DEMS v3.5 Considerations
DEMS v3.5 Considerations Description Document Number The intention of this document is offer information to assist decision makers in their IT requirements for DEMS. RVL1011 Version 1.1 Date 26 November 2014 Author Alaa Abouzeid Document History Version Change Notes Author 1.0 First Issue for Release of DEMS v3.5 A. Whibley 1.1 Reviewed number of connected cameras A. Abouzeid Approval History Version: 1.0 1.1 Author: AW AA Position: IT SPM Reviewed by: RW RW Position: CPO CPO Approved by: AF AF Position: CEO CEO Reveal Media Ltd. Endeavour II Becketts Wharf, Lower Teddington Road, Hampton Wick, Surrey KT1 4ER Helpdesk Tel: ++(0)788 591 2207 Email: helpdesk@revealmedia.com DEMS v3.5 Considerations 2 of 11
Contents Introduction... 4 DEMS v3.5 Installation Considerations... 5 DEMS Installation Requirements... 5 DEMS Pre-Installation Considerations/ Minimum Requirements... 5 Hardware Recommendations... 5 DEMS Editions... 6 DEMS Prerequisites... 7 System Considerations... 8 DEMS Enterprise software support... 9 General principles... 9 Access to IT systems required during installation.... 9 Access to IT systems (support purposes)... 10 Access to IT systems required during installation.... 10 DEMS Characteristics... 11 DEMS Folders (File[s] Storage Conventions)... 11 DEMS Services (Windows Services)... 11 DEMS Architecture Type... 11 DEMS v3.5 Considerations 3 of 11
Introduction What is DEMS? DEMS is the industry leading digital evidence management platform built on Reveal technology that has been used for over a decade by Police Forces, Local Authorities, Security Services and Prisons in 30 countries worldwide. DEMS is powerful enough to securely store, manage and export any amount of digital evidence, large or small, whilst always remaining incredibly simple and easy to use. Why use DEMS? DEMS allows you to: Securely store all videos with a unique digital fingerprint. Keep track of any action performed in the system or on the stored videos with an extensive audit trail attached to all digital evidence. Password control access to content and features plus for active directory support. Securely export digital evidence and deliver it quickly where you want and in the way you need. Burn evidential digital media as a DVD or CD file, or export directly to your network. DEMS is easy to set up, incredibly simple to use and easy to manage; automated processes allow users to simply plug in a camera and let DEMS do the rest. This design philosophy allows all of the benefits of body worn cameras to be realised without placing a burden on your organisation. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 4 of 11
DEMS v3.5 Installation Considerations DEMS Installation Requirements Type(s) Description Environmental Requirements Cameras: Up to 18 cameras simultaneously (docking cradle) Client OS: XP Windows 8.1 Product Dependencies Server OS: 2003 2012 Database: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (minimum) Build Requirements Client: C:\Program Files (x86)\reveal Media Server Roles: Application, Web (IIS) + Support Management Tools + Metabase Compatibility + BITS + Desktop Experience + Windows PowerShell Installation Client(s): DEMS Codes for Windows XP OS Computers Windows Media Player 11 for Windows OS PC s IMAPI Service for Windows XP Computers Storage Root: Non-Evidential Videos Secroot: Videos classified as evidence (evidential) LowRes: Videos (evidential or normal) with a lesser quality DEMS Video Footage to review on restricted low bandwidth. Used in Folder Conventions Enterprise and Hybrid installations DEMS Pre-Installation Considerations/ Minimum Requirements Spec(s) HDD Install Time Install Note Description Pre Installation Considerations Minimum 410 MB for installing DEMS application 1.2GB for installing DEMS prerequisites applications Admin account required to install DEMS 25 Minutes (i3 Processor with 5mbps www connection - Downloading the prerequisites applications - Installing the prerequisites applications - Installing DEMS: It is recommended that DEMS would be installed on a new machine that doesn t have any instances of SQL Server Hardware Recommendations DEMS consists of a Database and server and the hardware speed requirements are proportional to the number of users accessing the system simultaneously. Again there are many factors to consider but you can never really have too much of a good thing when it comes to memory and processor speed. When managing a handful of cameras, our clients have run DEMS on modern laptops quite happily. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 5 of 11
DEMS Editions Specification(s) Standalone Mode Workgroup Mode Enterprise Mode Hybrid Mode Definition A single computer will be used. Files can be stored either on this computer or on an external device 2 or more computers are connected through a mini network, where one of these computers is considered a server and the others are clients. Files can be stored either on this computer or on an external device. A Server with many client PCs connected to it over a wide area network. The database is installed on the central server or on a dedicated database server. Files can be stored either on the central server or on an external device. A central server is connected to two or more sites, where the sites are mini networked separately. Cameras can be used across different sites but videos can only be viewed on the site they were uploaded in. Each site has a gateway computer and multiple client computers. Storage is per site and it can be either on the gateway computer or on an external device. Recommended Operating systems Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 7 Ultimate Windows 2008 R2 Server SE for the server and Windows 7 Ultimate for the clients Windows 2008 R2 Server SE for the server and Windows 7 Ultimate for the gateways and clients Supported Operating systems Windows XP SP3 and above Windows XP SP3 and above Windows server 2003 R2 family (except Web Edition) and above for server, and Windows XP SP3 and above for clients Windows server 2003 R2 family (except Web Edition) and above for server, and Windows XP SP3 and above for gateways and clients Hardware Consideration Intel/AMD CPU 2Ghz Memory 4 GB DVD±RW (for DVD burning) Hard drive. * (Size dependent on usage) **(Fault tolerant raid 5 array highly recommended) 3 x USB2 ports (for uploading up to 18 cameras using docking stations) Video card capable of playing HD video Recommended Network connectivity N/A Multiple Ethernet cables with a hub or router connecting the computer Through the organization s existing network infrastructure The central server is connected to the different sites through the organization s existing network infrastructure. We recommend you set the internal connection within the sites to be using a dedicated network. