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Live Streaming

This service allows you to broadcast online video over the Internet without buying your own servers and having no experience in setting them up. Online broadcast will be distributed over CDN servers, it will be delivered to your clients from the nearest server.

A ready-made HTML5 player is provided for broadcasting video at your request, which can be easily added to any web page. Additionally, we recommend using transcoding, thanks to which you will receive an adaptive stream for different screens and devices.

LIVE resource creation

To get started, you need to create your resource. To do this, on the left in your personal account, select the CDN section, the "Live streaming" subitem, and then select "CREATE RESOURCE" in the upper right corner.

To set up a live video broadcast, you must select a method for delivering the stream to the publishing servers. You can provide us with a stream using 1 of 6 options: RTMP / RTSP-publish, HLS-pull, RTMP / RTSP-pull, MPEG-TS-publish, SRT-publish and Icecast-pull.

Pull and Publish are options for providing a stream. With Pull we take your stream, and with Publish you can send it to CDNvideo servers yourself.

Attention!

There is a limit of 100 resources. If you need more resources, please contact your personal manager or support.

LIVE resource configuration

RTMP/RTSP-publish

Description

To publish a stream, you need to configure special software - an encoder that supports the RTMP/RTSP-publish protocol.

Before creating a Live resource, we recommend that you familiarize yourself and select the required product in advance. You can familiarize yourself with the options, as well as receive detailed instructions on setting up encoders here.

Configuration Guidelines

The first stream is created automatically. You are free to add or delete the streams as needed.

Please input the name of the stream or click the “Dice” icon to create it automatically.

Choose the stream quality from the drop down menu.

Important!

It`s not available to create more than 10 RTMP/RTSP-publish streams.

Click "CREATE RESOURCE".

The resource has been created! You`ll be taken to the “Setup instructions” tab.

There are two URLs provided for publishing (the major one and the backup one) and the Stream name including an authorizing token. Choose the desired way of publishing (RTMP or RTSP) for generating correct links.

Check the example below (RTMP-publish):

  • URL primary: rtmp://a.r.cdnvideo.net/livemaster/
  • URL backup: rtmp://b.r.cdnvideo.net/livemaster/
  • Streams: Streams: 61r1mcqxb7_ygkjf99kcv?auth=UppErvcWou...

The backup URL is to be used only if there is enough bandwidth. When creating several streams, each of them will get its own Streams name.

If you need to publish a stream in several qualities, some encoders (e.g. Wirecast) will require the Streams names to be inserted individually. To check them all, click the “down arrow” button. If you use, e.g., FMLE 3.2, just copy the whole line.

Checking the Stream

After you get the publication links and configure your encoder, please make sure that the stream works properly. Open the “Player” tab, and if the encoder is configured properly, the player will play your live stream.

Choose the comfortable way to watch publishing: separated streams or union (SMIL-files)

Attention

Please use the “Code for embedding” frame to embed the player into your website.

Transcoding $

This service is suitable for companies that do not have the opportunity to give us a stream with the following characteristics necessary for Internet broadcasting:

  • protocol: RTMP, RTSP, MPEG_TS;
  • video codec: h.264;
  • audio codec: AAC/mp3.

If you are unable to provide a stream with the specified parameters, as well as to reduce the cost of hardware and software, use the stream transcoding service.

To activate the transcoding service on the page of creating or editing an RTMP-publish resource, you should:

  • specify the source stream that you will publish;
  • activate service "Stream transcoding";
  • choose the suitable transcoding package (package parameters can be seen by clicking on the "Show details" button);
  • click on the button "CREATE RESOURCE" or "SAVE".

Attention

If you order a transcoding service, then you should specify ONLY ONE input stream.

DVR and stream recording $

To activate the service within the resource, you should click on the "DVR and stream recording" option button.

If you want the recorded streams to be in the same master playlist (for example, if the recorded streams differ only in quality), check the "Use adaptive bitrate playlist (smil)" box.

For each of the generated streams, you can choose your own recording and DVR settings.

