How Much Bandwidth Does Your Security System Need?
When you’re designing a new CCTV system or upgrading your existing technology, it’s important to make sure your system has enough bandwidth to function properly. Calculating your typical bandwidth requirements will help you make the right decision.
What Is Bandwidth?
IP video transmits through your network as a data stream. Network bandwidth refers to the maximum amount of data a network can transmit over a specified period of time. Typically, that time period is one second.
Bits per second (bps or b/s) is the most common unit for measuring bandwidth. Some prefer to use bytes per second (Bps or B/s), which is a much larger unit — one byte is equal to eight bits.
Although bandwidth is often referred to as connection speed, the two are different concepts. Bandwidth refers to the amount of information your system transmits, while speed is the amount of time it takes to download the data.
Sufficient bandwidth is necessary for providing the desired speed. For example, having more bandwidth available allows you to send live video feeds to your servers faster than you’d be able to with a lower bandwidth connection.
Get Accurate Results With BCD’s Bandwidth Calculator
BCD’s storage calculator uses your inputs to make a precise estimate of your network bandwidth requirements and your video archive’s hard-disk drive storage needs. Whether your deployment is large or small, our team can optimize your system design to meet your specific needs.
We partner with industry leaders to create best-of-breed security solutions for organizations of all sizes. BCD stands behind all of the calculations we provide, if you would like to validate your calculations for guaranteed results please contact us today.