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 6 of 11
DEMS Prerequisites Spec(s) Description Pre Installation Considerations Common for all computers: Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 and 4.0 Visual C++ redistributable 2008 x86 For Server computers: Microsoft SQL Server (min SQL Server 2005) with Management Studio Install the following server roles: Prerequisites software Application Server Web Server (IIS).NET Framework 3.5.1 Web Server (IIS) Support Management Tools IIS 6 Management Compatibility IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility Install the following server roles: Background Intelligence Transfer Service (BITS) Desktop Experience Windows Powershell For Client Computers: DEMS codecs for Windows XP computers Windows Media Player 11 for Windows XP computers IMAPI service for Windows XP computer For the following Parameters: Storage and network bandwidth 16 Cameras Cameras are set to 720p resolution Average number of minutes recorder per shift: 25 minutes Percentage of evidential material: 30% Number of days to keep evidential\non-evidential: 180\31 days Available bandwidth (MBs) (Max should be about 65 for a 100Mb network): 65 Then you will need around 3TB of storage, and will need 24 hours to transfer 195 hours of material through the network. For more information, please refer to the storage and bandwidth calculator. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 7 of 11
System Considerations DEMS consists of a Database and server and the hardware speed requirements are proportional to the number of users accessing the system simultaneously. Again there are many factors to consider but you can never really have too much of a good thing when it comes to memory and processor speed. When managing a handful of cameras, our clients have run DEMS on modern laptops quite happily. Operating Recommendations It is essential that your force policies and procedures are adhered to when handling such material and we highly recommend that your information security and IT staff are involved in establishing appropriate data protection and backup procedures. It is advisable to make a risk assessment regarding how resilient your hardware and backup/restore facilities should be. Things to consider: Operating Considerations DRP / BCP Disc Failure Data Backups Other Hardware Failure Support Operating Recommendations / Description How long you can afford to have the system inoperable owing to system failure or disaster. This can be mitigated by using a ** Raid array for the operating system, database and storage. Raid 5 is a popular choice and many raid controllers allow the failed disc to be replaced ( hot-swapped ) without the system being powered down. Note that the disc array is vulnerable whilst a disc being replaced and the raid array rebuilt. Most of our clients consider this to be a minimum protection level and the hardware quoted above has this facility. Most forces have well thought our policies regarding the backup of critical material which can include regular backups of the media and database using dedicated backup facilities that are not in the same vicinity. This provides significant protection in the case of local fire or flood etc. Some forces regard the fact that evidence is burned to disc promptly as being sufficient. Backup to an external hard drive regularly will provide a certain level of protection if this cannot be brought under normal IT procedures for some reason. Such discs can be bought from a variety of vendors including Buffalo and Netgear etc. There are many things that can go wrong with a computer but in most cases the data remains intact and the system can be up and running again once the fault has been rectified either by the supplier or internal staff. You should stipulate a support arrangement with the vendor that provides the cover that you require. A return to base contract may be inappropriate owing to the sensitivity of the material likely to be on the system. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 8 of 11
DEMS Enterprise software support General principles Reveal Media do not alter client s infrastructure other than the DEMS server and DEMS SQL databases. We will advise where we think changes could be made (i.e. removal of anti-virus scanning on certain folders) and may request small specific changes that are required for overall system operation. We take care to avoid holding personal information. For example it is the responsibility of our clients to remove any sensitive information from a screen shot that may accompany an email to our support department. For some support reasons we may need access to media that has been stored within DEMS at the customer s facilities but we will not remove any data from the site without the customer s permission. We will not disclose the contents of media to any third parties and will keep access to a relevant minimum within Reveal Media staff members. We are not responsible for backups of customer s data, we will however help relevant staff in advising them of the appropriate backup steps to take. Access to IT systems required during