How much bandwidth is required for an AG node?
1Gbps bandwidth is ideal, 100Mbps dedicated bandwidth will probably suit most sites and the absolute minimum is 10Mbps bandwidth dedicated. If you look at the math each AG node sends out around 1.2Mbps (256Kbps for each video stream; 128Kbps for an audio stream). Therefore, in a meeting involving seven AG nodes, each node will receive around 8-9Mbps (6 remote sites X 1.2Mbps) which applies whether sites connect via a unicast bridge or multicast. Reasons to use more than 10Mbps are simple, firstly you’ll be lucky if you can utilise this bandwith efficiently enough to use all 10Mbps of theoretical bandwidth. Remember that many AG meetings involve more than seven nodes. Secondly, if you need to download files, e.g. a PDF document for discussion during the AG meeting you need spare capacity for this. Thirdly, there may be more than just video and audio being shared during the meeting; if there was a shared visualization taking place, then this could use a considerable amount of bandwidth.
