3 Questions to ask before selecting a Forensic Workstation
Samir Datt
Founder CEO, ForensicsGuru.com | Fellow-Indian Police Foundation | Author | TEDx | President - Digital Investigators Assoc | Philanthropist|
Forensic workstations are the workhorses of any Cyber Crime or Digital Investigation lab. They form the backbone of your infrastructure and are expected to perform reliably 24 x 7. Forensic software puts tremendous strain on the hardware, with intensive disk I/O and extensive RAM? swap outs during the indexing process. Forensic processors also require substantial computer processing capability to ensure optimum functioning. For workstations required to handle Video intensive tasks, GPUs and other video specific hardware need to form a part of the specification. GPUs are also required for hardware acceleration when password cracking or similar applications are used. A number of artificial intelligence programs also utilize GPUs for optimum functioning.
So we can see that a computer forensic workstation is actually a specialised computer with very carefully selected components that mesh well with other components and work together in an optimised manner. These workstations require intensive testing and are required to adhere to a number of standards to qualify as a quality product.
However, the biggest problem buyers face is in identifying the right supplier for their digital forensic workstation. Anyone with a bit of space, a screwdriver, and access to component suppliers is able to buy write blockers online and put together a “Digital forensic workstation“. The only other thing that is required is a fancy and impressive website, so that buyers feel that they are dealing with a reliable supplier.
So how does one go about selecting a good and reliable digital forensic workstation supplier?
Well, actually it is very simple. Three important factors should form part of any selection criteria for digital forensic workstations.
1. The manufacturer should be one of international repute.
2. The manufacturer should have an ISO 9001 certified facility. This separates the serious players from the screwdriver variety.
3. The manufacturer's products should be EPEAT certified. This shows that the workstations have undergone testing by an independent body and comply with international energy efficiency norms. This can be easily verified from the EPEAT website. All reliable international suppliers such as HP, Dell, Lenovo etc are EPEAT certified.
Conclusion-
To select a reliable and dependable supplier of Forensic Workstations the following three criteria should be applied -
That done, you can be pretty sure your next forensic workstation is going to be a rock solid one.?
It is always about how you drive the machine too. Virtual Machines and the ability to divide tasks can make a small team more powerful.
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3 年When not having to spend their own money, far too many people simply buy whatever the biggest, most expensive option their supervisor and budget will allow, despite the fact it may not at all be the best optimized system for their software, or for the processes that they perform on a day to day basis. Lots of RAM is always going to be nice, but there's many nuances to that. Many way overspend on high-dollar CPU's when one that costs half the price would work better with their forensics software. Spend your money on the high-end super fast drives. You won't be sorry. Don't forget to check out the millions of benchmarks we have compiled by visting PassMark.com and clicking on the Benchmarks tab. https://www.cpubenchmark.net/high_end_cpus.html