How to Bridge 1G and 10G Networks for High-Bandwidth Video over IP

Because AV over IP is a growing field, it can be common to see 1-gigabit and 10-gigabit network equipment being utilized in the same setting but is it even possible to use AVoIP in an area that does? Well we’ll be going over how you can potentially bridge these networks together in order to create a working network for AvoIP delivery. 

Understanding 1G vs 10G Networks

In short 1G stands for 1-gigabit and that means it can support up to 1-gigabit per second of data. These are fairly common in most offices. So we can infer then that 10G means 10-gigabit per second. This is obviously a much larger bandwidth of data and it’s great if you want to send uncompressed video, do a multi-stream or have a very high resolution. 

Why You Might Need to Bridge Network Speeds

The main reason you would want to do this comes down to budget. And you need to figure out which parts of your system need the most bandwidth, for example some cameras might be just fine on a 1G connection, but your control unit might not be and might require a much higher bandwidth to do its job correctly. So bridging is a way that you can connect these devices together without needing a 10G switch everywhere. 

Using Managed Switches with Mixed Speeds

Managed switches can often include both 1G Ethernet ports and 10G SFP+ ports. These switches act as a bridge between network speeds.

IIn this case you’d want to assign high-bandwidth devices to connect to 10G ports, while lower-bandwidth devices you can connect to 1G ports. The switch will manage traffic between them to prevent congestion.

Uplink Best Practices

When you’re going to connect a 1G switch to a 10G switch, you should use the fastest uplink that is available. This helps to prevent bottlenecks if you have multiple streams active. 

You should avoid chaining multiple 1G switches into a single uplink when handling high-bandwidth video traffic.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Connecting multiple high-bitrate video streams through a single 1G uplink
Using unmanaged switches in mixed-speed environments
Assuming all devices automatically negotiate optimal speeds

Final Notes

Bridging 1G and 10G networks is a practical way to scale AV-over-IP systems without overbuilding infrastructure. Proper switch selection and traffic planning are key to maintaining performance This isn’t a catch all for every situation but it is an option that might work if you’re tight on a budget.

For device-specific bandwidth requirements, refer to individual product documentation or contact technical support. Do not try to do this if the product states it needs a 10G network.