Seagate’s SkyHawk AI is a purpose-built hard disk drive (HDD) which has been designed to meet the growing demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled video surveillance solutions. Increasingly, video-based security systems are also capturing metadata along with status information and real-time reports from peripheral systems, all of which can add value to the overall performance of the system. The SkyHawk AI drives are able to efficiently and effectively manage this data, while also dealing with the challenges of recording streaming video from numerous sources.
The SkyHawk AI drives build upon the advanced benefits of the SkyHawk range of surveillance-specific HDDs. These drives have proved popular with integrators and installers who are serious about the credibility of their surveillance solutions. Designed to optimise the unusually high write speeds associated with video archiving, the drives feature a range of functions to ensure credible and reliable video storage.
The SkyHawk AI HDDs are available in 8TB, 10TB, 12TB and 14TB versions. All feature a SATA 6Gbps interface and a cache of 256MB. The HDDs are capable of supporting up to 64 HD video streams and 32 AI streams (there are two streams to an AI channel).
The drives also feature RV (rotational vibration) sensors. These help to reduce issues with system vibration, and are recommended for systems with multiple drives. If an increase in vibration is detected, the drive disperses this across the chassis to improve performance and reliability.
One of the key features of these drives is the proprietary ImagePerfect AI firmware. This has been created to ensure a high level of integrity for both image streams and AI data.
ImagePerfect firmware is built on Multi-Tier Caching (MTC) technology and enables high image integrity. The intelligent algorithm reduces data errors, allows images to be stored without pixelisation and prevents frame loss during multiple stream recordings.
SkyHawk AI drives have been built to meet the requirement for heavy-duty surveillance workloads, including the tasks of real-time video recording in complex video analytics-driven environments. With a workload of 550TB/year, the SkyHawk AI HDDs boast the capacity for three times the workload of standard surveillance drives.
SkyHawk Health Management actively protects surveillance storage by focusing on prevention, intervention and recovery options. These include RAID RapidRebuild, which provides faster volume rebuilds. Data protection is also provided, as an optional two-year Rescue Data Recovery Services plan can be added.
