VR-N100U USERS MANUAL
Page 8 of 98 All Items Are Subject To Change Without Notice Feb. 2004 Rev 1.0
1.1. Manual Organization
The VR-N100U User’s Manual documents the newest network security appliance. It features the new VR-N100U Security
Technology on the VR-N100U industrial server board. It has been organized in a manner that will allow any individual or
organization to quickly a nd easily install, setup and manage the VR-N100U security appliance and its associate d devices.
1.2. What is an Appliance?
An appliance is an intelligent server that does not require an operator to be physically at the device in order to setup or
manage the server. An appliance generally does not require a monitor, keyboard, or mouse to be physically attached as
access is done via a web browser or software utility. There are many advantages to an appliance. It is designed to do a
specific function or task. In regards to VR-N 100U, it manages all cameras and stores th e captured video from those devices.
An appliance also utilizes min imum physical space a nd can be installed nearly anywhere.
1.3. VR-N100U Addresses Key Issues
The security market is still dominated by traditional analog systems, but has been undergoing a transition from its analog-
based CCTV products to the ne wer digital IP-based products. There are limitatio ns in the analog systems that no longer exis t
with the digital products. However, the digital products have also created new inherent issues. Thanks to the innovative
architecture and implementation of VR-N100 U, we has been able to address all of these old and new issues.
1.3.1. Analog Systems
The days of analog securit y systems are numbere d. The securit y market has been und ergoing a transition from its traditional
analog-based CCTV products to the newer digital IP-based products. Customers looking for security systems are turning to
digital solutions. There are many drawbacks and limitations surrounding an analog system.
Although VHS-quality video has accepted up to this point, the wide acceptance of DVD-Video in the consumer market place
has helped push the d emand of customers t o require t he di gital vi de o format. Also, due to the inher ent physical char acteristics
of tape, the media degrades over usage and time. The more often the tape is viewed or reused for recording, the poorer the
quality becomes on this media. If companies have a ver y long security ret ention period requ irement, then they would requ ire a
controlled environment for storing their media as well as a scheduled duplication period in order to maintain the video at its
highest possible quality. With analog video, the quality is greatly compromised as it degragates with each generation copy.
The VHS tapes have a limited capacity for recording and are relatively bulky media. In some instances hundreds and
thousands of tapes may be used during a course of the year, thus occupying a tremendous amount of physical space for
storage. Although it is r el atively eas y to send a co p y of a V HS tape to anywhere in th e world, it is not as portable or d urable as
sending a CD, DVD, or as fast as receiving an e-mail or URL to download the video instantly. When trying to search a video
tape, it is not only a cumbersome sequentially task, it may take multiple people to go through many tapes to try to locate the
data which they are l ooking for. All of this involves a lot of resourc es, time and money. Also, ne arly all analog s ystems require
a dedicated central sec urity room that is the final destination for all of the “homer uns.” In these traditional security rooms, yo u
can find tens and hundreds of monitors, multiplexers and VCR equipment that are utilized by a team of personnel m onitoring
activities and constantly replacing VHS tapes once the end of tape has been reached.
1.3.2. IP Cameras
The latest products to hit the security market are network IP cameras. These cameras are self-contained digital networked
devices that can be viewed via any web browser. They are very flexible and can be easily setup in any networking
environment. Some are fixed while others offer pan, tilt and zoom capabilities and motion detection. There are a few new
issues that IP cameras face that did not exist with their analog cous ins. IP cameras require resources and must be conf igured
like other net worked devices (e.g. IP ad dress, permissions, passwords, etc.). Therefore, setting up IP cameras is a very time
consuming task as they all come with their own default settings and the interface between different models as well as
manufacturers will greatly differ. Security now becomes an issue as they are susceptible to hackers from outside and within
the company network similar to other net worked devices. If you plan on vie wing and/or capturing video from IP cameras, then
it will directly impact the infrastructure as heavy band width will be use d by each IP camer a on the net work. If there are enoug h
IP cameras on the network, they will eventually cripple the network by eating up all of the bandwidth. Some companies also
utilize network attached storage devices as a “bit buck et” to capture video from IP-based net work cameras. Once the storage
fills up, you must then manually delete the video to create additional space.