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Case Study for Florida International University, FL, USA

Case Study for Florida International University, FL, USA

Florida International University (FIU) upgrades its aging surveillance system with a modern VMS/CMS solution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Background

Florida International University FIU is a vibrant, student-centered public research university, ideally located in Miami, Florida, that is worlds ahead in its commitment to learning, research, entrepreneurship, innovation, and creativity so that our graduates are prepared to succeed in a global market.

FIU had analog cameras connected to DVRs without remote video access, without a Monitoring Center to monitor in real time on campus and if any incident happened, trying to retrieve the recorded video from the DVR was a very cumbersome task.    


With all these issues, FIU needed to build a Monitoring Center to monitor in real time on campus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, so that help can be sent immediately, at the time of any incident could occur.

 

 

With no Video Management System (VMS) in place, Florida International University (FIU), Miami, was looking for an affordable, very advanced yet easy to manage system; moreover the solution to be chosen, had to be compatible with a large variety of IP cameras brands and models. Silmar Electronics distributor based in Miami, recommended the Alnet Systems NetStation VMS/CMS to FIU.

 

 

The ALNET SYSTEMS Solution

 

ALNET SYSTEMS VMS and CMS solutions were chosen for their capability to address these challenges.

 

Because the faculty buildings are located on one huge campus, FIU IT management strategically placed the cameras in common areas, hallways and exits, restrooms outside main entrances, parking lots, elevators in students housing. Also FIU built 2 new Monitoring Center were all the campus area can be monitored in real time on a Video Wall using Alnet Systems CMS software.

 

Surveillance Director William Power said the FIU University has easily installed the new surveillance system and that University Monitoring Center dispatchers have learnt how to use Alnet NetStation VMS/CMS and archives accessing process very quickly. When an incident occurs, now the dispatchers are able to send help immediately to the incident location and also they can quickly burn video clips with very good quality images for the FIU police department without a hassle.

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Affordable: There are no recurrent annual fees and the licensing schema is very simple and reasonably priced.

 

Open Platform: Knowing that ALNET SYSTEMS is an open platform company, NETSTATION is compatible with the majority of major camera brands in the market.

 

Scalable: NETSTATION can grow on demand, leaving room for adding new cameras and new features in the future.

 

Easy to use: NETSTATION application, is the most user friendly, extremely functional and very professionally designed interface, with a design based on more than 10 years of customer feedback experience.

 

Remote Access: With ALNET SYSTEMS CMS (Central Management System), video surveillance operators can access to multiple server locations remotely from their Monitoring Center, workstations, mobile devices, from within the campus location or remotely from anywhere in the world.

 

Adjust Setting on the Fly: The ability to adjust the VMS/CMS settings like live video resolution, recording compression, etc on each camera individually, gives much more flexibility to the Surveillance Manager to choose the right settings for different scenarios.

 

Future Ready: Technology changes at a rapid pace and Alnet is in the frontier of technological changes, taking their customers updated with the latest apps for the latest smartphones OS such as iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry, and also PC software for Windows and Mac OS.

 

 

 

 

 

Technical Support: Alnet Systems Technical Support Team is very proactive and can be reached by email, phone call, Skype and they will connect to your NETSTATION server whenever is needed to help you faster at no additional cost.

 

 

 

 

Simplified FIU Network Diagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Network cameras

Panasonic

Pelco

Arecont Vision

Messoa

WV-NW502S

WV-NW484S

WV-NW964

WV-SW395

WV-SW355

WV-NS954

WV-SF548

Sarix IM Series

Mini Dome

AV8185DN

AV1305DN

AV8185

AV1355

SRC510

Total 1,200 cameras

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

Technical components

 

 

  • 34 ALNET SYSTEMS NetStation VMS servers
  • 12TB HDD RAID 5 each for data
  • RAID 1 for OS
  • 64 licenses per server
  • Dell 510 Blade Server
  • 8GB RAM
  • Windows Server 32bit
  • Intel Xeon 16Core @ 2.67 GHz
  • Dual Power Supply

 

Network:

  • 50 Cisco 24 Port POE Switch Rack

 

 

 

ALNET SYSTEMS CMS Central Management Software Workstations

  • Dell Optiplex 
  • Windows 7 32bit Enterprise
  • Core 2 Duo @ 2.66GHz
  • 4GB Ram
  • 148 GB HDD

 

 

2 Monitoring Centers with ALNET SYSTEMS CMS Central Management Software  

1st Monitoring Center:

  • 4 Monitors, 32" each
  • 1 x Dell Optiplex
  • Win 7 32bit Enterprise
  • Core2 Duo @ 2.66GHz
  • 4GB RAM
  • 148 GB HDD
  • 1 x Video Card with 4 x HDMI input

2nd Monitoring Center:

  • 8 Monitors, 32" each
  • 4 x Dell Optiplex
  • Win 7 32bit Enterprise
  • Core2 Duo @ 2.66GHz
  • 4GB RAM
  • 148 GB HDD
  • 1 x Video Card with 4 x HDMI input