how to measure the performance of a IP camera ?

[comic_nl 0]

Hi Guy’s,

 

I have a question: a customer want to measure the performance of a IP camera.

But i really don't know how i can get a good result.

 

because you can do a ping to look for the loss but, but ping uses TCP. And normally you want to send the video with UDP.

 

Do you guys use a tool for measurement ?

 

Hope you can help me

 

Already thanks a lot

[Soundy 1]

"Performance" is a pretty nebulous concept - what sort of "performance" does the customer want to see? Bandwidth used? Display latency? Color accuracy? Image sharpness? Acceleration from 0-to-60?

[comic_nl 0]

The customer want to see bandwidth, latency, jitter, and traffic loss

measuring packet loss with a simple ping, is not possible because ping uses TCP and not UDP

[thewireguys 3]

So they wanna know the performance of a IP camera on their network.

[Soundy 1]

Try a packet-monitoring-and-logging tool like Wireshark?

[comic_nl 0]

Already thanks for the reactions!

 

Normally i use tools like wireshark when there are problems, but in this case there are no problems.

 

let me explain it otherwise.

The customer has performed some test (ping the camera, and limited the bandwidth) and now he is complaining that the camera is no good. I want to go to the customer and do some test with him (the camera works great (Bosch NBN-498 Dinion2X)) .

 

The test are going to be done in a test environment (PC -> Camera), so no other networking issues.

 

But i must be honest, i have no idea how i can test it on a easy way so the customer will understand it

[thewireguys 3]

What issues are they having? Is this showing up in the VMS live and recording? What VMS are they using?

[comic_nl 0]

They use just the BVC (bosch video client) software.

The numbers from the customer test i don't have it right now (i am at home (22:36 in the netherlands))

 

But my focus is only bandwidth, latency, jitter, and traffic loss

[thewireguys 3]

But what issues are they having? Dropped frames, smeared video, video loss?

[Soundy 1]

"He is complaining that the camera is no good" - what does that even mean?? How does he define "good"?

 

Sounds like one of those customers that's more trouble than he's worth...

[comic_nl 0]

@Soundy

You are right (normally I would not give this so much attention)... But this case is a learning case for me also.

 

But I have received the following numbers.

 

Conclusion of the customer:

If the values are above (or below in the case of bandwidth) are then this results in still or slow graphic images.

Bandwidth (Mbit/s) 16

Latency 25

Packet loss 0,1

 

So my conclusion: nothing wrong with the cam but network issue.

[comic_nl 0]

no updates

[thewireguys 3]

You still haven't told us what is wrong with the video in the VMS and/or from the cameras.

[Soundy 1]

Conclusion of the customer:

If the values are above (or below in the case of bandwidth) are then this results in still or slow graphic images.

Bandwidth (Mbit/s) 16

Latency 25

Packet loss 0,1

 

So my conclusion: nothing wrong with the cam but network issue.

This doesn't make sense (and apologies if that's just because of your English and I'm not grasping what you're saying - not your fault).

 

You say the customer is stating that a bandwidth of under 16Mbps results in "still or slow graphic images"? What cameras are we dealing with here?? I've had two 1.3MP cameras run smoothly on a 10base-T network... and certain H.64 2MP cameras I've dealt with give great pictures even when set to CBR at 3Mbps. Is this saying that the available network bandwidth is under 16Mbps?

 

I don't get what he thinks latency has to do with it either... it shouldn't have a direct effect on the "smoothness" of a UDP stream. I assume "25" is in milliseconds?

 

Packet loss is the one thing that will cause the described issues; the level of problem will depend directly on the codec being used. H.264 will probably look worse depending on the B-frame rate and whether you're dropping B-frames... other stream types may be affected more or less depending on how severe the packet loss is.

[ssmith10pn 0]

What's the frame rate? At 16mbps it must be wide open!

[Razesdark 0]

Hi Guy’s,

 

I have a question: a customer want to measure the performance of a IP camera.

But i really don't know how i can get a good result.

 

because you can do a ping to look for the loss but, but ping uses TCP. And normally you want to send the video with UDP.

 

Do you guys use a tool for measurement ?

 

Hope you can help me

 

Already thanks a lot

 

Actually, a 'ping' is neither TCP or UDP. It's ICMP. Which acts similar to UDP, but it's even more simpler.

 

Who build the network ?

Cause if you really want to see what the camera is doing you're best off looking at the router it's attached too, to see how it handles. (lost packages etc.)

Also, what are the camera settings you have going at the moment ? (fps/codec/resolution)

 

Greetings from a fellow Dutchmen

[jeromephone 6]

you may need to use Solar winds engineers toolkit. Or something that shows all the activity on the network. I am guessing customer thinks camera is bogging down his network??