Pexip Infinity

Hardware Resource Allocation Guide

Software Version 35

Document Version 35.a

July 2024
 Pexip Infinity Hardware Resource Allocation Guide Introduction

Introduction
This guide describes how hardware resources are allocated in a Pexip Infinity deployment. It includes the following sections:
l Hardware resource allocation rules: how hardware resources are allocated and consumed in a Pexip Infinity deployment.
l Resource allocation examples: how resources are used in a number of specific scenarios, such as distributed and non-distributed
conferences, gateway calls, calls using standards-based endpoints, Skype for Business / Lync clients, or a combination of clients.

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 Pexip Infinity Hardware Resource Allocation Guide Hardware resource allocation rules

o When sending two video streams to a dual-screen endpoint, the call bandwidth is always split 50-50 between video and
presentation content (and cannot be changed), and it uses twice the resource as when only sending main video.
o No additional resource is consumed when receiving presentation content from the endpoint.
l WebRTC VP8/VP9 participants:
o VP8 participants use 1 HD resource and VP9 participants use 1.25 HD resources for main video.
o Extra resources are consumed when sending main video and presentation content to the WebRTC endpoint, in the same
manner as described above for standards-based endpoints.
o If a WebRTC endpoint joins as audio-only then the Conferencing Node reserves resource in case the endpoint has to receive
presentation, and that reserved resource is what is required for sending main video and presentation to that WebRTC
endpoint (as appropriate for VP8 or VP9).
o No additional resource is consumed when receiving presentation content from the endpoint.
l Skype for Business / Lync participants:
o Each participant uses 1 HD resource.
o They each require 1 additional HD resource when sending or receiving presentation.
l If an endpoint is restricted due to bandwidth limitations to a lower resolution than the conference's maximum call quality, the
transcoding node will use the appropriate lower level of resource for that endpoint's connection. For example, if it is limited to an
SD connection it will use 0.5 HD resources.
l Each conference instance on each Transcoding Conferencing Node reserves a backplane connection at a resource level
corresponding to the conference's Maximum call quality setting, to allow the conference to become geographically distributed if
required. The exceptions to this are:
o Deployments with a single Conferencing Node. In such cases, no backplanes will ever be required, so capacity is not reserved.
o Conferences that are audio-only (in other words, where the conference has its Conference capabilities set to Audio-only). In
such cases, capacity equivalent to one audio connection is reserved for the backplane.
l Only one backplane connection is used for each conference on each Transcoding Conferencing Node, regardless of the number of
other transcoding nodes that are involved in the conference. Note that on the Administrator interface, backplanes are displayed as
unidirectional, so a single link between two nodes is shown with two backplanes, one in each direction. Likewise, a conference
between three nodes is shown with six backplanes. However, for resource allocation purposes each node would require just one
backplane connection.
l Pexip Infinity always tries to optimize gateway calls:
o A gateway call does not reserve resource for a backplane, but will use one if required (for example, if the participants are
connected via different Transcoding Conferencing Nodes).
o For a gateway call to Google Meet, the connection to Google Meet always uses 1 HD resource (it uses VP8) for main video.
The resources required for the VTC leg of the connection depend upon the type of endpoint and the Maximum call quality
setting. If the VTC endpoint starts to present content then an extra 1 HD resource is used for the connection from Pexip
Infinity to Google Meet. However, no additional resources are required on the Google Meet leg if presentation content is sent
from Google Meet, but 0.5 HD of additional resource would typically be required for each endpoint receiving presentation.
o For a gateway call to a Microsoft Teams meeting, the connection to Teams uses 1.5 HD of resource if Maximum call quality is
SD or HD, otherwise it uses 1.5 Full HD resources. The resources required for the VTC leg of the connection depend upon the
Maximum call quality setting. If any participant presents content, additional resources (typically 0.5 HD) would be required,
either on the Teams backplane (when an endpoint presents) or on the node handling the endpoint's media connection (when
a Teams client presents). The exact amount of resource used depends on the codec, resolution and frame rate of the
presentation stream.
l If an API participant is the first participant to join a conference, it will reserve a backplane for the conference.

Proxying Edge Node resource requirements

When a connection is proxied via a Proxying Edge Node, the proxying node also consumes connection resources in order to forward
the media streams on to a Transcoding Conferencing Node.
A proxying node uses approximately the equivalent of 3 audio-only resources to proxy a video call (of any resolution), and 1 audio-only
resource to proxy an audio call.

