Broadcaster Cluster Configuration Parameters Table (for Manual and Managed Clusters)

Parameter

Description

Name

Specify the name of the Broadcaster Cluster in ZEN Master.

Tags

Select one or more of the predefined Tags from the drop-down list.

Tags are used for access control. By selecting an Tag, you are relating this Broadcaster Cluster to that Tag. Tags are associated with certain roles (through the Users & Roles screen), and roles, in turn, are associated with users and user groups. If you would like to create a new Tag, see Creating a Tag.

Select from the dropdown list the profile that you would like to apply to this Cluster. By default, the Default profile is applied.

Note: Events Profiles consist of a series of rules that determine precisely how various types of Events are logged and what results they trigger.

DNS Prefix

Specify a unique domain name for sending Sources to this cluster.

IP Whitelist

Select this checkbox if you would like to control access to this cluster by limiting access to Push inputs and Pull outputs to specific IP address (for an AWS cluster this will enable you to control the AWS security groups).

Note: If you select IP Whitelist, then you must use ZEN Authorization mode for this cluster.

Note: If you selected IP Whitelist then after configuring the Broadcaster Cluster you must input the IPs that will have access to this cluster, see Adding IPs to the Whitelist.

DTLS

Select this checkbox if you would like to encrypt the stream dynamically using DTLS. (This feature is supported for v12.2+ Broadcasters)

Ignore DTLS certificate when not supported (for DTLS)

Select this checkbox if you would like to enable resources using older versions of Zixi software (<v12.2) that don't support verification of the ZEN DTLS certificate to connect to this cluster.

Load Balance Pull Targets

Select one of the following load balancing methods for Pull outputs:

• Minimize the number of broadcasters (default) – transfers excess load to other broadcasters only when the allotted capacity on the host broadcaster is filled.
• Uniform distribution – distributes the load equally between all available broadcasters under all circumstances.

Select this checkbox if you would like to log SCTE-35 markers for streams in this cluster.

Note: To log SCTE-35 markers, SCTE-35 needs to be enabled both on the Ingest Cluster and in the Source configuration.

Note: SCTE-35 logging is only available for v13.1.40262+ Broadcasters.

Management Type

Select one of the AWS, Azure or GCP accounts configured in ZEN Master from the list shown under AWS, Azure or GCP in the drop-down menu. To create a new cloud service account see Linking an AWS Account, Linking an Azure Account or Linking a Google GCP Account.

Region

Select from the drop-down list the AWS region.

Key Pair

Select from the drop-down list one of the available Key Pairs to access the cluster. If no Key Pair is displayed, then go to your Amazon account to setup your Key Pair.

VPC

Select from the drop-down list one of the available VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) networks to which the cluster will be connected.

Subnets

Select from the drop-down list one or more of the subnets that are available in this VPC.

Security Groups

Select from the drop-down list one or more of the security groups associated with this VPC. If no Security Group is displayed then go to your Amazon Account to configure your security groups (for guidance in setting up your Security Groups see Amazon Security Groups) or use the ZEN IP Whitelist to manage your AWS security (see the following step).

Manage security groups via ZEN Master IP Whitelist (for IP Whitelist)

Select this checkbox to use the IP Whitelist to manage your AWS security.

Instance Type

Select from the drop-down list one of the available AWS instance types that will be used in this cluster.

Root Device Size [GiB]

Specify the capacity of the hard drive (in GiB).

Region

Select from the drop-down list the location of the account to be used for this cluster.

Virtual Network

Select from the drop-down list a VN in your Azure account.

Note: You need to have a Virtual Network in your Azure account in order to be able to create a Broadcaster Cluster in ZEN Master. If you don’t have a VN in your account, you can create one via the Azure portal.

Subnet

Select from the drop-down list a subnet that is available in the specified VN.

Network Security Group

Select from the drop-down list a network security group for this cluster.

Region

Select from the drop-down list the region of the GCP account.

Zones

Select from the drop-down list one or more zones in the specified region.

Network

Select from the drop-down list one or more of the subnets that are available in the specified region.

Machine Type

Select from the drop-down list the type of machine to be used for the cluster.

