exacqvision calculator

What this exacqVision calculator is for

exacqVision deployments can scale from a handful of cameras in a small office to hundreds of streams across campuses and critical facilities. One of the most common pain points in early planning is underestimating storage, overloading network links, or missing budget expectations for licenses and hardware. This calculator gives you a quick, practical estimate before you move into detailed design.

In short, it helps answer three early questions:

• How much bandwidth will the camera fleet generate?
• How much storage is needed for your retention target?
• What is a rough first-pass cost for licensing and storage hardware?

How the estimate works

1) Per-camera bitrate estimate

The calculator starts with a baseline bitrate by resolution and then adjusts based on frame rate and codec efficiency. For example, H.265 is typically more efficient than H.264 at equivalent quality, so the model applies a reduction factor.

2) Average recording load

Next, the tool applies your recording schedule:

• Hours per day controls scheduled uptime (for example 12 vs 24 hours).
• Motion activity % applies when using motion-based recording and reduces average write load.

3) Daily and retention storage

Average Mbps is converted into GB/day, then multiplied by retention days. An additional overhead percentage is added to account for real-world factors such as RAID overhead, metadata, filesystem behavior, and growth buffer.

Input guide: what to enter and why

Camera count

Enter all cameras that will record to the target exacqVision server or storage pool. If your environment has multiple recording servers, run one estimate per server group.

Resolution and FPS

These two values often drive storage more than any other settings. Increasing from 1080p/15 FPS to 4K/30 FPS can multiply your storage needs quickly.

Codec choice

H.265 usually lowers bandwidth and storage versus H.264, but camera performance and client decode requirements still matter. If your client devices or workflows struggle with HEVC decode, you may still choose H.264 in some environments.

Recording mode and motion activity

Motion-based recording can significantly reduce storage, but only if camera scenes are stable and well tuned. Busy scenes (traffic, crowds, swaying trees) can push “motion” recording near continuous levels.

Retention, overhead, and budget fields

Retention must align with policy, legal requirements, and operational expectations. Overhead is your safety margin for realistic deployment conditions. Budget inputs provide a rough cost check so you can compare multiple design options quickly.

Example planning scenarios

Small office (16 cameras, 1080p, 15 FPS)

• Often suitable for a single recording server profile.
• 30-day retention may stay within a modest storage footprint.
• Good candidate to test continuous vs motion savings.

Retail chain site (48 cameras, mixed scenes)

• Entrance and checkout zones may need higher FPS than back rooms.
• Use separate estimates by camera class for better accuracy.
• Network uplink and peak ingest are important to avoid dropped frames.

Campus or industrial site (100+ cameras)

• Use phased sizing: ingest, retention, failover, and archive tiers.
• Apply larger overhead and growth buffer from day one.
• Validate with measured camera bitrate logs, not assumptions only.

Best practices for exacqVision sizing

• Measure real streams: pilot a subset of cameras and record actual bitrates across day/night cycles.
• Design for peaks, not just averages: your network and recording stack should survive burst activity.
• Document camera profiles: standardize by scene type to simplify deployment and troubleshooting.
• Keep a growth margin: most systems add cameras, increase FPS, or extend retention over time.
• Review policy assumptions: compliance and incident response often require retention changes later.

Common mistakes this calculator helps prevent

• Assuming all cameras produce identical bitrate regardless of scene complexity.
• Ignoring storage overhead and provisioning only raw retention values.
• Forgetting that motion-based recording still behaves like continuous recording in high-activity areas.
• Budgeting license cost without accounting for storage and scalability headroom.

FAQ

Is this an official Johnson Controls or exacqVision tool?

No. This page is an independent planning calculator and should be used for early estimates only.

Why does my real storage not match exactly?

Real-world results vary by scene complexity, camera encoding settings (GOP/I-frame interval, VBR/CBR), analytics features, and firmware differences. Use this tool as a baseline, then validate with field measurements.

Can I use this for cloud archive planning too?

Yes, as a first pass. If your workflow includes cloud replication or archive tiers, add separate estimates for egress bandwidth, upload windows, and storage class pricing.

Final takeaway

A solid exacqVision design starts with accurate assumptions. Use the calculator to compare design options quickly, then move to camera-level verification before procurement. A little planning up front can prevent expensive storage expansions and performance surprises later.