Can we use the existing company network/bandwidth?

[max_preuss 0]

Hello,

I need some network advice for a new IP- Camera System with 24 cameras which we will set up in our company. Out of these cameras most will not need a resolution higher than 720p but at least one needs to be a 2 MP and one a 4 MP camera. The 2 MP camera will also be a PTZ camera.

 

So far the existing network is shall be used for the camera set up. while most of the time recording and monitoring will be done from computers connected to this network every now and then the managers will need to log in to some of the cameras from i.e. home over the internet.

 

This will besides some rare exceptions only be two people and also most of the time on weekends or at very early/late hours when only the operational departments are working.

 

Now I am wondering what bandwidth would be required to provide a constant access for this situations, without slowing the internet connection for the rest of the network down to much.

 

I am not sure what bandwidth the current plan provides, but the speed-test says around 5 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload.

 

Also i am open for any general input on solutions for this situation. Maybe a separated network or internet access only for the NVR could be a solution as well?

 

Thank you for your help in advance!

[Boogieman 1]

Hello,

I need some network advice for a new IP- Camera System with 24 cameras which we will set up in our company. Out of these cameras most will not need a resolution higher than 720p but at least one needs to be a 2 MP and one a 4 MP camera. The 2 MP camera will also be a PTZ camera.

 

So far the existing network is shall be used for the camera set up. while most of the time recording and monitoring will be done from computers connected to this network every now and then the managers will need to log in to some of the cameras from i.e. home over the internet.

 

This will besides some rare exceptions only be two people and also most of the time on weekends or at very early/late hours when only the operational departments are working.

 

Now I am wondering what bandwidth would be required to provide a constant access for this situations, without slowing the internet connection for the rest of the network down to much.

 

I am not sure what bandwidth the current plan provides, but the speed-test says around 5 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload.

 

Also i am open for any general input on solutions for this situation. Maybe a separated network or internet access only for the NVR could be a solution as well?

 

Thank you for your help in advance!

The speedtest results are irrelevant for local viewing. If you network is gigabit you will not have any problems.

[TheUberOverLord 0]

Hello,

I need some network advice for a new IP- Camera System with 24 cameras which we will set up in our company. Out of these cameras most will not need a resolution higher than 720p but at least one needs to be a 2 MP and one a 4 MP camera. The 2 MP camera will also be a PTZ camera.

 

So far the existing network is shall be used for the camera set up. while most of the time recording and monitoring will be done from computers connected to this network every now and then the managers will need to log in to some of the cameras from i.e. home over the internet.

 

This will besides some rare exceptions only be two people and also most of the time on weekends or at very early/late hours when only the operational departments are working.

 

Now I am wondering what bandwidth would be required to provide a constant access for this situations, without slowing the internet connection for the rest of the network down to much.

 

I am not sure what bandwidth the current plan provides, but the speed-test says around 5 Mbps download and 5 Mbps upload.

 

Also i am open for any general input on solutions for this situation. Maybe a separated network or internet access only for the NVR could be a solution as well?

 

Thank you for your help in advance!

You are very welcome.

 

Here is a speed test which uses HTML5 no Java or Flash that you can run from within your cooperate LAN to determine current bandwidth:

 

http://speedof.me/

 

Note: Remote access to a camera located on a corporate or home network uses the "Upload" bandwidth not the download bandwidth. Because of that it's the upload bandwidth not the download bandwidth that you need to be concerned about in this case.

 

Don

[max_preuss 0]

@Boogieman: My concern is not for the local viewing, but the situations where remote control from the outside via internet is required.

 

@TheUberOverLord: Thanks for the link. The results were around the same (download: 4-6Mbps; upload: 5-6 Mbps), but especially the upload had higher peaks (up to 7Mbps).

 

Would this be sufficient for the purpose of the system in your opinion/experience?

[TheUberOverLord 0]

@Boogieman: My concern is not for the local viewing, but the situations where remote control from the outside via internet is required.

 

@TheUberOverLord: Thanks for the link. The results were around the same (download: 4-6Mbps; upload: 5-6 Mbps), but especially the upload had higher peaks (up to 7Mbps).

 

Would this be sufficient for the purpose of the system in your opinion/experience?

You are very welcome.

 

First I would like to say that there really is no perfect bandwidth calculator and some like one over others. I say this for a few reasons.

 

There are many variables involved that vary from maximum possible concurrent users accessing video/audio to all cameras remotely, required/acceptable FPS ("Frame Per Second Rates"), number of "Key Frames" used, bit rates which can/could be fixed or variable and even the use of manufacturer proprietary protocols such as H.264+ as one example supplied by Hikvision that could decrease bandwidth.

 

Because of the above and many other possible variables. It's not a good idea to use bandwidth calculators for anything but rough estimates.

 

Before trying to estimate remote bandwidth usage. It would be best to decide what the average and maximum total concurrent remote assessors will be. Because whatever the bandwidth estimates are you will need to use "Bandwidth * concurrent remote assessors" for live video/audio.

 

It's important to note that if the number of concurrent remote assessors exceeds your ISP "Upload" bandwidth then all other remote users will be impacted. For corporate networks this may be more important than for home networks. If that corporate network supports remote access for other things. Because some overhead can/could be seen more likely than not whereas on many if not most home networks that overhead might no be always seen in all cases.

 

Especially more so if a significant amount of ISP "Upload" bandwidth is already currently in use or needs to be available at all times, for a corporate networks continued stable operations.

