what is maximum viewers can view the wowza server.

Wowza Streaming Engine
1

Hi,

I’m using the following configuration on wowza machine

Intel i5 processor 3 GHz

4 GB RAM

250 GB HDD

Ubuntu 13.10 64-bit server OS

i’m using this wowzamediaserver 3.6.4 version

I’m going to stream the video with 1.2 Mbps to above configured machine

could you please answer the following questions:

  1. What is the maximum number of viewers can view this video at the same time?

  2. If more than 1000 viewers can view the video at the same time, what should be the bitrate i need to stream?

-Thanks

Vinothc

2

Hi,

The limiting factor with that configuration will likely be bandwidth available, so if you are streaming to the internet then the limit will be the upstream internet connection that you have.

1000 viewers at 1.2Mbps will use 1200Mbps (1.2Gbps) plus additional overhead of about 20% So about 1.4 to 1.5 Gbps.

If you only have say a 1Gbps connection, then reducing the bitrate of the stream to 750Kbps will allow 1000 viewers while using up 900Mbps (including 20% overhead).

That just assumes simple rtmp streaming, if you want to add http streaming then that will increase memory and cpu usage.

Really though, it’s best to test this yourself first with a Load Testing Tool.

Daren

3

Hi,

Thanks for the information.

I need the information about hardware.

I gave the hardware specification is this enough to view the video for 1000 viewers.

RAM and CPU is enough for that?

4

Hi there, I had some of the same questions myself and while Daren’s answer may be right, it may also be misleading for other readers. The difference is live video streaming vs VOD. If your computer is just restreaming a single live stream, then the hardware does very little, and so you can get away with what you are using. If you plan on using a VOD service, you will want to get more RAM, and invest in SSD hard drives.

Based off answers similar to Darren’s above, our company started off with dual i7 processors, 12GB ram, and 2X500GB HD in a RAID 0 configuration. We use exclusively VOD with 700 different videos, so almost everyone connected is watching something different. We found with that configuration, we could get around 80-100 customers max per server before having trouble.

After working with support, we identified the issue as being the HD, and upgraded to multiple SSD in RAID 0, 16 GB RAM and haven’t found the limit yet, but have had over 350 so far without any trouble. We also have found having multiple servers around the US helps users find one that works best for them, not because the servers are overloaded, but because it brings the data closer with less hops.

Hope this helps you, or someone else.

5

Thank you for this info ajhalls!