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how to install hikvision Hybrid Storage Area Network (SAN) Systems

  • Writer: Administrator A
    Administrator A
  • Jun 11
  • 4 min read

Deploying a Hikvision Hybrid Storage Area Network (SAN) system moves us out of standard consumer setup and straight into data center enterprise networking.

Unlike a regular NVR or local SD card, a Hybrid SAN (like the DS-A81 or DS-AT1000S series) acts as a high-density, redundant storage pool. It supports two functional setups: Standard IP SAN Mode (using target iSCSI volumes managed by a recording server or NVR) and Direct Streaming Mode (where IP cameras stream their data across the network directly straight into the SAN without a central recording server).

Because these massive units weigh heavily and house dozens of mechanical enterprise disks, the deployment process requires careful physical planning followed by array structuring.

🏗️ Phase 1: Physical & Infrastructure Staging

Before pushing power, you must safely mount the hardware and structure your network paths.


1

Secure the Chassis in a Server Rack

Minimum 2-person lift

1.Secure the Chassis in a Server Rack:Minimum 2-person lift.

Mount the heavy 3U/4U controller chassis into your server rack using heavy-duty sliding rails. Crucial: Ensure the rack is anchored to prevent tipping. Leave the hard drive bays empty during this step to minimize weight and protect mechanical components.

2

Populate the Hot-Swap Drive Bays

Enterprise SATA or SAS drives

2.Populate the Hot-Swap Drive Bays:Enterprise SATA or SAS drives.

Insert your enterprise-grade hard drives into the physical caddies and slide them smoothly into the front bays until they latch. Populating symmetrically helps balance cooling airflow across the internal chassis.

3

Wire Power and Independent Data Connections

Redundancy pathing

3.Wire Power and Independent Data Connections:Redundancy pathing.

  1. Connect both redundant power supplies to distinct Power Distribution Units (PDUs) or UPS circuits.

  2. Connect the Management Port to your dedicated local IT admin subnet.

  3. Connect the primary Data Network Ports directly into your high-throughput gigabit or 10GbE edge switches. If utilizing a dual-controller model, ensure data paths link to independent, identical switch trunks to guarantee failover coverage.


⚡ Phase 2: System Activation & RAID Array Provisioning

With the physical infrastructure wired up, you can configure the data protection volumes.

1. Network Discovery & Activation

  • Download and run the Hikvision SADP Tool on a PC connected to the same network segment.

  • Locate the inactive SAN system (it will display its default factory IP address).

  • Create a strong master admin password to Activate the system, then assign a permanent static IP address matching your enterprise storage subnet.

2. Building the Storage Fabric

Open a web browser, enter the SAN’s newly configured IP address, and log into the Management GUI.

  • Format the System Space: Navigate to Storage > Physical Volume (or click One-Key Configuration if running an automated wizard).

  • Create the RAID Protection Group: Navigate to Storage > Array. Manually build your disk group. For video storage retention on arrays larger than 8 drives, selecting RAID 5 (handles 1 drive failure) or RAID 6 (handles 2 simultaneous drive failures) is standard industry practice.

  • Designate a Hot Spare: Assign at least one physical drive as a global or local Hot Spare. If an active drive fails, the SAN will automatically pull this spare disk into the array to begin rebuilding the missing data parities without human intervention.

  • Carve Out LUNs: Navigate to Storage > LUN. Slice your massive RAID block into distinct logical volumes (LUNs). For standard stability across streaming video files, keeping single LUN partition sizes under 64TB is highly recommended.

🔄 Phase 3: Direct Streaming vs. NVR Linking

How you route your video signals depends entirely on your architectural choice:

Approach A: Direct Streaming Mode (No Recording Server Required)

If you want cameras talking directly to the SAN to cut out NVR infrastructure costs:

  1. Inside the SAN Web GUI, go to Storage > Storage Pool and assign a storage block pool for direct video streaming.

  2. Open iVMS-4200 or your central management software (like HikCentral Enterprise).

  3. Add the Hybrid SAN device using its IP credentials.

  4. Go to Remote Configuration > Storage Schedule, select your target IP cameras, select the SAN as the destination storage media device, and apply your video schedule rules.

Approach B: Standard IP SAN Mode (iSCSI Targeting)

If you are treating the SAN as an expanded external hard drive bank for a master network recorder:

  1. In the SAN Web GUI, go to SAN > iSCSI. Click Enable iSCSI, and input the target NVR or storage server’s IP address into the Client list to grant access permissions.

  2. Go to your Hikvision NVR Web GUI and navigate to Storage > Storage Management > NetHDD.

  3. Select the Type dropdown as IP SAN. Input the storage SAN’s target IP address and click Search.

  4. The NVR will discover the allocated LUN directories. Select them, click OK, and then select the network drive from your disk menu and click Init (Format). The NVR will now treat that entire enterprise array as native internal storage blocks.

⚠️ Critical Time Synchronization Rule: Video storage systems relying on split network fabric elements will fail to record or loop footage correctly if their system times drift. Ensure your IP cameras, your central NVRs, and the Hybrid SAN are all actively synced to the exact same local or global NTP (Network Time Protocol) server.

Are you configuring this system primarily to operate in Direct Streaming mode for high-channel traffic scaling, or are you mounting it to expand the long-term archive windows of pre-existing enterprise NVRs?

 
 
 

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