o
Model 2072 IBM Storwize® V3700 disk controller
Milestone XProtect Corporate 2013 R2 (Or most recent version)
o
Listed products are certified for use with the entire XProtect product line.
Performance of the solution may vary if different XProtect products and/or system components not listed in the tests details are
included. For a complete list of all equipment used in the certification check Appendix B.
Key Findings
The Storwize family performs as a video storage platform within the Milestone XProtect VMS system at a
level that is in excess of the benchmark levels determined by the Milestone Server and Storage
Calculator. The calculator indicates that the product should easily support 150 cameras at the benchmark
level, and in performance limit testing it was able to support a maximum of 1200 cameras per Recording
Server. The system performs at a high level of data throughput, and with acceptable read/write latency
when using the optimal logical disk configuration.
4
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
The process used for testing the environment, controlled and changed camera settings and quantity of
simulated cameras while monitoring key performance metrics for write latency, processor consumption,
network utilization, and video frame loss. The StableFPS application was used to simulate the cameras.
As sustained testing of a given benchmark value is preferred, it is important to test only one camera
combination at a time and for a given period that spans multiple archive periods. Tests were also
performed after the system had run for a period of 4 days with the initial benchmark value and
accumulated some amount of data in the archive database in order to simulate a production environment.
Through the StableFPS simulation application, the camera count was set at 150 cameras and ran for 4
days, without loss of frame data.
Test settings:

In the management client, select the StableFPS node under the recording server and click the
Settings tab and make the following changes:
o Set motion duration to 14.
Note: This value in combination with the motion interval and including the 3-second pre
and post buffer represents an environment with 40% motion.
o Set motion duration HMS to seconds.
o Set motion interval to 50.
o Set motion interval HMS to seconds.
o Set motion mode to custom.
o Set the remote path to that of the management server where the StableFPS data resides.
For example, \\managementserverIP\e (where e represents the shared RAM disk drive).

Testing with client load
o After testing ran for a period of 1 hour, the test team logged into the Smart Client from
both Smart Client PCs
o Open a 24-camera view on each and click the Playback tab.
o Start video loop playback.
Use the timeline selector to select the last hour of video.
Increase the playback speed to x8.
Select Play.
o The video playback time must span between data which resides in the live and archive
database and will need to be adjusted every hour to ensure that this is the case. For the
last 4 hours of testing, it will only be necessary to playback a single loop with starts in the
live DB volume, and eventually spans into the archive database.



h.264 Target benchmark values
5
Resolution
Compression
Frame
rate
Percentage
motion
Test start
target camera
count
Benchmark
target camera
count
640x480
30
20
40.00%
120
150
1280x720
60
10
40.00%
76
96
1280x720
60
30
40.00%
29
37
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
2048x1536
60
10
40.00%
33
42
MJPEG Target benchmark values
Resolution
Compression
Frame
rate
Percentage
motion
Test start
target camera
count
Benchmark
target camera
count
640x480
60
10
40.00%
61
77
1280x720
60
10
40.00%
25
32
During the 4-day test, 150 cameras were simulated with h.264, 10 frames per second (FPS), 60%
compression, Video Motion Detection (VMD) on and simulation of 30% motion in the environment in all
cases exceeding the benchmark.
Test to determine the performance limit of solution





A variety of tests were run culminating with a final run with 1200 cameras in 720p
resolution, h.264, 10 FPS, 60% compression, VMD on and simulation of 30% motion in
the environment.
In order to accommodate all 1200 cameras, the test team configured two recording
server instances.
During the final observation, one of the recording service instances (600 simulated
cameras) was in active archive state.
The server was configured with dual Intel Xeon processor E5-2690 and 384 GB RAM,
and for the live DB volume, there was one 48-drive RAID 10 with 15k spindles and one
24-drive RAID 10 with 10k spindles with 600 cameras on each RAID 10. After 1 hour, all
camera content was archived to a RAID 5 disk set, and then after 24 hours was archived
to tape.
The test team increased the archive pool thread count to two as archives were not
completing within the required 1 hour (estimates were around 1 hour 25 min.)
The raw numbers:






