When it comes to networking, real-time applications like video conferencing and streaming video can present monumental challenges to the typical network infrastructure. Underlying network issues can have a devastating effect on the performance of a video management system (VMS). But how do you know if it’s the VMS, the camera(s) or if it’s the network? Network related issues often mask themselves as IP-camera, VMS, or archiving problems. This article will look at a systematic approach for determining root cause issues related to degraded video quality.