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When creating an automatic scaling broadcasting cluster you specify the AWS, Azure or GCP instance type that will be used for this cluster. 

Make sure to select an instance type that supports the type of processing that will be done on this cluster.  ZEN Master supports both standard CPU instances as well as Nvidia GPU instances on AWS, Azure and GCP (including p3.2xlarge NVIDIA GPU instances in AWS, which support both HEVC decoding and encoding, and Tesla K80 and P100 instances in GCP).

To add a Broadcaster Cluster with automatic scaling:

  1. In the main navigation, click Broadcasters.
  2. Click + Add.
    The Broadcaster Cluster screen is displayed:
  3. In the Name field, type a logical name for the Zixi Cluster resource.
  4. In the Access Tag field, select one or more of the predefined Access Tags from the drop-down menu. Access Tags are used for access control. By selecting an Access Tags you are relating this Cluster to an Access Tag. Access 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 Access Tag see section Creating an Access Tag.
  5. In the DNS Prefix field, enter a unique domain name for sending sources to this cluster.
  6. Under Cluster Type, select one or both of the following options (a single cluster can be defined as multiple types):
    • Ingest – An Ingest cluster is used to configure inputs and make them available as sources in ZEN Master.
    • Channel Processing – A Channel Processing cluster is used to process sources and/or to send them to specified targets.

  7. In the Scaling Account field, for automatic scaling, 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 auto-scaling account see Configuring AWS Account Credentials, Configuring Microsoft Azure Account Credentials or Configuring Google GCP Account Credentials.

    To create a Broadcaster Cluster with manual scaling see Adding a Broadcaster Cluster – Manual Scaling.

    Auto-scaling accounts need to have at least one VPC defined.

  8. Select the IP Whitelist 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).

    If you select IP Whitelist, then you must use ZEN authorization mode for this cluster.

    If you select 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.

  9. Select the DTLS checkbox if you would like to activate DTLS encryption and authentication. (This feature is only supported for Broadcasters running v12.2+.)
  10. If you selected the DTLS checkbox then the Ignore DTLS certificate when not supported checkbox appears. 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.
  11. Under Load Balance Pull Targets, select one of the following load balancing methods for Pull outputs:
    • Minimize the number of broadcasters – transfers excess load to other broadcasters only when the alloted capacity on the host broadcaster is filled.
    • Uniform distribution – distributes the load equally between all available broadcasters under all circumstances.

  12. Click Continue.
    The Broadcaster Cluster window for auto-scaling is displayed.

    The fields shown in the following screenshot are for an AWS cluster. For Azure or GCP clusters, the required fields differ slightly as described below.


  13. Fill in your auto scaling account details as follows:
    • For an AWS cluster –
      1. In the Region field, select from the drop-down list the region of the AWS account.
      2. In the Key Pair field, 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.

      3. In the VPC field, select from the drop-down list one of the available VPC (Virtual Private Cloud) networks to which the cluster will be connected.

      4. In the Subnets field, select from the drop-down list one or more of the subnets that are available in this VPC.
      5. In the Security Groups field, 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).
      6. If you selected IP Whitelist option (on the previous screen) then the Manage security groups via Zen IP Whitelist option is displayed. Select this checkbox to use the IP Whitelist to manage your AWS security.
      7. In the Instance Type field, select from the drop-down list one of the available AWS instance types that will be used in this cluster.
      8. In the Root Device Size field, enter the capacity of the hard drive (in GiB).
      9. In the Initial Size field, enter the minimal number of instances that will be created in the cluster. (Default value: 1)
    • For an Azure cluster -
      1. In the Location field, select from the drop-down list the location of the account to be used for this cluster.

      2. In the Virtual Network field, select from the drop-down list a VN in your Azure account.

        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.