 

That said. You may wish to try a few online bandwidth calculators to compare their results:

 

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=ip+camera+bandwidth+calculator

 

Depending on how the cameras are being accessed remotely. It might not be so easy to restrict or force remote users to access sub-streams only for example. Without also changing the stream being used for access for those on the corporate LAN and even for any recordings. Again, it depends on how the cameras are being accessed remotely.

 

Some examples of the above are that some NVR equipment does not support the simultaneous use of main and sub streams to a camera. Some methods of direct access to cameras don't support the ability to limit specific users to sub stream access only while allowing other users simultaneously to use the main stream for the same camera.

 

I wish I had a better answer. I'd rather not give you a psychic prediction saying all will be fine and always will remain fine. But to instead try to give you an honest answer based on facts and not speculation and conjecture. But there really is not one right answer. It depends on the mix of cameras being accessible remotely, concurrent remote assessors to those cameras as well as each cameras settings being tuned and tweaked for remote access as well. While they can still continue to meet any and all of their other requirements. But bandwidth calculators can still provide very rough estimates.

 

Don

Edited November 13, 2015 by Guest

[Boogieman 1]

Every NVR has the option to limit bandwidth for the substream so that you can view remotely. You will have no problem.

[MR2 0]

You will have no problem.

 

I would suggest you do a Step by Step approach, rather than saying it'll be fine, how about saying "lets try this, but keep an eye on if things slow down and if you have a quota limit"

 

then if they notice anything just look at increasing the speed of their connection slightly or increasing quota if they are on that sort of link

[Boogieman 1]

You will have no problem.

 

I would suggest you do a Step by Step approach, rather than saying it'll be fine, how about saying "lets try this, but keep an eye on if things slow down and if you have a quota limit"

 

then if they notice anything just look at increasing the speed of their connection slightly or increasing quota if they are on that sort of link

Because "you will be fine" is the correct answer based on the information provided. What you are stating is "i have no clue so why dont you test it and see. If it doesn't work get faster internet." That doesnt help the OP.

There are substream settings on the NVR to address this issue.

[MR2 0]

You will have no problem.

 

I would suggest you do a Step by Step approach, rather than saying it'll be fine, how about saying "lets try this, but keep an eye on if things slow down and if you have a quota limit"

 

then if they notice anything just look at increasing the speed of their connection slightly or increasing quota if they are on that sort of link

Because "you will be fine" is the correct answer based on the information provided. What you are stating is "i have no clue so why dont you test it and see. If it doesn't work get faster internet." That doesnt help the OP.

There are substream settings on the NVR to address this issue.

 

Sure, use a blanket statement then

[tomcctv 190]

Hi. if you want to get the best out of your system I would install a dedicated network for your system

 

But instead of asking will it run ... You have not given any assesment of the existing network how much is on it already also what others might add in the future

 

A dedicated network will not give you problems

[jeromephone 6]

If you can, not knowing the location of the cameras. I would install a switch to isolate the cameras on their own network and then use the NVR as sort of a router so the only bandwitdth would be the traffic from the NVR or server on the company network. This approach may be unnecessary with an up to date network.

[dalepres 0]

Hi. if you want to get the best out of your system I would install a dedicated network for your system

 

But instead of asking will it run ... You have not given any assesment of the existing network how much is on it already also what others might add in the future

 

A dedicated network will not give you problems

 

I agree with this. For my home surveillance system, 16 cameras at ranging from 720p to 5mp, I created a second network. But if you really look at the numbers, average data rate for my cameras is probably around 4mb per or 64mb total, perhaps 50% above that, or near 100mb when dual streams are being read - hardly enough to crash a gigabit network by much but Ethernet fails rapidly under high use because of the collision-based mechanisms. That extra hundred mb can make a difference as the network begins to fail but with Ethernet switches, compared to the old hubs that hardly exist any longer, the only risk is at key network bottlenecks - such as your recording servers, etc. In a switched network there is almost no risk of cameras causing significant impact but it was just too simple and inexpensive to create separate networks.

[max_preuss 0]

Thanks a lot for all the input.

 

Once we set up the system I will let you know if the current connection is sufficient!

[tomcctv 190]

Thanks a lot for all the input.

 

Once we set up the system I will let you know if the current connection is sufficient!

 

 

Hi that's the problem ....... It does not matter about camera data it's all about what the local network is all ready using and what will be added at a later time

 

What type of install is it .... Offices - workshop -

[max_preuss 0]

It is an office with around 6-7 computers and then around 5-6 computers in the operational area.

[tomcctv 190]

It is an office with around 6-7 computers and then around 5-6 computers in the operational area.

 

 

So computers along with printers working all day plus staffs own personal phones or tablets if there allowed to connect

 

What is the phone system run on

[max_preuss 0]

No personal devices are used in the network. Printers are used with maybe half of the computers. Some also over network.

 

As about the phone system I am not sure. Since it is an IP phone system my guess is that it is also using the network.

[MR2 0]

you'll be fine if it's just the internal network as long as it's all gigabit, when you get several hundred devices you'd maybe need a 10gig backbone, but then when you have that large a network you will likely have IT intergrators who will be actively monitoring your IP Cam systems impact on the network.

 

maybe if all the cam's were in Casino mode you'd see some decent traffic, with normal H264 you'll find even 20x 3mp cam's are using maybe 10% of a gigabit connection combined (we register under 100Mbps for each 20 pack of cam's on constant record)

 

if you find any 100mbit switch's they should be replaced anyway