HP Velocity intermittently on and off

[tunderstuff]

We are testing RGS between sites (our WAN, so corporate network): zbook to a Z840 system. Though we have fairly decent results (we need to evaluate some more), I have noticed the HP Velocity indication on the Zbook RGS receiver being off (blue - monitoring) most of the time. 

1/ What does that mean? (on sender side it is)Is it good or bad?

2/ What would be benefit or disadvantage of enabling the advance video encoding option (eg in terms of latency)?

3/ Is it still the case that you would recommend disabling HP Velocity when using a VPN?

tnx

[KellyRGS]

What verison of RGS are you using?  I would recommend testing with the latest, 7.4.0. 

1. Here is the status of HP Velocity:

　

HP Velocity (Windows/Linux only)

HP Velocity is an RGS Advanced Feature that improves performance within a wide area network (WAN).

　

HP Velocity status is displayed on the RGS Receiver toolbar:

Blue—HP Velocity is monitoring network loss and is ready to be used.

Green—HP Velocity is actively working to improve network conditions.

Grey—HP Velocity has not been activated.

　

NOTE: HP Velocity might increase network bandwidth usage.

2.   Advanced Video Compression (Windows/Linux only)

Advanced Video Compression is an RGS Advanced Feature that enables the use of a modern video codec to greatly reduce the network bandwidth needed for high-quality video streams.

Advanced Video Compression is ideal for video or 3D applications in textured mode. It is not recommended for use with wireframes or fine lines, as screen artifacts might appear when in motion. Advanced Video Compression can be enabled in the Performance panel of the RGS Receiver settings.

IMPORTANT: System requirements for Advanced Video Compression might be higher than the base RGS system requirements, all of which are described in the QuickSpecs (see Finding more information on page 4).

NOTICE: The performance of Advanced Video Compression for resolutions larger than full HD (1920x1080) varies depending on the content.

Advanced Video Compression does not currently support 4K (Ultra HD) resolutions.

3.  We are currently working on the issue with VPN and HP Velocity.  Not all VPNs are having this issue but we are seeing it on Cisco, OpenVPN, and a few other commonly used VPNs.  When RGS goes from TCP to UDP, this causes disconnects.  Some users are able to change their VPN settings to allow for UDP. 

I work on the behalf of HP.

[tunderstuff]

Dear Kelly,

Though I appreciate the effort, just quoting a manual is not what I expect from someone who works "on behalf of HP" and is labelled teacher...I think all of us testing/using RGS are able to read a manual. It is just what is NOT in the manual we seek answers for or some added explanation

It is these kind of answers I tnotice all over these HP "support" forums, very frustrating

BTW: Using 7.4.x

[KellyRGS · Accepted solution]

I am happy to help if you want to provide a specific use case that you would like to test RGS with.  However, I would prefer to take that offline so that I can get details.  You asked about the states of Velocity.  In the manual it does explain the state that HP Velocity is in.  When it sees a problem, it goes from monitoring mode, to active to state to help optimize the network connection and improve data stream acceleration.  It protects against packet loss, which is key to improving an application's QoE. Even in small amounts, packet loss will reduce application throughput, degrade or halt streaming applications, and introduce lag for interactive applications.  It also automatically detects network congestion and adjusts the amount of redundancy, thus maximizing QoE over data networks.  For WiFI connections it automatically reduces latency and transmission times for wireless networks and minimizes protocol overhead, resulting in improved QoE for WiFi applications.  If you do not have the capability to activate it over the internet, let me know.

AVC also requires a one-time activation via the internet but the manual activation process can fix this if needed.  AVC enables a modern video codec to greatly reduce the network bandwidth needed for high-quality video streams. It is ideal for video or 3D applications in textured mode. A unique characteristic of AVC mode is performance with very low quality settings. When bandwidth is very constrained, enable AVC and reduce quality to 10 or lower. You will notice that 3D models in motion will appear pixilated and highly compressed, but when you stop moving them they snap back to a full resolution clear image. An additional aspect of AVC is that you can choose to have the compression done by either a graphics card (GPU mode) or the CPU (CPU mode) on the RGS Sender config UI. Note that only NVIDIA® Quadro graphics cards are enabled for GPU-mode compression.  As of version 7.3.2, MaxImageUpdateRate now applies to AVC mode. In previous releases this setting only applied to HP3 (the default image codec)

CPU consumption might be higher on both the RGS Sender and Receiver when using Advanced Video Compression. The default RGS compression (HP3) is recommended unless reduced network bandwidth consumption is required.  Most customers are using HP3 but we do have some that choose to chance from GPU to CPU, depending on their use. 

Happy to help in your testing of RGS. 

Just as an FYI, we have seen definite improvement in performance and optimization in RGS 7.4. 64-bit, which is new for Windows.  When RGS 7.5 comes out in this spring,  the Windows x86 version will no longer be available.

I work on the behalf of HP.

[tunderstuff]

Kelly,

This explain things more, thanks. So i can conclude:

- It is normal that Velocity is not always on (green). It only kicks in when it is useful, iow when optimization is necessayr due to increase in packet loss etc.

- AVC is only beneficial for very low bandwidth exiists, HP3 is the default and recommended setting

Thanks.

[KellyRGS]

You are correct.  If HP Velocity when activated, will only change from monitoring mode to actually in use when it sees that optimization is necessary.  AVC is recommended for poor network performance when viewing videos or working with 3D.  It helps to reduce bandwidth when streaming.  There are also other settings that can be changed to help improve your experience with performance of RGS in the User Guide. 

I work on the behalf of HP.