Distributed Server Nodes for Physical Security System Upgrade Propagation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
As surveillance systems grow by adding more cameras, they face challenges with storage capacity and processing power, leading to impracticality with a single server. Conventional solutions like centralized gateway servers introduce single points of failure and increase costs, while manual settings synchronization is cumbersome and reduces system redundancy.
Innovation Solution
A distributed physical security system using multiple server nodes that share data such as views, video, system events, and user settings without relying on centralized servers, employing a protocol suite for peer-to-peer communication, allowing nodes to automatically rejoin clusters and propagate upgrades across the network.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a centralized gateway server is used to manage multiple cameras, then system management becomes centralized and simplified, but the system introduces a single point of failure and increases costs
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the centralized management function into distributed peer-to-peer communication between server nodes. Each server node can independently manage and share data with other nodes, eliminating the need for a single centralized gateway server while maintaining manageable system operations through standardized communication protocols.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent combines the management capabilities previously concentrated in a single gateway server across multiple peer server nodes. Each node possesses equal management abilities and can perform data sharing, view management, and system operations, distributing the centralized functions across the network to eliminate single points of failure.
2Ease of operation
If a centralized gateway server is deployed, then system management is simplified, but hardware costs and system complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each server node in the peer-to-peer network is designed to be universal and multi-functional, capable of performing data storage, video processing, view management, and system coordination tasks. This eliminates the need for specialized centralized gateway hardware, reducing overall system complexity and costs while maintaining ease of operation through standardized protocols.
3Ease of operation
If manual settings synchronization is implemented, then system configuration can be controlled, but the process becomes cumbersome and time-consuming
Solution Approach 1:
The peer-to-peer communication protocol implements automated feedback mechanisms where server nodes automatically exchange and synchronize configuration settings, user data, and system parameters. When a node receives updated settings from another node, it automatically propagates these changes across the network, eliminating manual synchronization efforts and reducing configuration time.
4Adaptability or versatility
If the system scales by adding more cameras, then surveillance coverage increases, but computing power requirements become impractical for a single server
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the computing workload across multiple peer server nodes in the network. Each node handles a portion of the video processing, storage, and management tasks, allowing the system to scale horizontally by adding more camera feeds without overloading a single server. The distributed architecture divides the computational burden proportionally among available nodes.
Solution Approach 2:
The system transitions from vertical scaling (adding more power to a single server) to horizontal scaling (adding more peer server nodes to the network). This dimensional shift allows surveillance coverage to expand by distributing computing resources across multiple machines, making the system adaptable to large-scale deployments without requiring impractical computing power concentration.
Data Source
AI summary
A physical security system that includes multiple server nodes may be upgraded by receiving an upgrade installation package from a client and propagating the installation package between at least two of the server nodes. One of the server nodes (“source server”) receives the installation package from the client and another of the server nodes (“requesting server”) requests and receives the installation package from the source server. To transfer the installation package from the source to the requesting server, the source server notifies the requesting server that the installation package is present at the source server, the requesting server then sends the source server a request for the installation package, and the source server then sends the installation package to the requesting server in response to the request. The requesting server may then be upgraded by running the installation package.