First of all, select the type of a live stream:

  • Short-term broadcast. The recording lasts no longer than 12 hours and is wholly available after the end. It's suitable for recording one-time events (webinars, sports broadcasts, etc.).
  • Continuous broadcast. Only a certain window is recorded (the last N hours, where N is no more than 12). After the end of the live stream, only this window is available. It's suitable for streaming 24/7 (TV channels, video surveillance, etc.).

The DVR option button deals with what the player shows during recording and after recording stops:

  • During recording when DVR is on, the player shows the live stream with the option to rewind to the beginning of the recording. When DVR is off, the player shows the original live stream.
  • After recording stops, when DVR is on, the player shows the recording, when it is off, it shows the live stream.

If record is active, then the interface provides an opportunity to reset the DVR window (start accumulating the window again). To do this, click on the "Reset DVR" button.

Short-term broadcast

Short-term broadcast recording has several basic settings: stream recording option button, recording storage time and path, timeout, and recording start method.

The stream recording option button is the main service flag for an individual stream. The recording is an m3u8 file, which can then be converted to MP4 format. When it's off, there is no stream recording and therefore DVR isn't available.

In the "Record storage time" setting, you can choose a period of time after the end of the recording, after which we will delete it so that it no longer takes up space in your storage. You can choose the default option ("do not delete") or any other period.

In the "Record storage path" setting, you can specify any path in your storage where the saved recording will be available.

In the "Recording timeout" setting, you can choose a period of time during which we don't consider the recording to be finished when the live stream isn't available, waiting for publication to be resumed. In this case, we automatically continue recording the stream.

In the "Recording start method" setting, you can choose exactly when to start recording:

  • By publication - the recording will start with a minimum delay after the stream is published.
  • By button - the recording will start at the moment you click on the Start recording button (it is active only after the resource is created). The recording will stop either when you click the Stop recording button or when the publication of the live stream is finished.
  • Scheduled - a recording will start and stop at certain moments of the world time (if the stream is published).
Continuous broadcast

Continuous broadcast recording has several basic settings: window recording option button, DVR duration and timeout, recording start method.

The window recording option button is the main service flag for an individual stream. The recording is an m3u8 file, which can then be converted to MP4 format. When it's off, there is no stream recording and therefore DVR isn't available.

In the "DVR Duration" setting, you can choose the size of the window that will be recorded and available to the DVR. You can choose an appropriate value from the drop-down list or specify another value (in minutes).

In the "Timeout DVR" setting, you can choose a period of time during which we don't consider the recording to be finished when the live stream isn't available, waiting for publication to be resumed. In this case, we automatically continue recording the stream.

In the "Recording start method" setting, you can choose exactly when to start recording:

  • By publication - the recording will start with a minimum delay after the stream is published.
  • By button - the recording will start at the moment you click on the "Turn on DVR" button (it is active only after the resource is created). The recording will stop either when you click the "Turn off DVR" button or when the publication of the live stream is finished.

Additional Configurations

Authorization $
Local authorization $

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization $

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
Stream distribution protocols

By default, the ability to view broadcasts via HLS is provided. Activate this feature if you plan to use other streaming protocols (RTMP, MPEG-DASH, MSS, Low Latency Streaming).

Before activating the service, a manager will contact you.

Resource Name

To change the resource name please specify the new name and then click “SAVE”.

Attention

The resource Name is generated automatically during the creation stage.

Limitations $
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo limitations, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.

SRT-publish

Description

To publish a stream, you need to configure special software - an encoder that supports the SRT-publish protocol.

Before creating a Live resource, we recommend that you familiarize yourself and select the required product in advance. You can familiarize yourself with the options, as well as receive detailed instructions on setting up encoders here.

Configuration Guidelines

The first stream is created automatically. You are free to add or delete the streams as needed.

Please input the name of the stream or click the “Dice” icon to create it automatically.

Choose the stream quality from the drop-down menu.

Important!

It`s not available to create more than 10 SRT-publish streams.