Note: Both n1 and n2 machine types are supported.

GPU Type

Select from the drop-down list the type of GPU to be used for the cluster.

Root Device Size

Specify the size of the root device in GiB.

Activation Key

Enter the activation key for your Zixi Broadcaster license.

API User

Enter the username for accessing the Zixi Broadcaster via API.

API Password

Enter the password for accessing the Zixi Broadcaster via API.

Broadcaster Version

Select from the drop-down list the Zixi Broadcaster version that you want to install.

Authorization Mode

Select one of the following options:

• ZEN Master – ZEN Master automatically verifies the authorization for each ZEN entity (e.g. Sources, Channels and Targets) that accesses the Broadcaster cluster. If you would like to allow access to inputs/outputs that are not configured in ZEN Master, then in the Allow access… section, select the Push Inputs and/or Pull Outputs
• External Server – the request for content is relayed to an Authorization Server. In the Authorization Server field, enter the URL of the external server.
• Global Password – Broadcasters are automatically configured to authorize all connections using a single global password. The global password will be used in the Source Password field when you configure a Source. In the Password field, enter the password OR click Random to generate a random password.
• Free for All – Broadcasters will be automatically configured to allow all inputs/outputs to connect. Select Inputs and/or Outputs to automatically allow them to connect.
• Manual – ZEN will not authorize connections. You will need to authorize each connection independently.

Note: All authorization modes other than Manual will override the authorization configured on your Broadcasters. Therefore, if you have streams on your Broadcasters that are not configured on ZEN Master, then any mode other than Manual or Free for All may interrupt those streams.

Allow Access to inputs not configured in ZEN Master (for ZEN Master Authorization)

Select the Push Inputs checkbox if you would like to automatically allow access to Push Inputs. Select the Pull Outputs checkbox if you would like to automatically allow access to Pull Outputs.

Management Type

Select Manual. After creating a manual Broadcaster cluster, you must configure each Broadcaster instance for use in the cluster. To do this, see Adding a Broadcaster to a Manual Cluster.

Authorization Mode

Select one of the following options:

• ZEN Master – ZEN Master automatically verifies the authorization for each ZEN entity (e.g. Sources, Channels and Targets) that accesses the Broadcaster cluster. If you would like to allow access to inputs/outputs that are not configured in ZEN Master, then in the Allow access… section, select the Push Inputs and/or Pull Outputs
• Global Password – Broadcasters are automatically configured to authorize all connections using a single global password. The global password will be used in the Source Password field when you configure a Source. In the Password field, enter the password OR click Random to generate a random password.
• Free for All – Broadcasters will be automatically configured to allow all inputs/outputs to connect. Select Inputs and/or Outputs to automatically allow them to connect.
• Manual – ZEN will not authorize connections. You will need to authorize each connection independently.

Note: All authorization modes other than Manual will override the authorization configured on your Broadcasters. Therefore, if you have streams on your Broadcasters that are not configured on ZEN Master, then any mode other than Manual or Free for All may interrupt those streams.

Allow access to inputs not configured in ZEN Master (for ZEN Master Authorization)

Select the Push Inputs checkbox if you would like to automatically allow access to Push Inputs. Select the Pull Outputs checkbox if you would like to automatically allow access to Pull Outputs.

HTTP Streaming Port

You can change the HTTP streaming port from the default (7777) to a custom port. The custom port should match the configuration on the Zixi Broadcaster.

Elastic IP Allocation IDs (for Managed)

Enter comma separated Elastic IP Allocation IDs.

Bandwidth Limits Input/Output

Specify the bandwidth limits in Mbps.

Default HLS/ DASH segment configuration (for Managed)

Specify the Count and Duration parameters for HLS and DASH segments on this Broadcaster Cluster.

Transcode Thresholds

These are used by ZEN Master to determine whether an additional transcoded Channel can be added to the broadcaster. Adjust the following thresholds as desired:

CPU Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of CPU being used.

Memory Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of memory being used.

GPU Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of GPU being used.

GPU Memory Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of GPU memory being used.

GPU Decoder Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of GPU decoder pipeline being used.

GPU Encoder Threshold [%]

Specify the percentage of GPU encoder pipeline being used.