Milestone Systems makes XProtect, video management software that records cameras from many manufacturers on hardware the site owns. SecureComm designs and installs XProtect systems in Denver and across Colorado, covering device support, server and storage sizing, licensing, network design, migration from older recorders, and service after commissioning, including systems installed by other companies.
XProtect is software, and that shapes everything about a Milestone project. The site supplies or buys a server, the software records onto it, and the cameras arrive from whichever manufacturer fits each view. Device support is broad, so one system can carry a different brand in the garage, at the gate and on the roof without three separate recorders. Integrations for access control, analytics, point of sale and alarms arrive through documented interfaces rather than one vendor’s product list, which is why the platform turns up in buildings that grew piece by piece.
Where XProtect fits is a site with more than one building, more than one camera brand, or a retention and audit obligation that a recorder box cannot meet. Where it fits less well is a small shop that wants one appliance, one screen and the shortest path to working video: the software is capable, but the server, the operating system and the licensing all become someone’s job. We settle which of those two shapes a project is before quoting, because the camera list barely changes between them and the design work does.
How XProtect licensing is counted
Licensing is where most Milestone budgets move after the first quote. XProtect is licensed per device rather than per camera brand, and the count follows every stream the system records, including cameras that were already on the wall. A base license covers the installation itself, and device licenses are added as channels grow. Editions step up in capability, and the higher tiers carry features such as multi-site management and failover that a single building will never touch.
The practical advice is to license for where the site will be in two years rather than where it is on commissioning day, and to keep the license file and its renewal dates written down somewhere the next administrator can find them. Upgrades and support run through the vendor’s care program, which has to stay current for the system to remain on a supported version. Buying cameras first and licensing afterward is the pattern that produces a system running partly unlicensed, and that is the state we are usually called in to correct.
Server and storage design come first
Storage is sized from measured bitrate, not from a data sheet average: a busy entrance at night records more than an empty warehouse at noon, and the difference decides disk count. We plan live and archive storage separately, keep the archive on a volume that can be expanded, and set retention per camera group so a lobby is held longer than a corridor nobody reviews. RAID protects the recording volume against a single disk failure, and a UPS keeps the server and its switch alive through a short outage.
The recording server is not a general-purpose machine that happens to hold video. It needs disks rated for sustained writes, a network path that carries the total camera bitrate without competing with office traffic, and an operating system patched on a schedule the site can actually keep. On a small site that server is one machine; on a larger one it belongs in a rack. Virtualizing it works when the storage layer is designed for that write pattern, and it disappoints when the video volume lands on a shared array somebody else is also using.
Open camera support and migration
Cameras join XProtect through device packs and driver support, and older models connect over ONVIF or RTSP with fewer features than a native integration would give them. That is the honest trade: a ten-year-old camera keeps recording, but on-camera analytics may arrive as plain motion and configuration stays inside the camera rather than the platform. We test each combination before a site commits to it, because claimed support and working support are not the same thing at all.
Migration is usually a parallel run rather than a switchover. The new server is built beside the old recorder, cameras are moved in groups, and the legacy system keeps recording until the new one is proven. Exported evidence is preserved in a format that opens without the old software, retention is reset deliberately, and the old hardware is wiped before it leaves the building. Sites that skip the parallel run trade a week of planning for a night of missing video.
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Frequently asked questions
Can XProtect record cameras from several manufacturers?
Yes, and that is the usual reason it is chosen. Device support covers a wide range of manufacturers, with the deepest features on cameras the platform has a driver for. Older or uncommon models still stream over ONVIF or RTSP, and we test each one before it enters the design, because the feature set differs.
What happens to existing recordings in a migration?
They stay where they are unless the site asks for a transfer. Exports are converted to a format that opens without the old software, the previous recorder keeps running through the parallel period, and retention on the new system starts at cutover. We record the date the old system stops, so nobody assumes a year of video is still available.
How much storage does an XProtect system need?
It depends on camera count, resolution, frame rate and how long each group of cameras is held, so a figure quoted before a site survey is a guess. We measure bitrate on the actual scene, agree a retention target per camera group, then size disks with headroom for growth and for the analytics the site plans to add.
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