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Question

How much internet bandwidth will my small school need?

Jul 27, 2016 12:01PM PDT

My small private school is moving into online learning for high school, which means multiple students watching streaming videos at the same time. I need to know what level of new service to request from our cable provider. I haven't been able to find any straightforward data with Google, just an occasional vague recommendation without much supporting information. I'm worried that the cable provider will recommend way more than we need. Or maybe their recommendation will be spot-on. How will I know? Can anybody tell me how much bandwidth it typically takes to stream a standard-definition video to one laptop? And then do I just multiply that by ten to figure out the requirement per ten students watching at a time, or is there a plus or minus fudge factor for multiple users?

NTG

Discussion is locked

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Answer
Way more than you ever thought of.
Jul 27, 2016 12:18PM PDT
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Interesting article, but. . .
Jul 27, 2016 12:51PM PDT

. . .the number of simultaneous users would probably max out at between 10 and 20. Would that justify CDN?

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Yes. Here's why.
Jul 27, 2016 1:02PM PDT
https://help.netflix.com/en/node/306 pegs HD video at 5 megabits so for 20 users doing HD video that's 100 megabit. With a CDN you would not use the internet connection because, well you read why.

Your IT staff would either go full fledged CDN or if they are familiar with it, a SQUID server.
More at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid_(software)

And 100 megabit would be the low end. You find you need double that most of the time. So price out a 200 megabit system and scale your enterprise to match.
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Thanks!
Jul 27, 2016 1:06PM PDT

As always, I can count on you to be there!

NTG

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Sorry I forgot to write what I would do.
Jul 27, 2016 1:15PM PDT

For me, a SQUID server would be my choice since it's easy to deploy and runs on very plain hardware. This could have a huge effect on required internet speeds as the actual content is local and not from the internet. Big savings.

This way I could start off with a run of the mill 10 or so megabit connection and let the SQUID work its magic. Yes, if all of them hit a new page or video all at once then they have to share the connection but let's say someone watched a specific video and then told another to do same. The second time, they get the local content and so on.

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Answer
contact other schools
Jul 27, 2016 1:23PM PDT

you may want to contact other schools around the same size. Too much to take into consideration, online material for the students. preparation material for the instructors and administration. Those who will use it for personal use and more. Once you get a provider, re-evaluate usage after the first year.

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Answer
Finally found something specific
Jul 28, 2016 5:47AM PDT

I finally dug up a table that tells me what I was hoping to find. Individual rates will vary, of course, but this is as good a place as any to begin ballparking:

bitrate for various resolutions of a good quality video
2160p video : 20000 kbps
1440p video : 8913 kbps
1080p video : 3774 kbps
720p video : 3000 kbps
480p video : 1000 kbps
360p video : 721 kbps
240p video : 377 kbps
144p video : 80 kbps

found at https://www.quora.com/How-much-data-does-a-YouTube-video-consume-1

NTG

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Answer
Well an answer is to not doing streaming
Jul 28, 2016 6:14AM PDT

individually and setup a PC that stream and projects to a screen so a group can watch. Maybe getting your own network with 1 GB connections and a small IT staff .

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Not applicable in this particular case
Jul 28, 2016 6:34AM PDT

We're talking about multiple students watching individualized videos, not a whole class watching the same thing.

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SQUID can help.
Jul 28, 2016 7:46AM PDT

I would be guessing you haven't set this up before. The users usually see it more than once and the SQUID or CDN will save you here.