Once a data packet is decoded, it is stored in one of several data tables, depending on the packet and depending on how you have setup GenWatch3®. GW3 allows you to store everything, nothing and all variations in between. This includes RAW Control Channel data!
How much hard drive space you will need is related to several things:
- Your Daily Call Volume
- How long you want to keep the history in each type of table in the database.
- Do you want to store the RAW control channel data? Store it for how long?
In general, the larger the drive, the better. At the price of hard drives these days, it is very inexpensive (less than $150) to get even a 120GB HD and have more room than you want, plus 'wiggle' room.
GW3 can store your data for about a year. After one year, we highly recommend you migrate your database to another drive. We provide a simple interface to help you manage the length of time that you keep your data. In fact, you can keep some information longer than other information, it is your choice. Since all of the data is kept in SQL2005/07 files, you are really only limited by drive space. We recommend a 80GHD only because that should store control channel data from an average system for one year without having the RAW capture on. If you want to store it longer and/or if you want to capture 100% of your RAW control channel data for one year, you use a larger storage device. Remember that at today's prices, Hard drives are MUCH cheaper than gas for your car!
Disk Space Decision Factors
There is one basic thing that will greatly influence the amount of disk space that you will consume on a daily basis. Whether or not you store the RAW Control Channel data. Here are some decision factors to help...
There are about 20 tables in the GW3 database. If you set all of those databases to hold 365 days of data, and have the RAW data capture turned on, and your system averages about 25,000 calls per day (that's a fairly average system), it will consume about 175 MB/day, or 64 GB/year. Now, with the RAW data capture turned off, you will consume only 6.4 MB/day, or 2.5 GB/year. BIG difference! You have the option to turn the RAW data capture on and off whenever you want to. You can also set the RAW database to only keep the last 30 days, or only the last week. You get the idea.
So, when we say that a 80 GB HD will be fine for GenWatch3, you see how we arrive at that number. If you want to do your own approximate calculations, here are the numbers to use:
RAW DATA = apx. 169 MB / day
ALL OTHER DATA = apx. 6.5 MB / day
One additional thing to think about when you are sizing your Hard Drive for GenWatch3. Remember to leave additional room for the following things:
- Operating System (see table)
- MS SQL2005
- MS Office (Excel)
- Additional space for SQL maintenance needs (generally 3 times the raw storage space)
Summary of Hard Drive Sizing Factors:
- Calls per Day (Call Volume)
- Capture RAW data as well as processed data?
- How long are you storing the RAW Data?
- How long are you storing the processed data?
Hard Disk Speed
The quick answer is: the faster the better. GW3 (and our other products) do a lot of disk access for storing data and in many cases, simultaneously extracting data for reports. We have found that a 10,000 RPM drive will far outperform a 7200 RPM drive. Likewise, a 15,000 RPM drive, even though it costs more, will perform even faster reporting and other activities. If it is within your budget, we highly suggest going with 15k RPM drives.
Minimum Hardware Specifications by Purpose |
