Achieve Wire-like Performance with Celona and Axis Cameras

Introduction

Thanks to significant declines associated with the cost of integrating surveillance cameras onto enterprise networks, businesses of all sizes are starting to deploy new cameras -- or are replacing aging surveillance camera platforms -- with modern systems that feature crisp, ultra-high definition video streams.

The explosion of surveillance camera usage has led many to believe that collecting and analyzing video is now the go-to technology for the protection and monitoring of people and physical assets for insurance, health and physical safety purposes.

Other than advancements in surveillance video quality and collection techniques, IT departments are also beginning to leverage wireless technologies to connect cameras to the corporate network. The ability to move cameras throughout a building or campus is greatly eased when physical network cabling is removed from the equation.

However, the use of wireless technologies for connecting surveillance cameras also comes with potential drawbacks if not properly addressed.

Because modern surveillance cameras can record at high- and ultra-high definition (HD/UHD) resolutions at frame rates between 30 and 60fps, existing Wi-Fi networks may not be able to consistently stream surveillance camera footage without introducing high latency / jitter and packet drops. This can lead to a less than desirable video monitoring experience.

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Celona is the path to wire-like performance

The only way to reliably transport real-time video across a wireless network is to implement strict quality of service (QoS) parameters that guarantee minimum bandwidth rates, latency and jitter for video streams.

This is where Celona and Axis Communications can help. The two companies have partnered to provide a way for enterprise organizations to take advantage of surveillance camera deployments using the latest wireless access technologies without concern over the network becoming a bottleneck for real-time video streaming transmissions.

A Celona private LTE or 5G radio access network (RAN) has the unique ability to create highly-granular policies that create strict service level agreements (SLAs) for modern, high bandwidth/low-latency applications and platforms including streaming video.

In just a few steps, network administrators can configure a Celona’s MicroSlicing™ policy and apply it to all surveillance cameras connected to the Celona private mobile network. MicroSlicing™ policy parameters can be set up to automatically identify all real-time streaming protocol (RTSP) traffic traversing the network – then apply granular QoS policy regarding throughput, latency and packet error rate (PER) requirements.

The outcome of this type of policy is prioritized, and guaranteed Axis camera streams transported across the RAN that are free from video frame or bitrate drops that often result in video footage gaps or downgraded, pixelated streams.

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Testing Axis Cameras Performance on Celona Networks

Countless hours have been poured into testing and fine-tuning the use of Axis surveillance cameras across a Celona network. This includes popular Axis camera models such as the M, P and Q series of dome and bullet Axis cameras, 360° panoramic Axis cameras, thermal imaging and even cameras with full pan, tilt and zoom (PTZ) capabilities.

The Axis cameras were connected to the Celona RAN using several of the most popular LTE/5G-to-Ethernet gateways available on the market today. This was done to ensure that deployments are easy for customers to set up and operate without video stream degradation across the Celona private mobile network. The testing was also performed to simulate typical use-case indoor and outdoor deployments at various distances from Celona access points.

Achieving wire-like performance on wireless networks is no longer a “nice to have” within the enterprise. Bandwidth intensive and latency-sensitive use cases are cropping up all the time where a solution calls for firm control over Axis camera data flow throughput rates, transport delay and traffic prioritization.

When it comes to achieving consistent and reliable transport for mission-critical applications such as streaming real-time surveillance video footage, Celona and Axis Communications technologies are a perfect match.

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