Akamai Capacity Report

Terminology

For clarity and consistency throughout this report, the following definitions apply:

• CPU: Software-based video encoding utilizing x264 (H.264 codec) and x265 (H.265 codec).
• GPU: Hardware-accelerated video encoding utilizing NVENC (NVIDIA Encoder) utilizing H.264 codec and H.265 codec.
• VPU: Hardware-accelerated processing utilizing Quadra (NETINT Encoder) utilizing H.264 codec and H.265 codec.

Note: The terms “CPU,” “GPU,” and “VPU” may be used interchangeably with “x264/x265,” “NVENC,” and “Quadra,” respectively.

Objective

To provide capacity numbers with different conditions.

YUV to H.264/H.265 with different resolutions

The number of video streams supported by the Akamai Virtual server (NETINT Quadra T1U x2 Small) for H.264 and H.265, using 1080P, 720P, and 540P files at 25 fps and a bitrate of 3.5 Mbps.

Video Streams

Test Configurations

Configuration	Description
Server	NETINT Quadra T1U x2 Small
Frame size	1080p, 720p, 540p (YUV input)
Frame rate	25 fps
Bitrate	3.5 Mbps
Interval	2 seconds
Codecs	- H.264 (h264_ni_quadra_enc) - H.265 (h265_ni_quadra_enc)

Command

fmpeg -y -vsync 0 -s {resolution} -r {fps} -i {input} -c:v {codec}_ni_quadra_enc \
-xcoder-params level=0:frameRate={fps}:RcEnable=1:vbvBufferSize=2000:bitrate=3500000:intraPeriod={interval}:gopPresetIdx=-1:entropyCodingMode=1:lookaheadDepth=16:cuLevelRCEnable=0:rdoLevel=1:EnableRdoQuant=1 \
-vframes {frames} {output}

Results

The below table indicates the number of video streams the server can handle simultaneously while maintaining 25 fps.

Resolution	H.264	H.265
1080p	40	50
720p	85	95
540p	135	140

Throughput Capacity

Test Configurations

Configuration	Description
Server	NETINT Quadra T1U x2 Small
Frame size	1080p (YUV input)
Frame rate	25 fps
Bitrate	3.5 Mbps
Interval	2 seconds
Codecs	- H.264 (h264_ni_quadra_enc) - H.265 (h265_ni_quadra_enc)

Command

fmpeg -y -vsync 0 -s {resolution} -r {fps} -i {input} -c:v {codec}_ni_quadra_enc \
-xcoder-params level=0:frameRate={fps}:RcEnable=1:vbvBufferSize=2000:bitrate=3500000:intraPeriod={interval}:gopPresetIdx=-1:entropyCodingMode=1:lookaheadDepth=16:cuLevelRCEnable=0:rdoLevel=1:EnableRdoQuant=1 \
-vframes {frames} {output}

Results

The maximum fps achieved when processing 8, 10, 16 or 32 encoding sessions.

Encoding Sessions	H.264	H.265
8	111	140
10	90	111
16	57	71
32	29	36

Throughput Capacity with Dedicated CPU Plans

Dedicated 16GB (8 Cores)

The server has 8 CPU Cores, 16GB RAM and comes with 320GB of Storage

Test Configurations

Configuration	Description
Frame size	1080p (YUV input)
Frame rate	25 fps
Bitrate	3.5 Mbps
Interval	2 seconds
Codecs	- H.264 (libx264) - H.265 (libx265)

Command

x264 --aq-mode 0 --no-scenecut --bframes 3 --b-adapt 0 --rc-lookahead 16  \
--input-depth {input_depth} --output-depth {output_depth} \
--input-res {resolution} --fps {fps} --bitrate {bitrate} --vbv-bufsize {2*bitrate} \
--keyint {interval} --min-keyint {interval} --preset {preset} --frames {total frames} \
-o {output} {input}

 x265 --aq-mode 0 --no-scenecut --bframes 3 --b-adapt 0 --rc-lookahead 16 \
--input-depth {input_depth} --output-depth {output_depth} \
--input-res {resolution} --fps {fps} --bitrate {bitrate} \
--vbv-bufsize {2*bitrate} --keyint {interval} --min-keyint {interval} \
--preset {preset} --frames {total frames} \
-o {output} {input}

Results

The below table is the framerate that was achieved on with each encoding session.

Encoding Sessions	H.264	H.265
1	60	1
4	15	< 1 (0.4)

Dedicated 64GB (32 Cores)

The server has 32 CPU Cores, 64GB RAM and comes with 1280GB of Storage

Test Configurations

Configuration	Description
Frame size	1080p (YUV input)
Frame rate	25 fps
Bitrate	3.5 Mbps
Interval	2 seconds
Codecs	- H.264 (libx264) - H.265 (libx265)

Command

x264 --aq-mode 0 --no-scenecut --bframes 3 --b-adapt 0 --rc-lookahead 16  \
--input-depth {input_depth} --output-depth {output_depth} \
--input-res {resolution} --fps {fps} --bitrate {bitrate} --vbv-bufsize {2*bitrate} \
--keyint {interval} --min-keyint {interval} --preset {preset} --frames {total frames} \
-o {output} {input}

 x265 --aq-mode 0 --no-scenecut --bframes 3 --b-adapt 0 --rc-lookahead 16 \
--input-depth {input_depth} --output-depth {output_depth} \
--input-res {resolution} --fps {fps} --bitrate {bitrate} \
--vbv-bufsize {2*bitrate} --keyint {interval} --min-keyint {interval} \
--preset {preset} --frames {total frames} \
-o {output} {input}

Results

The below table is the framerate that was achieved on with each encoding session.

Encoding Sessions	H.264	H.265
1	150	12
4	61	8
8	31	4
10	25	3