Storage capacity
We will use FortiRecorder 100D, 200D and 400D configuration with different camera parameters to demonstrate the video retention period.
FortiRecorder 100D has a built in 1 TB hard drive and it can connect up to 16 cameras. We configure 16 cameras with 1280 x 720 resolution using 30 FPS with high quality image in continuous recording. Each camera will generate an estimated bandwidth of 2 Mbps. Referring to the FortiRecorder Capacity calculator spreadsheet below, 100D can store approximately 3.2 days of video footage.
Table 2: Capacity Calculator
| Bit rate (Mbps) | HD Capacity
(TB) | Cameras
(#) | Usage
(%) | Time
(days) |
Input | 2 | 1 | 16 | 100 | 30 |
Resolve each for all other inputs as specified |
Result | 0.2 | 9.4 | 1.7 | 11 | 3.2 |
FortiRecorder 200D has 3 TB HD capacity. With the same configuration it can record 16 cameras for 10 days.
FortiRecorder 400D has 6 TB HD capacity. With the same configuration it can record 16 cameras for 19 days.
The above examples use the same configuration for 16 cameras with different hard drive capacity per FortiRecorder model. The table below shows the number of days that one camera can be stored in different configurations.
Table 3: Video retention period in days for one camera
| FortiRecorder 100D with 1 TB HD | FortiRecorder 200D with 3 TB HD | FortiRecorder 200D with 3 TB HD plus 16 TB remote storage | FortiRicorder 400D with 6 TB HD |
The same resolution and frame rate with different video quality |
1920x1080@15 FPS
high quality video = 3 Mbps | 34 | 102 | 645 | 204 |
1920x1080@15 FPS
medium quality video = 2.1 Mbps | 49 | 145 | 921 | 291 |
The same resolution and video quality with different frame rate |
2048x1536@10 FPS
high quality video = 3 Mbps | 34 | 102 | 645 | 204 |
2048x1536@30 FPS
high quality video = 5 Mbps | 20 | 61 | 387 | 122 |
Use the following guideline for a quick bandwidth consumption calculation:
• 1 TB HD can store 1 camera configured to consume 1Mbps for approximately 100 days.
Therefore:
• 1 TB HD can store 1 camera configured to consume 2 Mbps for approximately 50 days.
• 6 TB HD can store 10 cameras configured to consume 2 Mbps each for approximately 30 days.
For more information about bandwidth consumption calculation, see the FortiCamera Bandwidth Calculator User Guide on http://docs.fortinet.com/d/fortirecorder-forticamera-bandwidth-calculator-user-guide.
In practice Fortinet suggests to use the numbers provided in the bandwidth calculator as a starting point and then adjust them after installation to achieve the desired balance between quality and bandwidth.