How We Helped A Police Service Keep Their Data Secure for the Next 20 Years
The UK’s largest non-metropolitan police force came to us with an important problem. They had a lot of evidence which needed to be stored securely for a very long time.
We were chosen to help after their incumbent tech company had offered a lower-storage solution at a high price. Having collaborated with them previously on a different project, we knew we could work alongside their IT department to deliver what they needed within their budget.
Discussion
When the client came to us, they required servers which would keep their data, without any risk of loss or corruption, for 100 years. It was also imperative that those without permission could not access this data under any circumstances.
They knew a commercial option wouldn’t cut it. An average sandbox server would only last for five years, and there was no guarantee of safeguarding.
We knew we could build something high-capacity and secure. However, due to possible constraints with future hardware compatibility, we knew it wasn’t possible to build a server which would survive the 100-year-period. Our aim was instead to develop a solution which would last as long as realistically possible, requiring less replacements over the required storage period than any other available options.
Design
To store the client’s evidence securely, we knew we’d need to utilise data redundancy. Our solution uses a Zettabyte File System (ZFS) for extra safety, and RAID Z2, which provides fault tolerance for up to two drives in every pool. In other words, if any part of a server goes down, there’s a backup.
Using this RAID level, information is not only stored safely, but efficiently. 256GB of RAM also ensure information can be retrieved as quickly as possible, important for a Police Service who may need to access evidence at any time.
Capacity was also a requirement. In one server, there are 100 drive bays, holding 22 terabytes of data each. There are also 97 hard drives (HDDs), and 5 Solid State Drives (SSDs), so the client never has to worry about running out of space.
We built two of these servers, totalling 194 HDDs, 10 SSDs, and 512GB of RAM. That’s a whopping 3 petabytes of data kept secure. Each server resides in separate locations and are constantly swapping data across a shared network, just for extra protection.
We estimate each server will last 20 years, which is around four to five times longer than your average sandbox server.
Delivery
Whilst the Police Service were happy to install the servers themselves, they encountered a problem along the way: they didn’t have racks which fit the servers we’d built, since they were about 200 millimetres deeper than average due to the bespoke nature of the solution.
This wasn’t an issue for long, though. We provided them with two racks, free of charge, to ensure their data could be kept physically safe, as well as digitally.
Closing thoughts
Developing this solution certainly required some creative thinking, but we knew we could rise to the challenge. We’re proud to have collaborated with the UK’s largest non-metropolitan police force to provide them with two high-capacity, secure and efficient servers on which to store their evidence – both delivered on time and on budget!
“Building a relationship with the client has been really rewarding, from the first call discussing their requirements to delivering the finished servers. The collaborative approach we took was vital to the success of the project, and we feel the results speak for themselves; two servers which will store their evidence securely for approximately twenty years, four times longer than the market average.”
If you’re in need of storage, a variety of servers can be found on our website. Or, feel free to get in touch with one of our friendly Account Managers to begin developing a custom solution which works for you!