Results 1 to 10 of 10

Thread: Calculating bandwidth usage

  1. #1
    Senior Member IPAlarms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    671
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
    Rep Power
    221
    Reputation
    94

    Default Calculating bandwidth usage

    I need some help in calculating how much bandwidth an IP camera will use up if it is viewed constantly for one month.

    I currently allow my customers to view live images from Axis, Panasonic and Intellinet IP cameras from my web site using the ActiveX control provided by the manufacturer or by using Java. As the number of cameras is growing rapidly, I need to work out whether I should start placing time limits on live images or start charging for them.

    So, if an Axis camera is displayed in CIF, how can I calculate the amount of bandwidth it uses at different frame rates ?
    Developer of VoIP2Go at ozvoip.net - Alarm compatible VoIP Network



Look Here ->
  • #2
    Senior Member
    fandtm666's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    5,502
    Thanks
    244
    Thanked 990 Times in 465 Posts
    Rep Power
    1189
    Reputation
    40447

    Default

    log into it with a computer and connecting only to that then run something like bandwidth monitor etc for a few hours then have a look at its usage inbound

    eg viewing for 2 hours

    indound = 20meg

    20 x 12 = 240 meg per day

    240 x 31 = 7440 meg per 31 day month

  • #3
    Senior Member IPAlarms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    671
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
    Rep Power
    221
    Reputation
    94

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by fandtm666 View Post
    log into it with a computer and connecting only to that then run something like bandwidth monitor etc for a few hours then have a look at its usage inbound
    Is Bandwidth Monitor a software package ?

    Can you confirm the download URL before I head off recklessly into Google and start downloading other software with spyware attached ?
    Developer of VoIP2Go at ozvoip.net - Alarm compatible VoIP Network

  • #4
    Senior Member
    fandtm666's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    5,502
    Thanks
    244
    Thanked 990 Times in 465 Posts
    Rep Power
    1189
    Reputation
    40447

    Default

    check your pm for a link of one i have used when testing the usage for certain applications

    what i did was do it all internal so no modem was attached to the switch i connected to the computer running the software so in your case would be th ip camera then ran the program and it gave me all the data i needed

  • #5
    Senior Member
    intelliGEORGE's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Sydney, AUSTRALIA
    Age
    43
    Posts
    4,106
    Thanks
    884
    Thanked 1,484 Times in 691 Posts
    Rep Power
    478
    Reputation
    7236

    Default

    This is the way I would calculate it.

    Systems usually compress the image/frame so resolution is not an issue. (CIF Resolution 240 X 162 pixels)

    (Frames per second X No. of Cameras x Frame size in Bytes) X 8 to convert to bits.

    e.g (25fps x 16 cameras x 30KB frame size) x 8 = 96,000 Kb/s or 96 Mb/s.

    so then you take that value and times it by 60 to get minutes then 60 to get hours then 24 to get days and finally 30 to get your month. So in saying this, if we work it out on the example above but only on 1 camera. It would look like this;

    96Mbs / 16Mbs = 6Mb/s x 60 x 60 x 24 x 30 = 15.552 Tbits / 8 = 1.9TB of data transferred that month.

  • #6
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    42
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
    Rep Power
    191
    Reputation
    27

    Default

    George is right, but you need to consider as well that with adaptive compressions you wont always have the same file size, that can only be a guide.

    To be honest Most suppliers supply a bandwidth calculator for their product, i am almost positive that Axis would.....I am not sure why you are concerned as most ISP's offer upload as uncharged and unmetered therefore if you are only uploading demo streams of your cameras then there really is no issue

  • #7
    Senior Member IPAlarms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    671
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
    Rep Power
    221
    Reputation
    94

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by cctv_down_under View Post
    George is right
    Yeah - Thanks George.

    Quote Originally Posted by cctv_down_under View Post
    I am not sure why you are concerned as most ISP's offer upload as uncharged and unmetered therefore if you are only uploading demo streams of your cameras then there really is no issue
    Now you've got me thinking. My web server is kind of "the man in the middle" between the IP camera and the customers browser.

    Are you saying that even though the customer is viewing a page on my web site that the streams from the camera go direct to the customer browser - so there is no bandwidth usage on my server ?
    Developer of VoIP2Go at ozvoip.net - Alarm compatible VoIP Network

  • #8
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    44
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post
    Rep Power
    199
    Reputation
    20

    Default

    It depends on how you have it set up.

    Most likely the webpage running on your server has an activex or Java application that is then downloaded and run on the clients machine. This application then makes the request direct to the IP camera (which could be anywhere in the world). The rest of the web pages is served from your server (links, static pages, text) - but the video data comes direct from the IP camera to the clients PC.

    In this case the bandwidth from your server to the client would be minimal, but the load from the IP camera to the client would be high.
    Obvioulsy if the IP camera is on the same internet connection, you would still be charged for the data - but if the IP camera is at another premises then they would pay for the data.
    (Many cases upstream data is not a problem for businesses, as they mainly download data, rather than upload it, and many ISPs have free upload data)

    Of course the other option is that your server recieves the data from the IP camera, and then restreams that direct to the client.
    I don't think that is likely (but of course may be possible)

    It would pay to check the documentation you have for the application running on the server.

  • #9
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Posts
    42
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts
    Rep Power
    191
    Reputation
    27

    Default

    Ok even i am abit confused here...I am not sure if you mean, hosting the stream at a web site or simple streaming straight from a DVR box.

    For example, if you have a dvr that supports a remote web based connection (90% do) then you dont need to feed the stream to your own hosted web site.

    The way it works is that the DVR recieving either analogue wired inputs or network streams then acts as a web server, IE it can broadcast out the video to anyone connecting to it.

    So that means that you simpy connect to the DVR Via an internet ip address and the DVR then streams the video to whomever is making that connection.

    The drawback with this is that if your having many people connecting at once then you are maxing out the resources.

    Really need to know what the application is...there are some DVR products that allow for timed connections or you could set that up through a manager switch or router.

    If you are trying to imbed a live stream to your company web page then that is something completely different...let us know what you are trying to achieve?

  • #10
    Senior Member IPAlarms's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    671
    Thanks
    4
    Thanked 12 Times in 12 Posts
    Rep Power
    221
    Reputation
    94

    Default

    Thanks for your input guys.

    Probably best for you to see for yourself. Go to and log in with ID:1 and password: demo

    Click on the Camera button and you will see a list of demo cameras. Choose one of the Axis or Panasonic cameras and you will be able to view live images if you have their ActiveX installed.

    Click on the Intellinet camera and you will see that it uses Java.

    Now, if the use of Active X means that the camera streams direct to the customer browser, then I'll be over the moon as it means there are no bandwidth concerns for the server.

    Let me know how you go.

    Update: I just clicked on the snapshot link of the StarDot Video Server and noticed that my browser goes direct to the URL of the DVR.
    Developer of VoIP2Go at ozvoip.net - Alarm compatible VoIP Network

  • Bookmarks

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •