[Icecast] Server Requirements

[Michael Smith]

On 12/12/06, davidhooper at tiscali.co.uk <davidhooper at tiscali.co.uk> wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm looking to stream a large amount of conncurrent connects and want to
> use icecast probably on a CentOS base. The bandwidth requirements are over
> 60 Mbps before any overheads, I'm looking at using some Dell SC1425 machines
> but am not sure how many I'd need, I'd appreciated hearing your experiences
> and suggestions.
>
> I need to be able to stream the following simultaneous connections
>
> 700 * 64k
> 255 * 128k

That's closer to 80 Mbps than 60.

>
> Probably MP3 and also the following Ogg:
> 1 * 32
> 6 * 24

Encoding on the server? Or elsewhere?

If you're encoding on the server, you'll want to double-check that the
cpu won't get saturated. I expect that'll be fine, though, with a
single machine. If the SC1425 is dual cpu or dual core (I can't
remember), then you'll certainly be fine.

As for the bandwidth, a single server is more than capable of pushing
80 Mbps. I'd look at multiple servers once you go above about 300-400
Mbps (though realistically, you probably won't run into problems until
700+, you want a substantial amount of headroom).

Of course, you might want more than a single server for redundancy.

Mike