Network Bonding

Zixi's Network Bonding feature enables you to divide a stream into several network channels by utilizing multiple NICs and links and then subsequently reuniting them at the Zixi Broadcaster side. For example, a 5 Mbps stream can be streamed using two links, one 2 Mbps link that uses a mobile network and another 3 Mbps Wifi network. The stream is automatically bonded at the Zixi Broadcaster side without any special configuration (as long as the Push input is defined and the two NICs are setup in the machine running the Zixi Broadcaster).

Network Bonding can be used for load balancing between multiple links in the following configurations:

• Zixi Feeder with Multiple NICs to a single Zixi Broadcaster NIC - the stream is divided at the Zixi Feeder end and then bonded at the Zixi Broadcaster end. This configuration requires configuring Network Bonding in the Zixi Feeder (see Feeder Output with Network Bonding)
• Zixi Feeder with Multiple NICs to multiple Zixi Broadcaster NICs - the stream is divided at the Zixi Feeder end, sent to multiple IP addresses (each Zixi Broadcaster NIC has a separate IP address), and then bonded at the Zixi Broadcaster end. This configuration requires configuring Network Bonding in the Zixi Feeder. Each destination (i.e. each Broadcaster NIC is configured in a separate network bonding link by using a different Host IP address). (see Feeder Output with Network Bonding)
• Zixi Feeder with single NIC to Multiple Zixi Broadcaster NICs - the stream is sent to multiple IP addresses (each Zixi Broadcaster NIC has a separate IP address), and then bonded at the Zixi Broadcaster end. This configuration requires configuring Network Bonding in the Zixi Feeder. Each destination (i.e. each Broadcaster NIC is configured in a separate network bonding link by using a different Host IP address). (see Feeder Output with Network Bonding)
• Zixi Broadcaster with multiple NICs to another Zixi Broadcaster with a single/multiple NICs - a Zixi Broadcaster can transfer a stream to another Zixi Broadcaster through multiple NICs at the source Broadcaster and single/multiple NICs at the destination Broadcaster. This configuration requires configuring Network Bonding in the Zixi Broadcaster  (see Broadcaster Output with Network Bonding) 

Using Network Bonding for Hitless Failover

The Network Bonding feature can be used to ensure high availability of the stream. The feature ensures hit-less failover between multiple networks and network cards (i.e. network and hardware protection). As part of the configuration of the network bonding feature it is possible to set a NIC (which may be connected to a separate network) as a "Backup". In this case, the backup link will only be utilized if the stream has used all other available capacity. For example, a stream can be configured to be transferred on a WiFi network as the main link and a mobile network as a backup. If the WiFi link is compromised (either completely unavailable or limited bandwidth), the stream will be transferred, in full or partially through the backup mobile link and then bonded at the Zixi Broadcaster end, enabling uninterrupted streaming and high availability.  

See also:

Feeder Output with Network Bonding