Video streaming is one of the most demanding online services in terms of infrastructure. Unlike a regular website, where the load depends on the number of user requests, during a broadcast, the server must continuously receive, process, and transmit video data in real-time.
Any performance issues in such a scenario quickly become noticeable to the audience. Delays, buffering, or stream interruptions can lead to viewer loss and negatively impact the user experience. That is why choosing a server configuration for streaming requires a separate approach.
Why regular hosting is not always suitable for streaming
During an online broadcast, the server performs several tasks at once: it receives the video stream from the source, transmits it to viewers, and in some cases, also re-encodes the video into different formats or records the broadcast for later storage.
The load increases with the number of viewers. For example, if a Full HD broadcast uses a bitrate of about 5 Mbps, then for 100 simultaneous connections, the server needs to provide approximately 500 Mbps of traffic.
Regular virtual hosting is practically not used for such tasks due to resource and network limitations. A VPS server can be a working option for small projects or test broadcasts, but as the audience grows, its capabilities often prove insufficient. Therefore, dedicated servers are usually used for stable streaming, where all resources are available to a single client.
What resources most affect streaming performance
Server requirements depend on the specific use case. If the goal is only to transmit a ready video stream, the main load falls on the network infrastructure. However, if the server performs transcoding, records broadcasts, or works with multiple streams simultaneously, the requirements for the CPU, RAM, and disk subsystem significantly increase.
CPU
The most resource-intensive task for the CPU is usually video transcoding — creating multiple versions of a single stream for different resolutions and internet connection speeds.
For a single stream without re-encoding, a CPU with 4–6 cores is often sufficient. If broadcasting in multiple qualities is planned, configurations with 6–8 cores and high clock speeds are usually used. For several simultaneous broadcasts or continuous transcoding, CPUs with 8–16 cores or more may be required.
At the same time, the number of cores is not the only criterion. For many streaming tasks, the performance of a single core and clock speed can be just as important as the total number of cores.
RAM
RAM is used for buffering video streams, running streaming software, and system processes.
You can roughly base your configurations on the following:
-
8 GB RAM — for simple broadcasts without video re-encoding.
-
16 GB RAM — if the server creates several versions of the stream or simultaneously serves additional services.
-
32 GB RAM and more — for several simultaneous broadcasts, recording shows, or more complex streaming infrastructure.
Insufficient RAM can lead to delays during data processing, unstable software operation, and a deterioration in broadcast quality under load.
Disk subsystem
If the server is used only for transmitting the video stream, the requirements for storage are usually low. However, the situation changes when there is a need to record broadcasts, store archives, or perform additional video processing.
In such cases, you can consider the following scenarios:
• SSDs — for most standard tasks where there is no intensive writing and processing of large volumes of video data.
• NVMe drives — for projects where recording broadcasts, processing video, and storing large archives occur simultaneously.
It is also important to consider the storage capacity. Broadcast recordings can quickly take up hundreds of gigabytes or even terabytes of disk space, so having extra capacity is never a bad idea.
Why the network often becomes the main limitation
Even a powerful server cannot provide quality streaming if the network bandwidth is insufficient to serve the audience.
The number of simultaneous viewers directly depends on the video bitrate and the available channel speed. For example, a 1 Gbps channel theoretically allows serving about 150–180 viewers for a broadcast with a bitrate of 5 Mbps.
At the same time, it is not recommended to use a channel at the edge of its capabilities. Usually, a buffer of at least 20–30% is built in to avoid problems during peak loads.
In addition to speed, the quality of routing, latency, and stability of the data center network are also important.
Where to store broadcast recordings
If broadcasts are regularly recorded, it is not always practical to store the entire archive directly on the server used for streaming.
A practical solution can be a separate file storage or Storage Box. In this case, the server focuses on processing and transmitting the video stream, while the archives are stored in a separate system, creating no additional load.
Which configuration to choose
For small broadcasts with an audience of up to 100 viewers, a server with an Intel Core i7-level processor, 32–64 GB of RAM, and an SSD or NVMe drive is often sufficient.
If broadcasting in multiple qualities is planned or up to 300 simultaneous viewers are expected, it is worth considering more powerful configurations with additional resource reserves for transcoding and handling load.
For large projects with hundreds or thousands of viewers, servers based on AMD EPYC or Intel Xeon are usually used. In such cases, not only the specifications of a single server are important, but also the ability to scale the infrastructure further.
The stability of video streaming depends not on a single parameter, but on the balanced operation of the entire infrastructure. The CPU is responsible for processing video, RAM ensures the operation of services under load, the disk subsystem is used for recording and storing content, and the network determines how many viewers the server can serve.
That is why dedicated servers are most often used for regular broadcasts and commercial streaming projects, as they provide predictable performance and allow avoiding limitations typical of less powerful solutions.