Microsoft Windows recommendations
Since the XProtect VMS runs on a Microsoft Windows OS, there are several functions and settings in Microsoft Windows for configuring the storage system disks that impact the XProtect VMS performance. Below recommendations should be observed to obtain the best possible XProtect VMS performance.
Separate OS and XProtect VMS drives
With the recording servers it is important to use separate physical disks (different partitions on the same disk is not good enough) for the OS and the XProtect VMS recordings.
In smaller installations where one or only a few individual disks are sufficient to store the XProtect VMS recordings, the drives storing the media database will fail at some point due to wear and tear caused by the constant high load of the XProtect VMS data being recorded.
If using the same drive for both the OS and the XProtect VMS media database, the OS installation is also lost when the disk fails. Recovering from this scenario requires a lot of work by having to reinstall and configure both the Microsoft Windows OS and the XProtect VMS recording server.
In larger installations a storage system with RAID 5, 6 or 10 will probably be used for the drive storing the XProtect VMS media database. In such a case, if disks fail, data is not lost. However, even when using RAID, it is recommended to use separate disks for the Windows OS and the XProtect VMS media. The reason for this in this scenario, is that there is a risk that Windows at some point will perform various operations that require a lot of disk access, which potentially could impact the XProtect VMS recording performance and lead to lost recordings.
Disk formatting
To get the best disk performance it is strongly recommended that the disks are formatted with NTFS with the allocation unit size set to 64K or higher.
HDD short stroking
When using HDDs for recording and archiving, the disk performance varies depending on where on the plates the data is stored.
The reason for this is that the tracks are longer closer to the platter’s edge and thus hold more data compared to the ones closer to the center of the plate. As the platters rotate at a constant speed, the data transfer per revolution is therefore higher closer to the edge resulting in a better performance.
This behavior can be utilized to “trade disk size for speed” by partitioning the disks to only use a smaller percentage of the disk space – for instance 60-80% of the total size. This partition will be allocated space on the platters ranging from the edge in towards the center of the platters.
Now when data is written to this partition, it will always be located on the fastest part of the disk giving a higher data throughput. Furthermore, when only using a smaller percentage of the disk, the access time also becomes shorter as the disk arm and head do not need to move as far between tracks anymore – thus the term “short stroking”.
Windows search indexing
“Windows Search Indexing” can impact recording performance when it indexes the media database files. Therefore, it is recommended to either disable “Windows Search Indexing” or change its configuration, so it does not index the drives storing the XProtect VMS media database files.
Windows disk defragmenter
“Windows Disk Defragmenter” can impact recording performance when it defragments the disks. Therefore, it is recommended to configure “Windows Disk Defragmenter” so it doesn’t defragment the disks storing the XProtect VMS media database files. The XProtect VMS itself will ensure that all database files are written so they are not fragmented.
SSD trim
If using SSDs for recording it may, depending on the specific SSDs used, be necessary to schedule a “trim” operation on the SSDs. The reason for this is that some SSDs need to be “trimmed” from time to time to maintain optimal performance.
Usually, Windows does this automatically when there is little activity on the SSD. However, with an XProtect VMS continuously recording to the SSD, there will never be a time with little activity.
As the need for trimming and the tools/methods used depend on the specific SSD and Microsoft Windows version being used, it is recommended to consult with the SSD vendor for recommendation on how to ensure that the SSD will keep running at optimal performance.
Virus scanner
A virus scanner on the XProtect VMS recording server may interfere with recording performance as it scans the data and files being written to disk.
To prevent this, certain folders and file types must be excluded from the scan.
For detailed information on how to properly configure the virus scanner, please refer to the “Virus Scanning Exclusions" section of the XProtect VMS administrator manual which can be found here:
Windows update and maintenance
To ensure proper XProtect VMS operation while keeping Microsoft Windows properly updated the following is recommended:
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Windows Update must be configured to download updates, but not automatically install them. Instead, a schedule must be defined for manually installing the updates at a time that minimizes impact on the XProtect VMS operation
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When the server running the recording servers requires a reboot or needs to be shutdown, or if the XProtect VMS recording server needs to be stopped for some reason, it is important to allow the recording server service time to close the media databases and stop normally by itself – even if it takes several minutes to complete. The service should never be terminated via Windows’ “Task Manager” as it may leave media databases in a corrupted state.