Bandwidth is the amount of data transmitted across a network infrastructure per second. Data, in the case of IP video surveillance, is the transmission or streaming of either live video from cameras or storage playback. With regards to an IP video surveillance system, bandwidth is the sum of all of the data communications flows of all of the various components. Some data flows are for inter-device communications, called overhead, which do not generate enough data bandwidth to be statistically relevant. Calculating the total bandwidth required for an IP video surveillance system can be simplified by following an old IT rule of thumb: “Goes Into.”