Abstract: A method for recording and distributing surveillance data within a networked video surveillance system includes dynamically allocating one or more virtual application servers executing within a server pool on one or more physical host systems to a plurality of local surveillance domains, establishing a respective connection between a corresponding network node within each local surveillance domain and the virtual application server allocated to the local surveillance domain over a network, and receiving one or more live video streams captured by one or more video sources within each local surveillance domain and transmitted from the corresponding network node of the local surveillance domain via the respective connection to the virtual application server allocated to the local surveillance domain.