Managing IP video on the network

Networking Technology Update This newsletter is sponsored by Netcordia Ensuring Network Compliance Download this whitepaper to see how Netcordia helps companies manage and enforce network compliance. Click here to get your free copy of "Ensuring Network Compliance - an Opportunity to Optimize the Network" Networking Technology Update, 07/30/07 Managing IP video on the network By Bob Banerjee The growing popularity of video surveillance is fueled by the shift to IP video systems that are less expensive than traditional analog systems and make it easier to add or relocate cameras and multicast video signals to multiple locations. Network World VoIP and Convergence Buyer's Guide Find the right products for your enterprise - fast. Our extensive database of detailed product information will quickly help you pinpoint the hardware or software you need to build out a converged voice and data network. With the side-by-side comparison tool you can evaluate product features and make the best decision for your enterprise. Click here to go to the Buyer's Guide now. Yet, every system is limited by two finite resources: network bandwidth and disk space. A 100Mbps network connection can support nearly 85 cameras producing 10 15KB images per second (about 1Mbps each), but the network will be running at 100% utilization. Whether the IP video system is on the existing IT network or a parallel network, enterprises need to set a realistic bandwidth target and then determine how many cameras can be supported by their infrastructure. To ensure efficient bandwidth usage, security integrators can help design fluid systems that adjust to accommodate traffic surges. For example, frame rates can be reduced temporarily while the sharpness of each image is maintained, or the same number of frames can be recorded at a lower resolution. Video content analysis (VCA) embedded in an IP encoder — the device that translates analog camera signals into digital — also can reduce the amount of traffic sent across the network. With VCA at the edge, it is possible to only transmit video that generates an alarm due to a security concern — such as a person loitering, theft of an object or an object left behind in a scene. By selecting specific portions of video to forward, VCA diminishes the amount of bandwidth required for surveillance but enables all camera channels to be monitored effectively. For more on this story, please click here. Editor's Note: We regret to let you know that we will no longer be publishing the Networking Technology Update newsletter. The last newsletter will be mailed on Aug. 8. To keep you abreast of network technology issues, starting the week of Aug. 13, you will begin receiving the Network/Systems Management newsletter, which mails every Monday and Wednesday. We thank you for supporting Network World newsletters.

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Contact the author: Banerjee is the product marketing manager for IP video products at Bosch Security Systems. He can be reached at bob.banerjee@us.bosch.com. This newsletter is sponsored by Netcordia Ensuring Network Compliance Download this whitepaper to see how Netcordia helps companies manage and enforce network compliance. Click here to get your free copy of "Ensuring Network Compliance - an Opportunity to Optimize the Network" BONUS FEATURE IT PRODUCT RESEARCH AT YOUR FINGERTIPS Get detailed information on thousands of products, conduct side-by-side comparisons and read product test and review results with Network World’s IT Buyer’s Guides. Find the best solution faster than ever with over 100 distinct categories across the security, storage, management, wireless, infrastructure and convergence markets. Click here for details. PRINT SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE You've got the technology snapshot of your choice delivered to your inbox each day. Extend your knowledge with a print subscription to the Network World newsweekly, Apply here today. International subscribers, click here. SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES To subscribe or unsubscribe to any Network World newsletter, change your e-mail address or contact us, click here. This message was sent to: security.world@gmail.com. Please use this address when modifying your subscription. Advertising information: Write to Associate Publisher Online Susan Cardoza Network World, Inc., 118 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA 01772 Copyright Network World, Inc., 2007