Speed of Internet connection

[Sorensen]

We are evaluating our network with the idea that we might be getting a Tricaster in the near future. We currently have a 5Mb connection to the Internet for both upload and download. We have consistently sub 50% usage on the line. Is there any reason to believe that we should get a second line to dedicate to the Tricaster operation for broadcasting?

[rally1]

First lucky you for having 5Mb upload. With a line of that size I am sure there is a lot going on in terms of network management. So you could use existing equipment or add something for bandwidth management. Simply dedicate what you need for your broadcast, and put browsing and P2P or whatever existing traffic as a lower priority.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quality_of_service

I always try to get a second line, from a different vendor/ISP, to increase reliability.

[Sorensen]

So network management would work just fine but for ultimate reliability a second line is recommended?

[rally1]

Two separate things in my mind. You have the network management to make sure you have the bandwidth you need alloted to you. The second line is for when your main ISP has a random melt down.

[hqv]

It all depends on the number of users viewing your stream and the quality of the stream. 300 to 500 kbps per stream X # of viewers. If you anticipate a large number of viewers (i.e. thousands) then send your stream to a third party service (akamai, limelight, etc) and let them handle the bandwidth for you.

[rally1]

Yes, I presumed you were going to be sending the stream to a CDN, as hqv mentions above.