Click "CREATE RESOURCE".

The resource has been created! You`ll be taken to the “Setup instructions” tab.

There are two URLs provided for publishing: the primary one and the backup one. The backup URL is to be used only if there is enough bandwidth.

When creating several streams, each of them will get its own publishing URL.

Checking the Stream

After you get the publication links and configure your encoder, please make sure that the stream works properly. Open the “Player” tab, and if the encoder is configured properly, the player will play your live stream.

Choose the comfortable way to watch publishing: separated streams or union (SMIL-files)

Attention

Please use the “Code for embedding” frame to embed the player into your website.

Transcoding $

This service is suitable for companies that do not have the opportunity to give us a stream with the following characteristics necessary for Internet broadcasting:

  • protocol: SRT;
  • video codec: h.264;
  • audio codec: AAC/mp3.

If you are unable to provide a stream with the specified parameters, as well as to reduce the cost of hardware and software, use the stream transcoding service.

To activate the transcoding service on the page of creating or editing an SRT-publish resource, you should:

  • specify the source stream that you will publish;
  • activate service "Stream transcoding";
  • choose the suitable transcoding package (package parameters can be seen by clicking on the "Show details" button);
  • click on the button "CREATE RESOURCE" or "SAVE".

Attention

If you order a transcoding service, then you should specify ONLY ONE input stream.

Additional Configurations

Authorization $
Local authorization $

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization $

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
Stream distribution protocols

By default, the ability to view broadcasts via HLS is provided. Activate this feature if you plan to use other streaming protocols (RTMP, MPEG-DASH, MSS, Low Latency Streaming).

Before activating the service, a manager will contact you.

Resource Name

To change the resource name please specify the new name and then click “SAVE”.

Attention

The resource Name is generated automatically during the creation stage.

Limitations $
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo limitations, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.

HLS-pull

Description

Stream is pulled from the origin server to CDNvideo distribution server at the user’s first request and served from CDN cache for subsequent requests. The object received by the distribution server is cached for a specified time.

This method can be used if you have ready HTTP-based live streams:

  • Adobe HDS;
  • Apple HLS;
  • Microsoft Smooth Streaming (MSS).

Repackaging streams into any other formats and protocols is not available.

Configuration Guidelines

Content Source

It is important to configure your content source carefully. Afterwards the CDN network will request the mentioned source for content caching

Content source may be:

Attention

If you`ve got several content sources (primary/backup), you may configure priority for each of them. If the first priority content source is unavailable, CDN network will automatically switch to the next one. Switching back to the first one will happen automatically as well, when it is restored.

To create S3 domain source, you should specify a permitted bucket in a corresponding field.

You can choose AWS authorization when requesting origins. To do this, you should select the appropriate checkbox and enter two keys: the access key and the secret key.

If you use hosting providers like Wix, Amazon S3, etc., please pay attention to the next section - “Hostname”.

Hostname

Many virtual hostings (like Amazon S3) commonly serve several websites from the same web server. So CDN network needs to know the precise Hostname to get access to your content.

If you don’t know your Hostname or where to find it, please try to check this service. Specify your website’s domain there and check the “Information” tab - “Resource Name”.

Here is what you should do if you don`t know your Hostname:

  1. Visit your website and copy a link to any image, having clicked at it with the right mouse button.
  2. Paste the link into a new Browser window. The domain you see will be a Content Resource for your website. E.g., if your website is running on Wix, the Content Resource will be the following domain: static.wixstatic.com
  3. Visit the following resource https://check-host.net and enter your website domain (not the one for Content Resource).
  4. Now check the “Information” tab - the “Resource Name” is your very Hostname. E.g., if your website is running on Amazon, your Hostname may look like: ec7-54-151-126-156.eu-west-1.compute.amazonaws.com
  5. Write the figured out Hostname in your account.

To download content from the source server to the distribution server cache, you need to provide a stream URL.

Specify the path to the stream. The domain name is automatically substituted from the "Source of Data".