6
Processor – Average around 75% with peaks around 85%
Memory – Approximately 40 GB in use total
Write latency to a 48-drive 15k array – Average of 2 milliseconds (ms) with increase to
around 3 ms during archive
Write latency to a 24-drive 10k array – Average of 11 ms latency with increase to around
22 ms during archive
Each live DB was accommodating approximately 114 MBps write throughput and around
160 MBps combined (read/write) throughput when archiving
No media overflows or lost frames during the test period
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Results of the test
The testing team feels that 1200 720p cameras might be a bit aggressive for the reference design due to
the high processor utilization. But, as a result of this testing, the system behaved with 1200 cameras and
no data was lost. For this reference design, the suggestion of 900 cameras would be recommended and
is a good starting point. The team feels that if each recording server is configured with 900 cameras,
additional 300 cameras can be added on a short-term basis while additional hardware is procured without
risk. This also could possibly be an option to mitigate a failure situation while repairs are being
implemented.
For this testing, all content storage used external disk controllers (block) with both spindle and cache
benefits. If the camera counts are reduced, the possibility of using internal storage for primary content
storage is acceptable. However, as it is expected that long-term retention of the content is preferred, it is
recommended to include an external storage in each high camera count design used, due to its capacity
and performance advantages.
To meet the 1200 camera goal, two instances of the recording server code were simultaneously loaded
on the server under test, and this configuration is an acceptable design as outlined in the XProtect
Corporate documentation
All video content was received through the 10G interface, and both recording servers each had a unique
address on that adapter as outlined in the Milestone recording server documentation. During the
performance run, the 10G adapter operated at a very low utilization. It was attempted to run 600 cameras
over the standard unbound 1G adapter. But this was unsuccessful, possibly due to the processor
overhead of running a non TCP Offload Engine (TOE) adapter and the data load of 600 cameras. In a
moderate camera count environment, binding multiple 1G adapters might be effective, but this was not
tested.
All storage content was connected using dual 8 Gb FC, Subsystem Device Driver (SDD) was the
multipathing software used. All drives selected were chosen by the respective controllers. No
optimization of drive placement was considered. No SSDs or IBM EasyTier® optimization was
considered. This is because, the data footprint is a write-once read-never scenario and does not receive
any benefit from an SSD architecture. The random data access write model however did direct the test
team to a RAID 10 storage architecture for the first tier of storage. As it is unclear with 900 to 1200
cameras simultaneously sending data and what the write order would be to the disk, the test team chose
RAID 10 to provide the best access times. Since there were fewer threads active when writing the
archive, the team used both RAID 5 disk and tape as archive tiers.
Sending data to an archive tier connected to a separate server using a CIFS mount was also tested. In
this test, the data was again sent over the 10 Gb link to the CIFS mount on the archive server
During the testing process, two servers were continuously running the Milestone client software and 48
unique cameras were selected to simulate the normal viewing of relevant content
The product was also tested to provide an additional layer if redundancy in the form of dual storage
controllers which can operate in an active/standby configuration.
Integrators and end users designing, installing and operating surveillance systems which incorporate
these solution components can have confidence that the system will record and archive video reliably.
Customers who wish to gain the maximum value and performance out of their surveillance system can
also refer to the best practices and performance limitations outlined in this document to help design a
system that exceeds the benchmark limitations for video recording which are followed by the Milestone
Server and Storage Calculator.
7
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Solution Architecture:
Topology
Figure 1 below:
Optional LTFS Long Term
Storage
XProtect
Smart Wall
XProtect
MGT Client
Optional Storwize V7000
Cluster
System Storage
System x3550
System x3250
Microsoft
SQL
Server
Microsoft Management
Server
System Storage
System x3550
System x3550
System x3250
System x3550
1
24
1
24
System Storage
x3250
x3250
TS3200
Storwize V7000
x3550
Storwize V7000
x3550
x3550
x3550
Core Server Network
XProtect
Smart
Client
System x3250
x3250
Router
Core Fibre Channel Network
Router
System x3250
Router
Router
System x3250
System x3250
System x3250
System x3550
x3650
x3650
x3550
x3550
System Storage
1
System Storage
x3550
System x3550
x3550
24
Storwize V7000
TS3200
Camera Network
Remote Recording Server with
Failover
LTFS Tape Storage
Camera Network
Remote Recording Server with
Failover
Local Disk Storage
Camera Network
Local Recording Server with
Failover
In this diagram the Database, Management and Recording Server services were shown on separate
servers. However during the certification test all of these functions including two Recording servers were
supported on a single server. The camera simulation targets were stored on a second server connected
by the dual 10G Ethernet subsystem.
Storage System Configuration:
IBM Storwize V3700 or V5000 systems provide an excellent balance between performance and value. If
existing legacy storage is to be considered as a long-term strategy, the IBM Storwize V7000 system is a
great performer and allows the virtualization of existing legacy storage. Clearly, for the first tier of
storage, a large number of small spindles can provide the best solution for running RAID 10. For the
secondary and archive tiers, large nearline SAS drives can provide the longest retention and value.
Requiring these two disparate storage needs, the low spindle count provided by local server storage
prevents a reasonable scalable solution.
8
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Product storage management interface display indicating all active physical disks in the RAID 10 logical disk array.
Product storage management interface display indicating all active physical disks in the RAID 5 logical disk array.
.
9
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
A 1200 camera solution including both disk and tape archive tiers
Conclusion:
The Storwize family is a certified storage platform for use with the Milestone XProtect VMS. With the
chosen hard disk configuration used in the test, the Product easily supported the benchmark level of
performance.
When choosing the hardware for a traditional Digital Video Surveillance (DVS) solution, the following
criteria need to be evaluated.