      3. In the Subnet field, select from the drop-down list a subnet that is available in the specified VN.
      4. In the Network Security Group field, select from the drop-down list a network security group for this cluster.
    • For a GCP account –
      1. In the Region field, select from the drop-down list the region of the GCP account.
      2. In the Zones field, select from the drop-down list one or more zones in the specified region.
      3. In the Nework field, select from the drop-down list one or more of the subnets that are available in the specified region.
      4. In the Machine Type field, select from the drop-down list the type of machine to be used for the cluster.
      5. In the GPU Type field, select from the drop-down list the type of GPU to be used for the cluster.
      6. In the Root Device Size field, specify the size of the root device in GB.
  14. In the Activation Key field, input the activation key for your Zixi Broadcaster license.
  15. In the API User field, enter the username for accessing the Zixi Broadcaster via API.
  16. In the API Password field, enter the password for accessing the Zixi Broadcaster via API.
  17. In the Broadcaster version field, select from the drop-down list the Zixi Broadcaster version that you want to install.
  18. Click Continue.
    The Broadcaster Cluster Authorization Mode window opens:
  19. In the Authorization Mode field, select one of the following options:
    • ZEN – ZEN Master automatically verifies the authorization for each ZEN entity (e.g. sources, channels and targets) that accesses the Broadcaster cluster. You can select Push Inputs and/or Pull Outputs to allow access to inputs not configured in ZEN.
    • 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 should be entered in the Source Password field of the Source configuration. In the Password field, enter the password OR click RND 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.

      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.

  20. If you would like to adjust the advanced settings, click Show Advanced.
    The Advanced settings window is displayed:

    1. You can adjust the following settings:

      • 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 –Enter comma separated Elastic IP Allocation IDs.
      • Bandwidth Limits Input/Output – set the bandwidth limits.
      • HLS/DASH segment configuration – configure the Count and Duration parameters for HLS and DASH segments on this Broadcaster Cluster.
      • Error/Warning Thresholds – You can adjust the threshold for triggering Warnings and Error alerts for excessive CPU/GPU usage on this Broadcaster Cluster. The thresholds can be adjusted for the following events1:
        • CPU Error – percentage of CPU being used.
        • Memory Error – percentage of memory being used.
        • Hard Drive Error – percentage of the hard drive that is full.
        • GPU Error – percentage of GPU being used.
        • GPU Memory Error – percentage of GPU memory being used.
        • GPU Decoder Warning – percentage of GPU decoder pipeline being used.
        • GPU Encoder Warning – percentage of GPU encoder pipeline being used.

      The default configuration settings are shown in each field.

      When a Broadcaster exceeds an error threshold it goes into Error state. As long as a broadcaster isn't in Error state, ZEN Master may assign additional Channels to that broadcaster. Therefore, the thresholds should be set at levels that enable the broadcaster to handle additional tasks. Because transcoding uses extensive resources, there is a separate set of Transcode Thresholds that determine whether an additional transcoded Channel can be added to the broadcaster, see below.

    2. When you have completed this step, click Hide Advanced.
  21. If you would like to adjust the transcode thresholds, click Transcode Thresholds.
    The Transcode Threshold window opens.

    1. The transcode thresholds are used by ZEN Master to determine whether an additional transcoded Channel can be added to the broadcaster. The following thresholds can be adjusted:
      • CPU Threshold – percentage of CPU being used.
      • Memory Threshold – percentage of memory being used.
      • GPU Threshold – percentage of GPU being used.
      • GPU Memory Threshold – percentage of GPU memory being used.
      • GPU Decoder Threshold – percentage of GPU decoder pipeline being used.
      • GPU Encoder Threshold – percentage of GPU encoder pipeline being used.
    2. When you have completed this step, click Back.
  22. Click Save.
    The new Broadcaster cluster is created in the system and added to the list of Broadcaster clusters. The status should change from Pending to OK after a few minutes.


1. The GPU thresholds are only relevant for transcoding workflows using Intel Quick Sync or NVIDIA GPUs.

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