Attention

You can specify several playlists.

Click "CREATE RESOURCE".

The resource has been created! You`ll be taken to the “Setup instructions + Player” tab.

Checking the Stream

After you get the publication links and configure your encoder, please make sure that the stream works properly.

Important!

You need to replace your original domain with the one, specified in "Your CDN-link" field. After that your content will deliver from the CDN network.

Attention

Please use the “Code for embedding” frame to embed the player into your website.

Additional Configurations

You can configure your CNAME, add your SSL certificate and change your resource name using Additional Settings.

By default, after the settings are saved, your content will be available via HTTPS and will look like: https://example.a.trbcdn.net.

SSL-certificate

To start with our service, you need to upload your certificate or generate a new one. To do this, click the “ADD CERTIFICATE” link in the upper right corner.

Then please choose the certificate you are planning to use for your resource:

CNAME

CNAME record allows to assign an alias to a host. It usually relates to some functional meaning, or just shortens the host`s name.

Your content will be available by default at example.a.trbcdn.net/images/1.jpg, but you may configure access to your content at cdn.example.com/images/1.jpg. You will need to create a CNAME record using the manual below. The record should be created on the servers to which your domain is delegated.

  1. Open the DNS management page at the website of your DNS hosting company.

  2. Create a CNAME record with the following data (the names of the textboxes may vary depending on the CMS):

  3. Wait until the DNS changes are effective. It may take up to 72 hours.

If you set your CNAME when setting up a live resource, the "Setup instructions + Player" tab will describe the setting of CNAME on your DNS server and provide an additional CDN link to the playlist.

Authorization $

It is not possible to enable additional authorization for the entire resource.

You can configure additional authorization for a specific path in the Rules tab on the resource edit page.

Attention

Usually additional authorization is enabled for the path ~* \.m3u8$.

DVR

Enable this option if you want to use the Live Navigation (DVR) function.

Before activating the service, a manager will contact you.

Stream recording

Activate this function if you need to save the stream recording.

Before activating the service, a manager will contact you.

Resource Name

To change the resource name please specify the new name and then click “SAVE”.

Attention

The resource Name is generated automatically during the creation stage.

Rules

This section is intended for fine tuning the CDN network operation. After creating a resource, the "Rules" tab will appear on the resource editing page. In this tab, you can edit the base rule (which apply to the entire resource) or create individual rules for any section/path. Rules allow you to control headers, caching, CORS and authorization.

Basic

Specify path to a directory or to a particular file that the rule is to be applied to.

Headers

In this section, you can specify special headers that you want to add when accessing the data source ("to origin" type), or when distributing content to users ("to customer" type).

Timeouts

This section provides you an opportunity to specify acceptable timeouts for CDNvideo nodes requesting from your origin. If the acceptable timeout is exceeded, the CDN network will switch to another content resource, mentioned in the Content Source section.

Caching

This section provides you an opportunity to specify the caching time, depending on the response code (2xx, 3xx, 4xx, 5xx), set up ignoring cache management headers (Cache-Control and Expires), and enable taking into consideration query string parameters when caching.

CORS
Description

In some cases, a browser may treat a request to access to certain content hosted on a CDN network as a cross-domain request and block it. It is primarily related to fonts. The issue is addressed by setting CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) headers for cached objects.

There are two options:

  1. You can set CORS headers on the origin server and disable their verification in our network yourself.
  2. You can set up CORS verification in the Your Account section in our network.
Setup in Your Account

The CORS verification procedure provided for configuration is based on our proprietary module operation. Its functionality is based on W3C recommendations.

Module Operation Fundamentals:

  1. Where CORS is enabled, Access-Control-* headers from the origin are always ignored and excluded from the response.

  2. Any request without Origin header is not a cross-resource request, and Access-Control-* headers are not transmitted to the client.

  3. Our module never adds Access-Control-Request-* headers, since they are incoming request headers generated by the browser, same as Origin.

