Network Design Thoughts Guy Arazi: Director of Product Management

Virtual Machines What is a virtual machine? A computer with the operating system and added software that does not run on dedicated hardware Multiple VMs can run on the same physical hardware server and share its resources To the network, each PC seems just like a stand-alone one

Virtual Machines Where does this meet our business? IT users purchase a very powerful hardware server and attempt to run as many virtual PCs as possible The requirement to run NVRs on such machines is growing This is less problematic for display stations (workstations and VMDC) as these function more as user PCs and not servers

Advantages Hardware cost is shared by multiple servers Redundancy solutions can be offered Saves space, power and HVAC resources

Advantages Disadvantages Hardware cost is shared by multiple servers Redundancy solutions can be offered Saves space, power and HVAC resources Server prices are very high VMs tend to be under powered if too many share the physical server Setup and resource allocation needs to be done with attention to system needs

Virtual Machines Where do we stand? Vicon neither tests nor approves specific VMs

Virtual Machines Where do we stand? Vicon neither tests nor approves specific VMs There is an unlimited number of combinations!

Virtual Machines Our Recommendation: Ensure the VM meets the minimum requirements for an NVR Verify you have a dedicated network card for the NVR - not shared! Verify you have a dedicated hard drive for recording - not shared! The overall load on physical servers supporting NVRs is much greater than on typical IT servers – more resources are required Currently VM redundancy has not been tested but should be supported

Power Over Ethernet Use the CAT cable from the network switch to push power to the device and save the need for a power supply Standard is primarily meant for use on 100BaseT networks PoE enabled switch or mid-span can be used as the power source Advanced standards allow High power PoE over a 1Gbps connection as well

Network and power on same CAT cable PoE through Switch PoE enabled switch Network and power on same CAT cable PoE IP camera

Network only on CAT cable Network and power on same CAT cable PoE through Mid-Span Regular switch Network only on CAT cable PoE mid-span Network and power on same CAT cable PoE IP camera

PoE Facts Still primarily designed for 100BaseT using 2 spare pairs in the CAT cable PoE for 1000BaseT networks is available with certain distance and power restrictions Provides 48 VDC Can provide up to 15.4W per channel (Standard PoE) External cameras with heater/blower usually require much higher current Need to use a Power injector or Midspan with HighPower PoE

PoE Good to Remember Typical PoE switches have spec for their PoE power Most switches won’t offer full power on all ports Examples seen on specs: 24 port switch will offer 15.4W a port UP to 12 ports and 7.6W for more Some switches will state the total wattage (300W) and let you figure it our.. Keep and eye on the camera power vs. switch to make sure you don’t fall short Remember the heater and blower

Great new Option IP and PoE Existing analog systems tend to keep analog to avoid new cabling There is a wide offering for IP over coax (with PoE) This solution similar to other “over the…” solutions allows replacing analog with IP with a minimal pain The cost of the hardware is typically less than the new cabling

Ethernet over Coax or UTP

How Network and Storage are Affected Demands of IP video systems put an increased load on: The network carrying the video The storage holding those recordings Analogies to describe the situation: Cars on a road heading to work Water in a pipe heading to a pool

Bandwidth = Traffic A road can handle only so many cars. A network can carry only so many bits. To move more cars, we need more lanes. To move more bits, we need more bandwidth.

Storage = Parking Lot Parking lots can hold only so many cars. Hard drives can hold only so many video files. Once the lot is full, parking more cars requires: Expanding the parking lot Having some cars leave to make room for new cars Once a hard drive is full, we can either: Add more storage capacity Remove older video files to make room for new recordings (Shorten the number of days video is kept)

Design Considerations For Each Camera: How many FPS is really necessary? What resolution is required? For Storage: How much is required given above camera requirements and number of days storage For Network: How to best use technology to create an efficient system? Work with IT to maximize the network traffic and optimize storage

IP Cameras on the Network IP camera-based systems require more bandwidth Megapixel cameras need even more Consistent, reliable system performance requires network planning Recommendation: Video transmission may consume up to 70% of total network bandwidth (i.e., 1000 Base/T network can provide about 70 Mbps for video transportation)

Parameters that Affect Bandwidth Resolution The higher the resolution, the higher the bandwidth: Frame Rate 1-30 fps per camera; higher FPS  higher bandwidth. Motion Type Higher motion (activity) in the picture (i.e., a casino floor) uses more bandwidth than medium motion (i.e., an office space) NOISE = MOTION Compression Format H.264, MPEG-4, M-JPEG have varying requirements

Network Configuration How many cameras can the network support? Output from the switch = sum of all camera outputs

Basic Calculations Connecting 10, 20, or 50 cameras on the network? Assuming each camera outputs 2 Mbps, then… 10 cams X 2 Mbps = ~ 20 Mbps 20 cams X 2 Mbps = ~ 40 Mbps 50 cams X 2 Mbps = ~ 100 Mbps SO When using a 100 Mbps switch 35 cams X 2 Mbps = ~ 70 Mbps = 70% capacity This is the maximum recommended number of cameras.

Daisy Chain Topology Assuming 100 Mbps switches 18Mbps 6Mbps 50Mbps Too Many Mbps 18Mbps

Star Topology Assuming 100 Mbps switches 50Mbps 50Mbps 50Mbps Possibly too many Mbps

Star Topology - Explanation Using a 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) switch: IP cameras use a 100 Mbps network card Connecting to a 100/1000 Mbps switch will utilize 1000 Mbps (1 Gbps) going out to the PCs Whether the cameras can connect from smaller switches at 100 Mpbs to central switches at 1000 Mbps all depends on the accumulated bandwidth Remember to make sure each and every switch has enough bandwidth to support its in/out needs!

Using 1 Gbps Switches The main switch can output 1Gbps

Unicast of Individual Streams 2 Mbps Every user gets an individual stream from the camera. Data is fully acknowledged to protect from losing information. Bottleneck on one viewer doesn’t affect the others. Wireless bridge 3X2 Mbps ≈ 6 Mbps Wireless access point Switch 2 Mbps 2 Mbps 4 Mbps

Multicast of Streams Each camera sends only one stream to the network Special switch provides a copy of the stream to PCs who request it Everybody gets the same stream regardless of their supported bandwidth Multicast is UDP and not acknowledged 2 Mbps Wireless bridge 2 Mbps Wireless access point Switch 2 Mbps 2 Mbps 2 Mbps

Switch Backbone and Output Every switch has a certain specification A 16 port switch with 1Gbps ports cannot support a full 1Gbps through each port simultaneously. Its “Backbone” is the total throughput capacity. The more professional the switch, the stronger the backbone. High end switch systems usually connect the central switches with a special connection or fiber to create a central backbone. “Stacking” switches

Pure Gigabit Stack

Points to Remember What are the critical design points in the network? Evaluate the expected bandwidth from each camera keep in mind the number of concurrent users per camera. Each switch’s output (to the next switch or NVR) must not exceed 70% of maximum bandwidth Using the Star topology, add central switches with higher bandwidth. Remember, every port on the switch has its own bandwidth, so if two workstations are connected to two different ports, each has its own 100 or 1000 Mbps. In very high traffic network, invest in a strong central stack of switches with a strong backbone