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Affected Roles: Administrator, Owner
Related Digital Watchdog VMS Apps: DW Spectrum® IPVMS
Software Version: DW Spectrum® IPVMS v4.2
Last Edit: July 1, 2021
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While DW Spectrum® IPVMS is scalable from one to thousands of devices, there are still limitations to be considered. In addition to the hardware requirements of a DW Spectrum® Server, the restrictions that would otherwise impede the effectiveness of a DW Spectrum® System should be followed at all times. Surpassing the recommended limitations when building a DW Spectrum® System can cause operating issues, video issues, network issues, etc.
This article will outline some of the operating limitations of DW Spectrum® IPVMS when considering deploying a large-scale DW Spectrum® System or in general.
The following terminology is commonly used when referring to DW Spectrum® IPVMS:
The following limitations apply to DW Spectrum® Systems (overall) and are based on lab testing results, which may vary depending on the System’s environment (physical, network, etc.):
Maximum Recommended Elements for a Single System |
|
Max. Recommended Servers |
100 |
Max. Recommended Resources |
10,000 |
Max. Recommended Users |
1,000 |
Max. MEGApix CaaS (CaaS system only) |
30 |
Max. DW Blackjack MINIs (same LAN) |
5 |
Max. Network Throughput |
1,000 Mbps |
Currently, there is a limit of 128 video streams per each DW Spectrum® Server and a limit of 10,000 resources overall per each DW Spectrum® System. Surpassing the recommended limitations for a DW Spectrum® System can cause critical errors within the IPVMS platform.
However, DW Spectrum® IPVMS is a scalable platform. If there are more than 128 video streams planned for a DW Spectrum® System, additional DW Spectrum® Server can be added to the system to increase the number of video streams that can be safely used by the system. For example, a system with two DW Blackjack® E-Rack servers in a merged DW Spectrum® System can safely support up to 256 video streams (128 streams x 2 servers = 256 streams).
**NOTE: DW Blackjack® Servers can vary in the number of IP cameras that are supported, depending on the hardware model. For example, a DW Blackjack® E-Rack supports up to 128 IP cameras, but a DW Blackjack® Cube only supports up to 64 IP cameras. Please consider this when planning a DW Spectrum® System.
When processing the media stream from an IP camera, the DW Spectrum® Server will create up to four (4) threads:
As a result, 128 cameras can require up to 512 threads in total. While there is not a set limit of 512 threads in modern Operating Systems, our developers tested and concluded that when 512 threads is surpassed, there is a significant degradation in the DW Spectrum® System performance.