This KB discusses the bandwidth consumption by camera model and different streaming modes available.

Bandwidth Consumption by Camera Model

Below is a breakdown of the expected streaming bandwidth consumption based on the camera model and streaming mode. See the section Modes for more details on streaming modes. The local streaming mode will be prioritized if a local connection can be established to reduce bandwidth consumption.

When accessed remotely, the video will proxy through the cloud and will be cached to speed retrieval times and playback. This approach enables large numbers of simultaneous viewers without negatively impacting the bandwidth of your local area network (LAN).

D30, D50

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 300Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 3Mbps upload

D40

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 300Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900Kbps

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5Mbps

D80

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 2Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 2Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 6Mbps upload

CF81

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 3Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 3Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 9Mbps upload

CM61

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload

  • 4K (Local or Cloud): 2Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 2Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 6Mbps upload

CD31, CD41, CD42, CM41, CM41-S, CD51, CD52, CB51-E, CB51-TE:

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5Mbps upload

CD61, CD62, CB61-E, CB61-TE:

  • No View: 20-50Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload

  • 4K (Local or Cloud): 3Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion: 600 Kbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion: 3Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 1.8Mbps upload

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 9Mbps upload

CH52-E:

  • No View: 80-200Kbps upload

  • SQ (Local or Cloud): 600Kbps upload per head

  • HQ (Local or Cloud): 1.5Mbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with no motion: 300Kbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with motion: 1.5Mbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with no motion at 3x speed: 900Kbps upload per head

  • Historical footage with motion at 3x speed: 4.5Mbps upload per head

Modes

The Verkada system operates in three different modes depending on your organization's viewing activity.

  • No View

  • View Live Stream

  • View Recorded Stream

No View

Cameras at rest (not being viewed) will operate at a steady upload state of 20-50Kbps. In this mode, cameras only send metadata and thumbnails to the cloud, conserving bandwidth for other business applications.

View Live Stream

When a user logs into Command and begins to view live video, the cameras will switch into a higher uplink consumption pattern.

  • SQ Stream: Verkada's default video stream is a standard quality (SQ) 800x600 stream. Upload bandwidth consumption will be 300Kbps or 600Kbps depending on the camera model.

  • HQ Stream: Verkada's high quality (HQ) stream varies by camera model and maybe a 2MP, 3MP, 5MP, or 4K resolution. Upload bandwidth consumption will be in a range of 1Mbps - 3Mbps depending on the camera model.

  • Local: Verkada's local stream is either standard quality or high quality. The bandwidth consumption will be the same as SQ or HQ stream but will be transferred directly from the camera to the viewing device. More on Local Streaming

View Historical Footage

When historical footage is viewed, the bandwidth consumption will vary between the SQ and HQ streams depending on whether motion was detected. Viewing historical footage at increased speeds increases the bandwidth linearly, so a camera that plays HQ video at 1Mbps at 1x speed requires 2Mbps at 2x speed and 3Mbps at 3x speed. Historical footage can be streamed via the cloud or locally.

  • SQ is used when no motion is detected in the frame and will be 300Kbps or 600Kbps depending on the camera model

  • HQ is used when motion is detected in the frame and will be in a range of 1Mbps - 3Mbps depending on the camera model

  • SQ footage at 3x speed will use 900Kbps - 1.8Mbps depending on the camera model

  • HQ footage at 3x speed will use 3Mbps - 9Mbps depending on the camera model

Variables that Impact Bandwidth Consumption

When estimating bandwidth consumption for your Verkada system, it's important to keep the following variables in mind:

  • Number of cameras viewed per day

  • Number of SQ hours viewed per day

  • Number of HQ hours viewed per day

Expected Network Port Speeds

All cameras will negotiate at full-duplex. NIC speeds for each camera model are listed below:

  • D30 10/100Mbps

  • D50 10/100Mbps

  • D40 10/100Mbps

  • CM41 10/100Mbps

  • CM61 10/100Mbps

  • Dome Series 10/100 Mbps

  • Bullet Series 10/100 Mbps

  • Fisheye Series 10/100/1000Mbps


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