  4. Where there is an Origin header, its contents will be matched against that set by the user. In the absence of restrictions, the Access-Control-Allow-Origin response header will include "*", while where there are any restrictions and where Origin is on the allowed list, then ACAO will include http(s?)://${http_origin}; otherwise, the response will include Access-Control-* headers.

  5. Access-Control-Expose-Headers headers are added, if such headers are set by the user. By default, we state a permission to access Content-Range for the operation of range-requests (for JS-based players).

  6. Access-Control-Allow-Credentials (ACAC) headers are included in accordance to that set by the user.

  7. Access-Control-Allow-Methods, Access-Control-Allow-Headers, and Access-Control-Max-Age headers are included only in a response to a request based on the OPTIONS method, which is processed locally and not forwarded to the origin.

  8. Access-Control-Allow-Methods header is set to be equal to the contents of the Access-Control-Request-Method header, if such header is present and is on the list of simple requests (GET, HEAD, POST), or a list set by the user. Where the method is not on the allowed list, then the response will not include Access-Control-* headers. If a request does not contain Access-Control-Request-Method, no Access-Control-Allow-Methods will be set.

  9. Access-Control-Allow-Headers is set to be equal to the contents of the Access-Control-Request-Headers header, if such header is present, Access-Control-Request-Method request header is present, and all headers are on the list of simple headers (Accept, Accept-Language, Content-Type, Content-Language) or on the user-set list. Where at least one header is not on the allowed list, then the response will not contain Access-Control-* headers. Where a request does not contain Access-Control-Request-Method and Access-Control-Request-Headers, Access-Control-Allow-Headers will not be stated.

  10. Access-Control-Max-Age header will be stated in accordance with that set by the user, but not by default.

  11. Any additional response header, specified by the client, will be added/overridden after CORS module processing, while, for example, Access-Control-Allow-Origin: * in header sections will be added irrespective of the CORS module operation results.

Module Configuration Process

CORS verification is active by default. If CORS authorization is disabled, all preflight requests will be forwarded to your origin. The headers, described above and set on the origin, will not be affected and will be transmitted unchanged to end users.

You may adjust the module operation by setting the following parameters:

Allowed Domains (not verified by default, all domains are allowed)

Values may set by either of the following methods:

  1. example.com – exact match
  2. *.example.com - all subdomains example.com exclusive of example.com
  3. .example.com – all Level 3 domains inclusive of example.com
  4. ~a\d+\.example.com – regular expression

Secure Request Headers

Cache-Control, Content-Language, Content-Type, Expires, Last-Modified, Pragma are allowed by default. You may add your headers to this list.

Upper Level API Accessible Headers (Expose Headers)

Cache-Control, Content-Language, Content-Type, Expires, Last-Modified, Pragma are allowed by default. You may add your headers to this list.

Safe Methods

GET, HEAD, POST are allowed by default. You may add your methods to this list.

Access-Control-Allow-Credentials Header

Cookies, sessions, authorizations are incompatible with caching services due to their operating logic. However, if you need to set an Access-Control-Allow-Credentials header, you can do it.

Preflight Request Response Lifetime

A period of time during which a response to a Preflight request is deemed to be relevant.

Attention!

Irrespective of whether CORS authorization is enabled/disabled and its operation results, you may manually redefine any header for responses to end users. To this end, specify its name and desired value in "Headers" section. Authorization header value will be substituted with that specified by you after the CORS verification stage completion.

Authorization $

In this section, you can configure local or external authorization to restrict access to your content.

Local authorization $

Important!

If local authorization is enabled for rules that include playlists (m3u8, mpd), it is necessary to disable caching in these rules for them to work correctly.

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization $

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
Limitations $
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo limitations, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.

RTMP/RTSP-PULL

Configuration Guidelines

To publish a stream, you must specify a link to a stream with the RTMP or RTSP protocol. After that, you need to select the distribution protocols: RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, MSS or Low Latency Streaming. Before activating the service, a manager will contact you.