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 Resource allocation examples
Pexip Infinity Hardware Resource Allocation Guide Virtual Meeting Rooms

Single distributed VMR (standards-based, WebRTC and SfB endpoints)

l There are two Conferencing Nodes in two different system locations.

l One standards-based endpoint and one WebRTC VP9* endpoint
connect to the VMR in the Location A node.
l One SfB endpoint connects to the VMR in the Location B node.
l Each endpoint uses HD video and audio.

Pexip Infinity requires 3.25 HD resources on Node 1 (2.25 for the

connected participants, and 1 for the backplane), and 2 HD resources on
Node 2, (1 for the connected participant, and 1 for the backplane).
l A presentation is then sent from the standards-based endpoint (see
diagram).

Pexip Infinity uses an extra 0.5 HD resource on Node 1 for the WebRTC
client to receive presentation, meaning the total resources used on Node
1 is now 3.75 HD. And it requires 1 additional HD resource on Node 2 for the SfB client to receive presentation, so the total resources
used on Node 2 is now 3 HD.
The conference uses 3 concurrent call licenses.

Distributed VMR — 3 nodes

l There are three Conferencing Nodes in three different

system locations.
l One WebRTC VP9* endpoint connects to the VMR in
Location A.
l One SfB endpoint connects to the VMR in Location B.
l One standards-based endpoint connects to the VMR in
Location C.
l Each endpoint uses HD video and audio.

Pexip Infinity requires 2.25 HD resources on node 1 (1.25 for

the WebRTC participant, and 1 for the backplane) and 2 HD
resources on nodes 2 and 3 (1 for the connected participants,
and 1 for the backplane).
l The WebRTC participant then shares their screen (see
diagram).

Pexip Infinity requires no additional resources on Node 1 for

the WebRTC endpoint to send presentation, but does require 1 additional HD resource on Node 2 for the SfB client to receive
presentation, and 0.5 HD additional HD resource on Node 3 for the endpoint to receive presentation, so the total resources used on
Node 1 is still 2.25 HD, Node 2 is now 3 HD and Node 3 is now 2.5 HD.
The conference uses 3 concurrent call licenses.

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 Resource allocation examples
Pexip Infinity Hardware Resource Allocation Guide Gateway calls to Google Meet

Single distributed gateway call (standards-based endpoint to Google Meet)

l There are two Conferencing Nodes in two different system

locations.
l A gateway call is placed from a standards-based endpoint
connected via node 2 to a Google Meet meeting connected via
node 1.
l Two Google Meet clients are also connected to the meeting.
l Each endpoint uses HD video and audio.

Pexip Infinity requires 2 HD resources on node 1 (1 for the

connection to Google Meet and 1 for the backplane), and 2 HD
resources on node 2 (1 for the standards-based endpoint and 1 for
the backplane), so 4 HD resources in total.
l A presentation is then sent from the standards-based endpoint (see diagram).

Pexip Infinity requires an additional 1 HD resource for Google Meet to receive presentation. However, no additional resources are
required on the Google Meet leg if presentation content is sent from Google Meet, but 0.5 HD of additional resource would typically
be required for each endpoint receiving presentation.
The call uses 2 concurrent call licenses in both cases.

Multiple distributed gateway calls (mixed endpoints to Google Meet)

l There are two Conferencing Nodes in two different

system locations.
l Two gateway calls are placed to the same Google
Meet meeting connected via node 1: one from a
standards-based endpoint connected via node 2, and
one from a Skype for Business client also connected
via node 2.
l Two Google Meet clients are also connected to the
meeting.
l Each endpoint uses HD video and audio.

Pexip Infinity requires 4 HD resources on node 1 (each of

the 2 gateway calls requires 1 HD for the connection to
Google Meet and 1 for the backplane). It also requires 4 HD resources on node 2 (the standards-based endpoint requires 1 for its
connection to the gateway, and 1 for the gateway's backplane; the Skype for Business client requires 1 for its connection to the
gateway, and 1 for the gateway's backplane), so 8 HD resources in total (see diagram above).
l A presentation is then sent from the standards-based endpoint (see diagram below).

Pexip Infinity requires an additional 1 HD resource on

node 1 to send the presentation to Google Meet, but does
not require additional resources on the other connection
that is receiving the presentation from Google Meet. The
Skype for Business client requires 1 additional HD
resource on node 2 to receive presentation, so 10 HD
resources in total across the two nodes.

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