Topics included in this article:
- Overview
- Cloud Archiving Technical Details
- Enabling Cloud Archiving
- Disabling Cloud Archiving
- Schedule a Cloud Upload Time
- Bulk Exporting Cloud Archiving Data
- Cloud Archive Data Storage
- Cloud Archive Data Security
- Accessing Cloud Archive Data
- Helpful Links
- Contact Support and Sales
Overview
Rhombus Cloud Archiving securely backs up camera footage to offsite cloud storage, providing access to video independently of the camera's onboard storage. Cloud Archiving licenses are applied per camera and offer configurable retention periods and upload schedules to meet your organization's storage and bandwidth needs. This article explains how Cloud Archiving works, how to enable and manage it, and how cloud footage is retained, stored, secured, and accessed through the Rhombus Console.
Note: Cloud Archiving licenses can be added to any Rhombus camera in 30-day increments (30, 60, 90, 180 days, or more).
Cloud Archiving data can be retained for terms of 1, 3, 5, or 10 years. The Rhombus Enterprise Cloud License includes 30 days of Cloud Archiving.
Cloud Archiving Technical Details
Rhombus security cameras can store up to 180 days of full-motion, high-definition video directly on the camera, depending on the camera model, storage capacity, and recording settings. Cloud Archiving allows this video data to be transmitted to a secure, offsite data center independent of the camera's local storage.
Once a Cloud Archiving license is applied to a Rhombus camera, video data is uploaded to the cloud in near real-time or through scheduled uploads. Upload bandwidth usage depends on the camera's recording quality settings and is typically measured in kilobytes per second, rather than megabytes per second, even for high-bandwidth cameras.
Cloud Archiving Retention
Cloud Archiving records and retains each camera stream separately, including index seek points for defined events, until the licensed retention period ends. After the retention period ends, older video data stored in the cloud is overwritten. For example, with a 30-day license, video data from Day 31 will overwrite data from Day 1. To retain video data for a longer period, additional 30-day Cloud Archiving licenses can be applied to each camera.
Note: Changes to the Cloud Archiving retention period are not retroactive. Footage uploaded before a licensing change retains the expiration period associated with the original license. Footage uploaded after the licensing change follows the new retention period.
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Example: If a camera has a 30-day Cloud Archiving license through November 6 and an additional 30 days is added on November 6, increasing the retention period to 60 days:
- Footage uploaded on November 5 will expire on December 5 based on the original 30-day retention period.
- Footage uploaded after the license is updated on November 6 will follow the new 60-day retention period.
- The "Days Stored in Cloud" counter in the Console will continue to display 30 days until December 7. At that point, the counter can begin increasing beyond the original 30-day retention period.
Once Cloud Archiving is enabled for a camera, footage is stored at the camera's configured resolution at the time of recording. The resolution can be configured in the camera settings.
Removing Cloud Archiving
Unregistering a camera will delete cloud-archived footage from the Console unless certain precautions are taken. Contact Rhombus Support for more information, or see Retaining Cloud Footage when Unregistering a Camera.
Enabling Cloud Archiving
1. Once Cloud Archiving licenses have been purchased, they must be assigned to devices in your Console.
Log in to the Rhombus Console, navigate to "Settings," then click "Manage" below "Licenses & Features."
2. On the "Licenses & Features" page, click the "Unassigned" link below "Camera Cloud Archiving," then assign the licenses to the appropriate devices. Click "Save" when finished.
3. Once a Cloud Archiving license is applied, your Rhombus camera will automatically begin securely uploading footage to the offsite data center. To view the number of days of footage stored in the cloud, navigate to the "Devices" page, select the desired camera, then scroll down to "Settings & Details."
Disabling Cloud Archiving
If a Cloud Archiving license is removed, you will lose access to previously archived footage. However, the footage will not be deleted until it reaches the expiration date associated with the original Cloud Archiving retention period.
If the license is reapplied, you will regain access to any previously archived footage that has not yet expired.
Schedule a Cloud Upload Time
By default, video footage is uploaded to the cloud at all hours of the day. To minimize bandwidth consumption during normal business hours, you can schedule cameras to upload footage during a specific time window.
1. Navigate to "Settings," then click "Cloud Upload Time."
2. Ensure the "Upload continuously as footage is received for all cameras" toggle is turned off.
3. Choose whether to use the same upload schedule for all cameras and locations or customize the upload schedule by location or camera.
4. Select the start and end times for uploading footage to the cloud, then click "Save" in the upper-right corner.
Bulk Exporting Cloud Archiving Data
Footage longer than one hour can be downloaded locally using the Rhombus API. API access for this purpose can be provided upon request; however, custom development is required on the customer's side and is not managed by Rhombus.
Cloud Archive Data Storage
Rhombus uses multiple redundant cloud data center locations. Each Cloud Archiving data center is secured using industry-leading cybersecurity best practices, data encryption, and physical security measures. Multiple data center locations help ensure data sovereignty and compliance with local regulations.
Cloud Archive Data Security
Rhombus is built with a zero-trust, security-first approach. All Cloud Archiving data, on-camera video data, and other data, whether at rest or in transit, is protected with enterprise-level encryption. Rhombus data centers are routinely audited and penetration tested by industry-leading cybersecurity companies. For more information about Rhombus' enterprise-level security, see Trust, Security, and Compliance.
Accessing Cloud Archive Data
All Cloud Archiving data is accessible through the Rhombus Console and retained in active, or "hot," storage. This allows video data to be retrieved, searched, viewed, shared, or exported through the Console on demand.
Helpful Links
Contact Support and Sales
Have more questions? Contact Rhombus Support at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 2 or support@rhombus.com.
Interested in learning more? Contact Rhombus Sales at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 1 or sales@rhombus.com.
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