Can your network handle HD video?

Video could have a disruptive effect on enterprise networks; here's how to prepare

Tarleton says although work still needs to be done, algorithms such as the ITU-T's H.264 video compression standard are easing the transition to HD.

Morrison says that HD could pose challenges for compression technologies because of the overhead. The reason: Humans have a limit of around 250msec to register face-to-face communication. "If I talk to you and you don't show some inference of having received my message within that time, my brain tells me something is wrong. Therefore, if you have any latency - even 10msec - it can have a grand effect on the user experience," he says.

Don't forget about storage

While Dave Woods, manager of IT at the Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, says he's got the pipes to handle the move to HD for his 195 IP surveillance cameras, it's the storage that would be the pain point.

"As you increase your resolution to 1M, you start to have major issues with storage," says Woods, whose joint Canadian-US agency oversees three border crossings spanning the Niagara River between western New York State and southern Ontario. "We've got five computers receiving video streams from our cameras using a first in, first out-to-disk system where the oldest video gets deleted first. Today, we can store that video for 30 days. With HD, that would immediately get cut down to 10 days," he says.

To tackle this problem, rather than doing a widespread upgrade to 1M cameras, Woods' team is evaluating where HD would be of most use. "We'd probably need it for facial recognition and any locations where you're handling money. For instance, high-resolution might help distinguish between US and Canadian currencies. These are select needs and will definitely be based on a risk analysis," he says.

James Doig, security consultant for SystemExperts, says it's critical for companies to keep storage top-of-mind when they're considering video. "For many industries, not only do you have to keep e-mail as a business record, but also videoconferences and other streams," he says.

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