Bandwidth assesment, being asked to host video training

[zmag2linux]

I am looking for white papers on testing my lan/wan's bandwidth usage and designing a policy to allow video streaming for training purposes. I dont know if i need hardware devices or software to achieve these goals. I am being asked to design an e-training infrasturce, hosted internally, to all users in our domain. I have 4 wan sites using 1 internet connection with T1 connections. If i run any video now it pegs the bandwidth instantly.I am at the first stage of fact gathering and i am a bit ignorant about my options. I have Cisco 3700 and 3800 series routers. Thanks for any pointers.

 

[Sympology]

First thing I'd do is look at the app you want to run, as many use different codecs, which can vary hugely in bandwdth use.
Now be a little careful when assessing bandwdth. If it says the bandwidth of the Codec is 128k, do they mean one way? Once you know, then there are all the headers to think of, so in reality, that 128K may actually be closer 300k.
Next you need to look at QoS on your network, many people forget this and it can be more important than bandwith. You could have a 1gb feed, but if you have a bottleneck on a router, for example, it will make little difference.



Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004