Number of cameras per server
Frame rate and resolution of the cameras
Physical location of the servers, cameras, and network infrastructure
Bandwidth capabilities of the network
Remote cameras or wide area networking for remote locations
Whether the solution can be attached to a larger federated DVS network
When choosing the management, database, and recording servers, the testing team recommends two
socket servers which provide excellent value and performance. During the testing, the Intel Xeon
processor E5-2690 was chosen because it would showcase the performance potential of the Milestone,
IBM alliance. The moderately priced Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 might perform equally well, provided
that eight core processors are chosen. If the expected workload is light, four or six core processors can
be used.
The archive and LTFS storage servers have been found to be less processor and memory intensive, and
allow either a single socket server or a two socket server with only one socket populated to be used.
10
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
The XProtect Smart Wall and Smart Client servers also are reasonable in respect to resources, and are
much more tightly coupled to the video card chosen. Again, a single socket class server is a good choice
or a similar classed desk side server.
When choosing the server, the consideration for model is always of interest. Often, the deciding factor is
based on the adapters in use and the number of local spindles needed for each server. Because of the
significant random write requirements of a high camera DVS solution, the team recommends for all
central storage solutions that an external controller-based architecture be selected. The testing showed
that the IBM Storwize V3700 system is an excellent balance between performance and value. If an
existing legacy storage is to be considered as a long-term strategy, the IBM Storwize V7000 system is a
great performer. Clearly, for the first tier of storage, a large number of small spindles can provide the best
solution for running RAID 10. For the secondary and archive tiers, large nearline SAS drives can provide
the longest retention and value. Requiring these two disparate storage needs, the low spindle count
provided by local server storage prevents a reasonable scalable solution.
If central storage is part of the solution, the 1U one socket server can provide enough PCIe slots to
support the FC or SAS HBAs and the local disks can provide RAID-protected local boot disk capabilities.
If central storage is not feasible due to location constraints, 2u servers such can be chosen. The
traditional 2U server supports more spindles and would therefore possibly be a better choice when central
storage is not an option.
When considering islands of cameras, if you have central storage, 1U servers can be used and this
storage can be shared by multiple operating components of the solution. As you move away from the
central location, you have the option of a small storage array tied to a few local recording servers. In the
most remote locations, you can have a server with local tier 1 storage, archiving to a local tape
subsystem. As you move away from the core location, network bandwidth becomes a significant factor
and techniques, such as data pruning might be needed to send the key The reference architecture shows
a recommended solution including: Management, recording, and client servers. One additional server
type not included in the figure is the video analytics server. IBM offers the IBM Smart Surveillance
analytics package as part of the IBM Smart Surveillance solution offering. This software package
currently operates with a maximum of 32 GB of RAM and four cores of processing power per instance. To
make best use this solution, it is recommended that multiple instances of this package be installed on a
single high-performance server using a virtualization package such as VMware or KVM. In this scenario,
each Smart Surveillance System (SSS) instance should be configured with four cores and 32 GB of RAM.
One of these server instances can support 16 cameras simultaneously. A dual socket server can
simultaneously manage and operate four server instances per physical server, providing 64 cameras
worth of analytics per physical server. It is understood that not every camera in a DVS solution will need
analytics, and the physical server count can be adjusted to match the cameras requiring this analytics
feature.
Integrators and end users should have confidence when building video security and surveillance systems
which include the XProtect VMS and the IBM Storwize family. These solutions are certified, and can be
used to support XProtect Recording Servers which are recording between 1 and 1200 cameras at
megapixel resolution. Larger systems could be built using multiple storage solutions, alternative disk
configurations, and multiple Recording Servers. The XProtect and Product integrated system is highly
scalable with several excellent storage controller interface options, and multiple available redundancy
methods to create reliable high performance surveillance and security solutions for mission critical
applications.
11
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Appendix A:
Full Lab Equipment List
Recording and management server (System under test Rack server based)
7915-M2Y IBM xSeries® 3650 M4

