Question:
What is the minimum or maximum network bandwidth for a PCoIP session? (15134-9)
Answer:
Each PCoIP session currently requires a minimum of 1 Mbps per system with firmware release 2.x..
Firmware 3.x requires a minimum of 200-250kps per system.
The PCoIP host and zero client have configuration parameters that control the amount of traffic they
generate.
Note: Bandwidth requirements greatly depend on the desired user experience and applications. Using
higher resolution displays and graphically-intensive applications generally requires more bandwidth. User
expectations also vary greatly from one application to another. We recommend you characterize
bandwidth requirements for your application and use.
Question:
Is there enough average network capacity for the user's application? (15134-322)
Answer:
This article provides a way to estimate bandwidth requirements and predict user experience based on:
 number of users
 tasks/applications being used
 available bandwidth
The following table estimates networking requirements for a general set of common applications/tasks.
The following guidelines combine information about the number of users and their tasks. You can use
them to derive a rule-of-thumb estimate for the expected bandwidth requirements and then compare them
with the bandwidth available to determine if the deployment has sufficient network resources.
Summary of Typical bandwidth requirements
Application
Remote "bare bones" data
entry
Basic text processing/form
filling with no multimedia
and infrequent
window/screen switching
Average
Peak
Maximum
Comment
bandwidth bandwidth rtt
200 kbit/s
250 kbit/s
Multiple text based
Windows applications
(Excel, Word, Outlook) with 400 kbit/s
frequent window switching
and some graphics content
500 kbit/s
1 Mbit/s
2 Mbit/s
250 ms
Expect visible blur/low quality initial
screen updates, long update times (25 seconds) for full screen or large
window change, noticeable delay
(0.25-2 seconds) on smaller screen
updates such as pull down menus.
250 ms
Expect some initial blur/artifacts when
updating screen or switching large
windows, large updates may be a bit
slow (1-2 seconds).
150 ms
There may still be some lower quality
initial screen updates. Screen should
generally update in less than 1
second.
Multiple text windows
applications including
occasional lower quality
multimedia, e.g., YouTube
360p
1 Mbit/s
4 Mbit/s
100 ms
Possible reduction in frame
rate/quality for video but should be
fairly good. Still possibility for lower
initial quality full screen update though
a lot less noticeable.
Switching multiple
graphics/text windows
applications including
frequent 360p video and
some animations (e.g.,
Flash)
1.5 Mbit/s
8 Mbit/s
100 ms
Full screen updates should get fairly
snappy and quality should be high for
those updates. Videos may still
appear with slight blur.
Occasional larger video
(480p/720p) and/or
animation and/or photo
editing etc.
2 Mbit/s
12 Mbit/s
100 ms
Snappy updates but possibly lower
quality noticeable for large videos.
Small videos should look crisp.
50 ms
Experience should be almost
indistinguishable from a local PC.
Note powerful server and at least dual
vCPU required to keep up.
25 ms
Experience should be
indistinguishable from a local PC for
most applications except for GPU
intensive applications (3D games
etc.). Powerful server and dual or
quad vCPU.
Frequent large video (e.g.,
playing 480p 20% of the
time), video editing,
demanding multimedia
apps
"The works"
5 Mbit/s
16 Mbit/s
30 Mbit/s
80 Mbit/s
Bandwidth tuning tips
 Use a full-duplex end-to-end network link
 If you have a single user, look up the application and ensure you allocate enough bandwidth to
satisfy the peak PCoIP requirement and any other network traffic
 If you have multiple users sharing a network connection, use the following rule: Add the average
bandwidth for all the users.
 Add the maximum peak bandwidth for all the users.
 If you have four or less users, add 50% margin. If you have eight or less users add 25% margin.
For 16 or less users add 20% margin. For more than 16 users add 10% margin.
 Consider segmenting PCoIP traffic via IP QoS DSCP or a layer 2 CoS or virtual LAN (VLAN).
 If a VPN is used, confirm that UDP traffic is supported.
 Do not route PCoIP traffic through TCP-based SSL tunnels. Use IPSEC or DTLS-enabled SSL
solutions.