Security cameras · network
CCTV network bandwidth calculator.
Total the camera streams and live viewers, then see how much of a switch uplink or NVR link they use.
Inputs
Link load
Enter the numbers above.
How much network bandwidth do IP cameras need?
Add every stream that crosses the link: each camera's bitrate going to the recorder, plus any live views that pull a stream back out. Then add protocol overhead, because Ethernet, IP and RTSP headers add some bytes to every packet. Compare the total with the link speed. Gigabit Ethernet runs at 1000 Mbit/s, but planners usually stop well short of 100 percent; the 70 percent ceiling here is a common rule of thumb, not a published standard, and you can change it.
Worked example. 16 cameras at 4 Mbps with 10 percent overhead is 70.4 Mbps. Two live viewers at 4 Mbps add 8.8 Mbps, for 79.2 Mbps, which is 7.9 percent of a 1 Gbps link and leaves 620.8 Mbps under a 70 percent ceiling. A larger site of 100 cameras at 8 Mbps needs 880 Mbps with the same overhead, over the 700 Mbps ceiling, and the tool shows 79 cameras at 8 Mbps as the most that fit.
Run the sum on the busiest link, usually the switch uplink or the port facing the recorder, not on each camera port.
Frequently asked questions
How much bandwidth does a 4 Mbps camera use on a gigabit switch?
One 4 Mbps camera uses 0.4 percent of a 1000 Mbps link, or 0.44 percent with 10 percent overhead. Sixteen of them use about 7 percent.
What utilisation should I plan for on a switch uplink?
The 70 percent default is a common rule of thumb, not a published standard. Pick a lower ceiling if the link also carries other traffic.
Do live viewers add to the load?
Yes. Each person watching a camera live pulls another stream across the network, so the tool adds viewers times the live-view bitrate. Using a lower-bitrate sub-stream for viewing reduces this.
Is this the same as storage?
No. This is a rate in Mbps over the network. For disk space use the CCTV storage calculator.
Sources
Checked
- Wikipedia, "Gigabit Ethernet", opened 8 October 2026. Gigabit Ethernet runs at 1000 Mbit/s
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Scope
Planning arithmetic. Real throughput depends on switch capacity, cabling and recorder limits; check the recorder’s maximum incoming bandwidth in its datasheet. The planning ceiling and the overhead are assumptions you can edit.