Processor: Dual Intel® Xeon® E5-2690 3.8 GHz 8 core processors

Memory: 96 GB RAM (system use never exceeded 40 GB)

Disk: Four 900 GB 2.5-inch hot swap drives RAID 5 (system boot C:)

Host bus adapters (HBAs): 46M60503591 Brocade 8 Gb Fibre Channel (FC) Dual-port HBA

HBAs: 42C1800 5751 QLogic 10 Gb Dual-port HBA

Microsoft® Windows® 2008 Server SP1
Camera simulation, data archive, and Milestone client servers
7945-AC1 IBM xSeries 3650 M3 (simulation engine)

Processor: Single Intel x5675 3.06 GHz

Disk: Four 900 GB 2.5-inch hot swap drives RAID 5 (system boot C:)

HBAs: 46M60503591 Brocade 8 Gb FC Dual-port HBA

HBAs: 42C1800 5751 QLogic 10 Gb Dual Port CNA

HBAs: 42D0510 3579 QLogic 8 Gb FC Dual-port HBA

Windows 2008 Server SP1
2076-124 IBM Storwize® V7000 disk control enclosure

Disk: 240 model 3251 146 GB 2.5 inch 15k SCSI attached storage (SAS) hard disk drive (HDD)
o
Disk configuration: RAID 10 six RAID sets of eight drives (primary storage)
o
Disk configuration: RAID 5 seven RAID sets of eight drives (archive storage)
o
Disk configuration: RAID 5 three RAID sets of eight drives (archive storage)
2072-24c IBM Storwize V3700 SFF Dual Control Enclosure

12
Disk: 119 model 00Y2503 600 GB 10,000 rpm 6 Gb SAS 2.5 HDD
o
Disk configuration: RAID 10 three RAID sets of eight drives (primary storage)
o
Disk configuration: RAID 5 three RAID sets of eight drives (archive storage)
o
Disk configuration: RAID 5 three RAID sets of eight drives (archive storage)
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report
Recording and management server (System under test Blade based solution)
PureFlex Chassis configured as follows:
 Dual CMM
 EN4093 10Gb Ethernet switches
 FC5022 16Gb Fibre Channel (FC) switches
IBM Flex System™ x240 Compute Nodes configured as follows:
 Dual 8C 2.90 GHz Intel® Xeon® processor E5-2690
 262 GB RAM  Dual 300GB 10K SAS HDDs
 Emulex 10Gb CNA LOM - two ports
 Emulex 8Gb FC Adapter (FC3052)
 Microsoft® Windows® 2008 Server SP1
Camera simulation, data archive, and Milestone client server
IBM Flex System x240 Compute Nodes configured as follows:
 Dual 8C 2.90 GHz Intel Xeon E5-2690 processor
 262 GB RAM
 Dual 300GB 10K SAS HDDs
 Emulex 10Gb CNA LOM - two ports
 Emulex 8Gb FC Adapter (FC3052)
 Microsoft Windows 2008 Server SP1
13
IBM Storwize Family - MTP Certification Performance Report