Stream transcoding

Enabling this service helps to avoid the buffering problem for viewers with slow internet connections and improve the user experience. This service must be activated to create multi-bitrate streams.

At the output, you get several streams of different quality, which allows the user to choose the option that suits him manually or leave an adaptive stream that adjusts automatically depending on the width of the user's channel.

When enabled, several packages are provided for your choice to convert the stream into several qualities.

Additional settings

SSL-certificate

Activate the service if you need to use an SSL certificate. You can use an existing certificate or issue a new one.

Player

Activate this service if you need a multifunctional HTML5 player.

Authorization
Local authorization

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
DVR

Enable this option if you want to use the Live Navigation (DVR) function.

Stream recording

Activate this function if you need to save the stream recording.

Domains to allow requests from (CORS)

CORS - resource sharing between different sources - is a technology in modern browsers that allows web pages to access resources from a different domain.

You can choose from several options: allow for everyone, deny for everyone, and add a list of trusted domains.

Limitations
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo limitations, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.

MPEG-TS-PUBLISH

Configuration Guidelines

To organize broadcasting using the MPEG-TS protocol, you need to specify the points of organizing the junction of your stream with the stream through the CDNvideo server, for this fill out the form "Describe the possible points of organizing the junction (city, data center)".

After that, you need to select the distribution protocols: RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, MSS or Low Latency Streaming.

Stream transcoding

Enabling this service helps to avoid the buffering problem for viewers with slow internet connections and improve the user experience. This service must be activated to create multi-bitrate streams.

At the output, you get several streams of different quality, which allows the user to choose the option that suits him manually or leave an adaptive stream that adjusts automatically depending on the width of the user's channel.

Additional settings

HTTPS support

Activate the service if you need HTTPS protocol. HTTPS is an extension of the standard HTTP protocol to support encryption for increased security.

SSL-certificate

Activate the service if you need to use an SSL certificate. You can use an existing certificate or issue a new one.

Player

Activate this service if you need a multifunctional HTML5 player.

Authorization
Local authorization

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
DVR

Enable this option if you want to use the Live Navigation (DVR) function.

Stream recording

Activate this function if you need to save the stream recording.

Domains to allow requests from (CORS)

CORS - resource sharing between different sources - is a technology in modern browsers that allows web pages to access resources from a different domain.

You can choose from several options: allow for everyone, deny for everyone, and add a list of trusted domains.

Limitations
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo limitations, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.

ICECAST-PULL

Configuration Guidelines

To publish a stream, you must specify a link to a stream with the ICECAST protocol. After that, you need to select the protocols for further distribution: RTMP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, MSS or Low Latency Streaming.

Additional settings

SSL-certificate

Activate the service if you need to use an SSL certificate. You can use an existing certificate or issue a new one.

Authorization
Local authorization

Description:

Authorization of user requests is performed exclusively in the CDN network, external resources are not used. The decision to access a stream is made by means of our network based on the criteria specified by the content owner:

  1. Secret key. It is checked that the link was generated by the content owner.
  2. The URI of the requested stream. It is checked that the link was generated specifically for this stream.
  3. User's IP address (optional). It is checked that the stream was requested from exactly the IP address for which the link was generated. You can disable the check by selecting the "Do not impose IP address filter" option.
  4. The expiration time of the link (optional). You can turn off the check by selecting the "Do not impose time restrictions" option.

At the moment the user accesses a protected stream, the content owner needs to generate a special link.

Example:

http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

The link contains authorization parameter md5(<md5 hash>[,<expires>]):

  • <md5 hash> - MD5 hash in Base64 format for URL, generated based on secret key, URI of the requested stream, user's IP address (optional) and link lifetime (optional);
  • <expires> is the expiration time of the link in POSIX time format (optional).

When accessing content using the generated link, the CDN calculates the MD5 value and compares it with the received one. If the MD5 value does not match, then a 403 Forbidden response is returned to the user (access is denied).

If the current time exceeds the value <expires>, then a response with the code 410 Gone (the target stream is no longer available) is returned to the user.