installation. IT Areas Active Directory SQL Server DEMS Server Media Storage DEMS Client PC s Firewalls Access to IT systems required during installation Reveal Media will NOT alter active directory accounts: a member of the customer s staff must be provided for altering Active Directory accounts and groups. The installation process would be expected to create some role accounts for services, groups for authorisation and have access to test user accounts for final testing of the installation. Typically IT staff create a database and Reveal Media have unrestricted access to this database during installation. If this is not possible we usually can work with a member of staff to perform the initial installation under supervision. During installation we would expect to have local (temporary) administrative access to the DEMS server. We may install and configure windows server components (i.e. IIS,.net 4.0, Desktop experience) which are required by DEMS as pre-requisites along with DEMS. We would NOT be responsible for issuing SSL certificates within your domain for the IIS portion of DEMS During installation we would expect to have access to the media being used to store materials from DEMS to create the required file system structures. Again during installation we would expect to have administrative access to the client PCs or the initial client PCs that will be duplicated for rollout. Typically this is so we can install any codecs and system pre-requisites such as Microsoft.net 4.0 on the PC. We would not normally install more than two PCs for testing purposes; any further machines would be the responsibility of the IT department There may be a requirement to open ports, under normal circumstances DEMS uses ports 80 and 8080 to communicate, and these ports may need to be unblocked. Reveal Media will NOT unblock firewall ports: a member of staff must be provided to configure this DEMS v3.5 Considerations 9 of 11
Access to IT systems (support purposes) IT Areas Active Directory Access SQL Server Event Logs Debug trace screens and errors Access to IT systems required during installation We would NOT expect to have access to Active Directory during support. We may however ask members of staff to confirm group membership of end user accounts for us. We NOT expect to have access to the database post installation; however we may ask support staff to run limited SQL queries for us to help with diagnosing problems. These queries would NOT normally have any identifiable user data with the exception of user account names. We would expect to be able to ask support staff for copies of the windows event log entries that DEMS generates during operation. These do NOT normally contain personally identifiable information (although for example user identities may be exposed i.e. user names in paths such as c:\users\alice ). It is the customer s responsibility to redact any sensitive information prior to Reveal Media receiving it. We would expect support staff to be able to forward these to us. As per the event log, it is the customer s responsibility to redact any sensitive information prior to Reveal Media receiving it. Access to IT systems required during installation. Access to client / server systems In general DEMS will generate sufficient diagnostic information for Reveal Media to avoid needing direct access to these systems. Remote access can be advantageous to support the system in a timely manner. We will NOT alter other systems (i.e. disabling firewalls or anti-virus) without consulting with the customers IT dept. We may however alter the Reveal Media programs running on the system without direct consultation. We will inform the IT department of the changes we have made if requested. We will usually require some IT staff support to give us sufficient rights to perform suitable diagnostics. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 10 of 11
DEMS Characteristics DEMS Folders (File[s] Storage Conventions) Folder(s) Root Secroot LowRes Description (DEMS File/Folder Conventions) Non-Evidential Videos Videos classified as evidence (evidential) Videos (evidential or normal) with a lesser quality to review on restricted low bandwidth. Used in Enterprise installations. DEMS Services (Windows Services) DEMS Services DEMS Auto Uploader DEM Sync Service DEMS Sec Service DEMS Web Service Host Service DEMS XCoder Service Description of Role (DEMS Windows Services) Move videos from their camera to the local cache. First stage of uploading videos into DEMS system. Verifies video integrity Monitors BITS folder for any video drop to register them in DB, to generate their thumbnail and move them into their final folder according to their evidence flag. Move videos from evidential folder when flagged or unmarked as such Interface between DEMS UI and DB or storage; also any actions between cameras and DEMS Transcode videos to low resolution. Used in enterprise and hybrid editions DEMS Architecture Type Ref# Stand Alone Workgroup Enterprise Hybrid Description of Role A single computer will be used. Files can be stored either on this computer or on an external device such as external drive or NAS device 2 or more computers are connected through a mini network, where one of these computers is considered a server and the others are clients. Files can be stored either on this computer or on an external device. A central server is connected to two or more sites, where the sites are mini networked separately. Cameras can be used across different sites but videos can only be viewed on the site they were uploaded in. Each site has a gateway computer and multiple client computers. Storage is per site and it can be either on the gateway computer or on an external device. A Server with many client PCs connected to it over a wide area network. The database is installed on the central server or on a dedicated database server. Files can be stored either on the central server or on an external device. DEMS v3.5 Considerations 11 of 11