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Bitrate-First SurveillanceCanonical M1 Core

CCTV Storage & Retention Calculator

Estimate video storage requirements, recording-stream bandwidth, RAID capacity, and retention days using an authoritative bitrate-first calculation model.

Step 1

Calculation Objective

PLANNING ESTIMATE
Step 2

Camera Stream Specification

Quick Sizing Profile

4 cam · 4 Mbps avg · continuous

5.18 TB
Integer ≥ 1
0.01 – 200 Mbps
Descriptive Stream MetadataInformational only — does not alter bitrate
%
1 – 1825 days
Step 3

Design Planning Margin

Optional engineering buffer

Add an optional planning margin (0–100%) for bitrate variation, scene complexity, and sizing uncertainty.

Step 4

Storage Evaluation & RAID Configuration

Raw Drive Capacity

32.00 TB

Calculated RAID Capacity

24.00 TB

Parity Overhead

8.00 TB

Filesystem formatting, operating system partitions, system database, and recorder reservations may reduce actual usable space.

Step 5

Intelligent Drive Solver

Minimum calculated drive count

Select your preferred drive size and RAID protection to calculate the minimum calculated drive count under this model to satisfy 5.18 TB.

Recommended Drive Setup
3 × 8 TB Drives(RAID5)

Yields 16.00 TB Calculated RAID Capacity (10.82 TB Capacity Reserve).

Live Results

Surveillance Sizing Summary

Total Design RequirementIncl. 0% margin
5.18 TB
Video Requirement: 5.18 TBDaily Load: 172.80 GB/day
Total Cameras

4

Target Retention

30 Days

Recording-Stream Ingest BandwidthNVR Load
16 Mbps Avg

Calculated as continuous stream throughput entering the recorder. Independent of recording activity factor.

Storage Sufficiency AssessmentSUFFICIENT
Calculated RAID Capacity

24.00 TB

Capacity Reserve

+18.82 TB

Surveillance calculations are planning estimates. Final capacity varies with scene complexity, VBR fluctuations, and audio overhead.
Material Sizing Assumptions
  • Bitrate-First Basis: Average bitrate is authoritative. Resolution, FPS, and codec are descriptive metadata.
  • Bitrate Confidence: Planning presets are user-selected planning values. Verify final bitrate against the configured camera/NVR or measured stream behavior.
  • Storage Standard: Calculations use decimal SI units (1 TB = 10¹² bytes), matching hard drive manufacturer specifications.
  • Audio Excluded: Audio streams are excluded in this calculation model.
  • Analytics Metadata Excluded: AI/VCA analytics streams, bounding box metadata, and smart event logs are excluded.
  • Snapshots & System Data Excluded: JPEG snapshots, exported video clips, and recorder OS/database storage are excluded.
  • Recording Schedule & Activity: Continuous schedules assume 24h/100%; motion schedules calculate storage strictly for active recording periods.
  • Design Planning Margin: Optional planning margin for bitrate variation, scene complexity, and sizing uncertainty.
  • RAID Capacity Model: Standard RAID formulas assume identical drive capacities and dedicated parity overhead.
  • Filesystem & System Reserve Excluded: OS formatting, filesystem inodes, and VMS storage reservations are not deducted from calculated RAID capacity.
  • Remote Live-View Excluded: Ingest bandwidth accounts for camera-to-NVR stream load only; client remote playback/live-view is excluded.
Retention Policy & Planning Disclaimer

Retention Notice:Retention periods should be determined according to the CCTV system's legitimate purpose, documented organizational policy, and applicable regulatory requirements. Storage capacity alone should not determine how long video footage is kept.

Planning Estimate: Actual storage and bandwidth vary with scene complexity, compression behavior, lighting conditions, and recorder implementation. Verify final sizing against physical camera and NVR specifications.