Enterprise Video Streaming Applications and Products

Sidebar 1:Transporting Video Over IP
Modern IP networks are fully capable of transporting many DVD-quality video streams without impacting data and voice traffic. Within a typical enterprise, Ethernet networks are composed of 10/100 Mbps switched ports on Ethernet switches and routers. Therefore, individual users receive their own 100Mbps connection to the switch. A typical MPEG-2 stream is 5Mbps, leaving 95Mbps available for other traffic.

Video streams can be unicast or multicast over IP networks. With unicast streams, an individual stream is sent to each participant. Unicast is ideal for stored video distribution where each employee can receive his own stream and pause, rewind, fast forward, at will. Multicasting is used when a live stream such as a CEO speech is being sent to hundreds of employees simultaneously. Multicasting conserves bandwidth because only one stream is sent from the source, and the IP network switches replicate the stream as needed. Although each viewer receives his own stream, the stream only travels from the local switch to the viewer’s PC instead of the origination point.