Introduction

Purpose and target audience

The purpose of this white paper is to provide insight to the benefits of deploying Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) on Amazon Web Service (AWS) cloud infrastructure, and discuss the over-all concepts applied in an AWS deployment of XProtect. The paper provides an overview of different deployment architectures and introduces relevant AWS services that are either a part of the Milestone XProtect VMS product on AWS Marketplace or can be applied to extend and customize the standard offering.

Furthermore, this white paper will give recommendations for service and infrastructure designs and dimensioning and provide references to more information on specific topics. This white paper should enable the reader to understand the overall Milestone XProtect AWS Marketplace offering and how it can be deployed and adapted to meet specific customer needs.

The primary audience for this white paper is system integrators and IT administrators with limited experience of using Milestone XProtect VMS products who are in the process of selecting, deploying, administrating, maintaining or expanding a VMS system. The reader is assumed to have a general understanding of Milestone XProtect VMS, AWS cloud services and infrastructure concepts and traditional on-premises IT and network installations. Specific knowledge about streamed media is recommended but not required.

The paper only discusses the XProtect BYOL product. Although the XProtect Essential+ is deployed with the same Milestone XProtect VMS software, the CloudFormation templates are different, resulting in a different deployment in the end customer’s AWS account.

About XProtect VMS

Milestone XProtect is a global market leading Video Management Software (VMS) that brings the puzzle pieces of a video surveillance installation together in a solution that keeps people, premises, and property safe today and tomorrow. Built on an open platform architecture, you can customize your surveillance system and integrate other business applications into it for increased usability and performance. With over 25 years in the market, XProtect has proven to be the right answer for more than 500,000 installations worldwide, from flower shops to universities, stadiums, and cities. With the market’s broadest device support, XProtect VMS is compatible with extensive number of devices.

Readers who are not familiar with Milestone XProtect can get an introduction to Milestone XProtect video management software and its principal system architecture in Appendix A – Milestone XProtect VMS .

About AWS

In 2006, Amazon Web Services (AWS) began offering IT infrastructure services to businesses in the form of web services, now commonly known as cloud computing. One of the key benefits of cloud computing is the opportunity to replace up-front capital infrastructure expenses with low variable costs that scale with your business. Using cloud infrastructure, businesses no longer need to plan for and procure servers and other IT infrastructure weeks or months in advance. Instead, they can instantly spin up hundreds or thousands of servers in minutes and deliver results faster.

Today, Amazon Web Services provides a highly reliable, scalable, low-cost infrastructure platform in the cloud that powers hundreds of thousands of businesses in many countries around the world. With data center located all across the world, customers across all industries are taking advantage of the following benefits:

  • Low Cost


AWS offers low, pay-as-you-go pricing with no up-front expenses or long-term commitments. AWS can build and manage a global infrastructure at scale and pass the cost saving benefits onto you in the form of lower prices. Visit the AWS Cloud Economics Center to learn more.

  • Agility and Instant Elasticity


AWS provides a massive global cloud infrastructure that allows you to quickly innovate, experiment and iterate. Instead of waiting weeks or months for hardware, you can instantly deploy new applications, instantly scale up as your workload grows, and instantly scale down based on demand.

Whether you need one virtual server or thousands, whether you need them for a few hours or 24/7, you still only pay for what you use. Visit the AWS Architecture Center to learn more.

  • Open and Flexible


AWS is an agnostic platform. You choose the development platform or programming model that makes the most sense for your business. You can choose which services you use, one or several, and choose how you use them. This flexibility allows you to focus on innovation, not infrastructure. Download the AWS Overview Whitepaper.

  • Secure


AWS is a secure, durable technology platform with industry-recognized certifications and audits: PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, FISMA Moderate, FedRAMP, HIPAA, and SOC 1 (formerly referred to as SAS 70 and/or SSAE 16) and SOC 2 audit reports. AWS services and data centers have multiple layers of operational and physical security to ensure the integrity and safety of your data. Visit the AWS Cloud Security to learn more.