Video Chat Bandwidth Consumption on Server?

Question asked by Paul R - 10/2/2018 at 7:19 PM

Answered

SM 16.x

When using the video chat feature, is the connection between endpoints initiated on the server, then handed off so it's direct endpoint-to-endpoint after the call is set up? Or do the video streams continue to run through the server (as a hub) during the entire length of the video session?

Those 2 scenarios would generate SUBSTANTIALLY different bandwidth consumption profiles at the server.

We're drafting a proposal for a company whose 2,000+ users plan to make extensive use of video chat and collaboration/whiteboards, so the answer to this question will have a profound effect on how we quote this customer.

8 Replies

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Ben Replied

4/1/2020 at 8:31 AM

Does anyone know the answer to this?

Heimir Eidskrem Replied

4/1/2020 at 11:12 AM

im very curious about this too.

Kyle Kerst Replied

4/1/2020 at 4:32 PM

Employee Post

Hello everyone, I am in the process of confirming this, but at this time we believe the connectivity is handled peer to peer, and so the bandwidth consumption should be largely on the clients connected to video conferencing. We hope to have some updates on video conferencing in the coming days though, so I'll be sure to stop in and update here when I have news. Hope that helps!

Kyle Kerst System/Network Administrator SmarterTools Inc. (877) 357-6278 www.smartertools.com

Ben Replied

4/6/2020 at 10:49 AM

Any updates? Got a number of clients who could really use it in the current situation, but I need to know how much bandwidth I'll need for them..

Kyle Kerst Replied

4/13/2020 at 1:56 PM

Employee Post

Sorry Ben, no update on bandwidth just yet but I'll be circling back to these questions this week. The functionality we use is a peer-to-peer based video conferencing system though, so the bandwidth should be limited to the client machines.

Kyle Kerst System/Network Administrator SmarterTools Inc. (877) 357-6278 www.smartertools.com

Kyle Kerst Replied

4/14/2020 at 3:20 PM

Employee Post Marked As Answer

I was able to confirm the bandwidth consumption will occur on the client machines that are connected to the video conferencing session. With that being said, the amount of bandwidth (data consumption) will vary depending on the end user's client computer, camera quality, and settings. You can evaluate roughly how much data will be used by leveraging a site like this one:

https://webrtc.github.io/samples/src/content/peerconnection/bandwidth/

Otherwise I recommend implementing some network diagnostics to confirm the exact values in your environment. I hope this helps!

Kyle Kerst System/Network Administrator SmarterTools Inc. (877) 357-6278 www.smartertools.com

Employee Replied

4/14/2020 at 3:43 PM

Employee Post

With the latest BETA release, we have added options in the domain general settings cards to configure external STUN / TURN servers if your server bandwidth is a concern. It is recommended to deploy a TURN server regardless.

Christopher Hiatt Replied

4/17/2020 at 11:51 AM

I would like to suggest you add recommended external stun/turn solutions that you know will work with Smartermail.

A guide similar to this.

https://www.webrtc-experiment.com/docs/TURN-server-installation-guide.html

At the very minimum, good documentation on proper setup for the built in server for those of us with ample bandwidth.

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