Review: Netgear M4250 Network Switch
By Jennifer P
In a recent article for Streaming Media, Shawn gives his review of the NETGEAR M4250 Network Switch. NDI version 1.0, a method for transmitting audio and video signals over gigabit Ethernet, was announced by NewTek in April 2016. The first device to handle this protocol was the NewTek TriCaster, and over time, NDI support has grown to include a who’s who of the video production industry.
The NDI Marketplace features a list of some of the major businesses that make authorized NDI products. The products come from manufacturers like NewTek, Panasonic, Canon, BirdDog, PTZOptics, Sony, JVC, HuddleCamHD, Marshall, Datavideo, Ikan, Magewell, Teradek, Kiloview, Deltacast, Netgear, and vMix. They also include PTZ and box cameras, mobile applications, video switching software, encoders and decoders, displays, audio solutions, graphics, and more. OBS, XSplit, Chyron, Vizrt, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom are a few more firms that he is aware of that produce goods for the NDI ecosystem but aren’t included in the NDI Marketplace. He is not sure what constitutes a piece of software or equipment as a “official NDI product,” but off the top of his head, he is aware of what the term refers to.
There are various solutions available in most product categories, particularly on the acquisition end of the workflow, NDI video cameras, virtual meeting services, and NDI encoders receive a lot of attention. Microsoft Teams is used for acquisition along with Canon CR-N500 PTZ cameras in my own NDI workflows.
The workflow considerations for the NDI video switching system that is utilized to mix, stream, and record a program are equally as significant as those for the NDI capture equipment. Whether the inputs are SDI, HDMI, or NDI, I utilize vMix for my software video switching, streaming, and recording requirements.
Decoders are essential for transmitting live video to a venue’s projectors and monitors. With a BirdDog Play that took 11 months to arrive, he is still testing it out. When I need to power a projector, a comfort monitor, or more displays at a venue, he is hoping it proves to be a workable substitute for streaming video through SDI.
Managed Network Switch
A managed network switch is frequently given less attention than the other components that make up an NDI workflow. This may be due, in part, to the fact that learning new skills can be scary for many producers. We are already expected to have knowledge of video cameras, switchers, live streaming, audio, and over-under cable wrapping. How are we going to learn how to effectively manage the sophisticated network requirements of NDI?
The solution is simple: start with switches from the Netgear M4250 AV range. If you require any additional justification for narrowing your search to the Netgear M4250, you only need to check out the NDI Marketplace to notice that it is the only product available under Network Products. Yes, you can set up other managed switches to work with NDI workflows, but you will need to negotiate a network management user interface, which varies based on the manufacturer and type.
AV User Interface
The Main UI and the AV UI are the two UI choices for the Netgear M4250. Setting up an NDI network is simple with the AV UI, and you can even use the same switch for both segmented internet and NDI traffic. If you have knowledge and expertise with networking, you might be able to set up your NDI network on a separate switch by following the instructions in the Networking Best Practice-White Paper and looking for an old version of the “NDI Network Guidelines.” Ultimately, employing an alternative solution will result in a small peer base for support because the Netgear M4250 is the de facto standard that the industry is adopting.
The other difficulty with using the two documents to configure your switch is that while they will help you disable jumbo frames and QoS settings, you will still need to make choices for the majority of the settings covered in the “Networking Best Practice-White Paper,” such as selecting between Reliable UDP, Multipath TCP, Single TCP or UDP with Forward Error Correction. Because it discusses all of the possibilities rather than suggesting one as the default and instead leaves it up to you to choose the best solution for your use case, this probably goes beyond what most video professionals are comfortable doing.
Bandwidth
You should think about bandwidth, port segmentation, and port-based profiles when choosing an NDI switch. In an NDI workflow, bandwidth is crucial since you don’t want your video to be dropped or delayed since it is priority traffic for you. If you use too much bandwidth, the network may get overloaded. The majority of business networks, including shared website hosts, are over-prescribed to the point that they anticipate each connected user to occasionally utilize a modest amount of bandwidth. Checking email, adding a few pictures to a social media post, and looking up better cookie recipes don’t need a constant flow of bidirectional traffic. The user experience won’t be significantly impacted if a little latency is added because the network is saturated. Because of the sustained throughput needs of NDI video and the burst needs of data traffic, it is best practice to segment your NDI traffic from your data and internet connection.
NDI bandwidth requirements range from 16Mbps for an NDI|HX 1080 60p signal to 350Mbps for a full NDI 4K 60p signal. NDI uses a protocol called Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) for multicasting. This is different from unicasting, which is a 1:1 connection, and broadcasting, which is 1 to every other host on the network. Broadcasting works in theory but will quickly flood a network.
Only the hosts that want the video stream will receive it with multicasting, so you’re not sending video signals to a video camera that is also broadcasting and has no use for incoming video signals. To enable multicasting, the switch must support IGMP snooping and IGMP querier. Some implementations perform the snooping and querier functions on separate switches, but the Netgear M4250 has both, making implementation much easier. Netgear’s IGMP implementation is known as Netgear IGMP Plus.
You should also avoid using an unmanaged switch on an existing network because all you are doing is connecting devices to an already configured managed network that may or may not work for your NDI workflow. The worst part is that while this may work fine in internal testing at your studio on your own network, when you take it to a client location, hotel, or conference center, you are at the mercy of the network restrictions.
If you want to ensure that your NDI network operates reliably, you must manage it yourself. When he first started working with NDI, one of his first big lessons was that he didn’t have to rely on the network of the location he was working at for my NDI devices. This is a good thing, because working with hotels to get a simple internet connection for a hardware webcast encoder that couldn’t browse to a website and accept the terms of service or enter a password was already frustrating. He eventually gave up on hardware encoders and switched to laptop-based encoders with vMix software.
Netgear M4250 Line
There are over a dozen different models in the Netgear M4250 line. Desktop, 1RU, and 2RU rackmount options are available. Each switch is equipped with its own processor, RAM, and IEC connector, as well as an internal power supply.
The GSM4210PD Desktop and GSM4212P 1RU retail models include 8x gigabit Ethernet POE+ (30W) ports, 1x or 2x gigabit SFP ports, 20Gbps or 24Gbps switching capacity, and a total POE+ budget of 110W or 125W. His Canon N500 PTZ cameras consume up to 19.6W of POE+ power, so these entry-level switches could power five or six cameras. There are additional models in the M4250 POE line for higher input and power budgets if you need to power more cameras.
When using the more power-hungry Canon N700, BirdDog P4K, or Panasonic AW-UE150K POE++ cameras, the minimum requirement is changed to an M4250 model, which supports 90W POE++ and has a higher power budget. The GSM4212UX model is similar to the GSM4212P but supports POE++ power with a total budget of 720W and a switching capacity of 60Gbps.
The GSM4248UX 40-port POE++ model with a 2,280W budget and three IEC power connectors is at the top of the line, with models with even higher power budgets, with 24 and 40 POE ports.
Read the full article from Streaming Media HERE
Learn more about NETGEAR M4250 Switches HERE
Learn more about NETGEAR HERE