Algorithm for generating an MD5 hash (<md5_hash>) for signing links:

  • Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. The <ip> and/or <expire_time> elements are not added to the signature string if Do not impose IP address filter and/or Do not impose time restrictions is specified in the local authorization settings.
  • Generate base64_url via base64_url(md5(<signature string>)).
  • Generate the <md5 hash> signature by performing the following substitutions in base64_url:
    • replace the = character with the empty string ''.
    • replace the + character with -
    • replace the / character with _
  • Form the link using the obtained signature <md5 hash>.

Attention

  1. The domain part of the URI is not used when calculating the hash!
  2. You can sign part of the path (for example, for /path/to/stream, you can sign the stream itself, /path/to, /path)
  3. When generating MD5, the URL should not contain urlencoded characters, but should contain the original characters: cyrillic, spaces, percentages, etc. Then you should request the urlencoded version of the URL with this hash.
  4. The MD5 hash calculated for HTTP is the baseline for this stream. The same hash will be used for links to a stream over the HTTP, HTTPS protocols, despite the fact that the URI for different protocols may differ slightly.

Example of link generation:

  1. There are the following input data:

    • Secret key: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k
    • User IP address: 1.2.3.4
    • Stream URI: http://example.a.trbcdn.net/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8
    • Expiration time of the link: 1704067200
  2. Form the signature string <secret_word><path_to_stream><ip><expire_time>. Let's assume that we include both IP address and link expiration time.

    Then the signature string looks like this: zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200

  3. Generate <md5 hash>:

    PHP example:

    $ php -r 'print str_replace("=", "",strtr(base64_encode(md5("zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k/path/to/stream1.2.3.41704067200", TRUE)), "+/", "-_")) . "\n";'
    HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

    Python example:

    #!/usr/bin/python3
    import base64
    import hashlib
    
    secret_word = 'zah5Mey9Quu8Ea1k'
    path = '/path/to/stream'
    ip_address = '1.2.3.4'
    expiration_timestamp = 1704067200
    
    def generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address=None, timestamp=None):
        string_to_sign = f'{secret_word}{path}'
        if ip_address is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{ip_address}'
        if timestamp is not None:
            string_to_sign = f'{string_to_sign}{timestamp}'
    
        hashed_string = hashlib.md5(string_to_sign.encode()).digest()
        decoded_base64_string = base64.b64encode(hashed_string).decode()
        local_signature = decoded_base64_string.replace('+', '-').replace('/', '_').replace('=', '')
        return local_signature
    
    print(generate_local_signature(secret_word, path, ip_address, expiration_timestamp))
    # HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ
    

  4. Result link:

    http://example.a.trbcdn.net/md5(HucJ8tJFjy97yuox2OycOQ,1704067200)/path/to/stream/playlist.m3u8

External authorization

External authorization is designed to be able to restrict access to the stream with custom logic described in your authorization script. A decision to access the stream is made based on response of your script.

If the authorization script responded with status code = 200, then access to the stream is allowed. Otherwise, access is denied.

The following headers are passed to the authorization script:

  • Host: contains the domain name of the server for which the request is intended;
  • X-Request-URI: contains the URI of the requested stream;
  • X-Forwarded-For: contains the real IP address of the user;
  • X-Remote-Addr: contains the IP address of the user or the proxy server.
Limitations
Description

In this section you can set up limitations by country and region, IP address, referer or useragent

Module Configuration Process
  1. Activate the type of limitation you need and select the default rule (deny or allow).
  2. Add exceptions to the default rule. For geo restrictions, also select the rule for the exclusion itself. Thus, you can, for example, deny traffic for the entire country, while allowing it for a specific region.
  3. Set the time intervals for the rule if required. The intervals must not overlap.
  4. You can add several rules of each type, but their time intervals must not overlap.
DVR

Enable this option if you want to use the Live Navigation (DVR) function.

Works only with HLS distribution.

Stream recording

Activate this function if you need to save the stream recording.

Works only with HLS distribution.