Learn how to download and install Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software, confirm the installation was successful, and test playback of a video-on-demand (VOD) clip in Wowza Streaming Engine Manager.
Note: To update from a previous version of Wowza Streaming Engine or to perform a silent installation, see the following articles instead:
Video tutorial: Install and configure Wowza Streaming Engine on Windows
Before you start
You should complete the following tasks:
- Confirm that your computer meets the minimum system requirements for running Wowza Streaming Engine by reviewing the Wowza Streaming Engine Specifications. We recommend installing on 64-bit operating systems.
- Ensure that the ports you use for streaming are open on your firewall. In many enterprise environments, you'll need the approval and the assistance of a network administrator to modify settings in the core router or firewall. In home or small-office environments, you may have to configure "port forwarding" traffic of the port you're using to the port and IP address of your server. For more information, see your router or firewall documentation. For information on ports used for streaming with Wowza Streaming Engine, see Configure streaming ports.
You should also be aware of the following best practices:
- Use the version of Java that installs by default for optimal performance and stability.
- Install and run only one version and instance of Wowza Streaming Engine on a single computer.
Download and install Wowza Streaming Engine
Wowza Streaming Engine is a powerful Java-based media server. When you install Wowza Streaming Engine, it automatically installs the server version of Java that it requires. In addition, an installation wizard guides you through the process, making it easy to get Wowza Streaming Engine up and running.
- If you don’t already have the Wowza Streaming Engine installer on your system, go to the Wowza Downloads webpage and click Download for the installer for your desired operating system.
- When the download completes, do one of the following:
- Windows – Double-click the file WowzaStreamingEngine-4.9.1+2-windows-installer.exe.
- Linux – Navigate to the folder that contains the downloaded package and then execute the following commands:
sudo chmod +x WowzaStreamingEngine-4.9.1+2-linux-x64-installer.run sudo ./WowzaStreamingEngine-4.9.1+2-linux-x64-installer.run
- In the installation wizard, accept the terms of the license agreement.
- Enter a valid product license key. If you acquired a new license key, you'll find it in the email that you received from Wowza Sales. If you have a previous version of Wowza Streaming Engine installed, look for the license key in the [install-dir]/conf/Server.license file.
- Create a user name and password for an Administrator account. You'll use these credentials to sign in to the browser-based Wowza Streaming Engine Manager. The user name and password are case-sensitive.
- Confirm or change the install location. By default, Wowza Streaming Engine installs files in the following locations:
- Windows – /Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine 4.9.1+2/
- Linux – /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine-4.9.1+2/ (as the root user)
- Confirm or change the Startup Configuration option to use. Wowza Streaming Engine can run as a system service or in standalone mode from a command shell. By default, the Start Wowza Streaming Engine automatically check box is selected, instructing the server software and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager to start automatically as system services.
- Running as a system service is often used for server deployments where the server must continue to run after you log off the computer or must be automatically started when the computer is rebooted.
- Running in standalone mode is best for developing custom applications because the server can be started and stopped quickly, and server log messages can be viewed immediately in the console window. For information about running Wowza Streaming Engine in standalone mode and manually starting and stopping the server software, see Start and stop Wowza Streaming Engine.
- Click Finish.
Confirm that Wowza Streaming Engine is running
Confirm that Wowza Streaming Engine is running by opening a web browser and entering the URL:
http://[wowza-ip-address]:1935/ServerVersion
where [wowza-ip-address] is the IP address or domain of the Wowza Streaming Engine server. For example:
http://localhost:1935/ServerVersion
If Wowza Streaming Engine installed correctly, the browser displays the Wowza Streaming Engine version number. If it doesn't, check to see if the server software installed correctly and that TCP port 1935 is open on your router, firewall, and in your iptables.
Sign in to Wowza Streaming Engine Manager
Now that you know Wowza Streaming Engine is installed correctly, sign in to Wowza Streaming Engine Manager.
You can use Wowza Streaming Engine Manager with the latest version of most modern browsers that support HTML5 and Cascading Style Sheets level 3 (CSS 3). For best results, we recommend using the latest version of Google Chrome.
By default, Wowza Streaming Engine is configured to accept connections from Wowza Streaming Engine Manager on the localhost. For information about how to connect to Wowza Streaming Engine on a remote (non-localhost) computer, see Connect to remote Wowza Streaming Engine instances.
- Open a web browser and enter the URL:
where [wowza-ip-address] is the IP address or domain of the Wowza Streaming Engine server that you want to test. For example:
http://localhost:8088/enginemanager
- Enter the User Name and Password you specified when you installed Wowza Streaming Engine.
- Click Sign In.
Play a video-on-demand test stream
Wowza Streaming Engine installs a sample VOD file that you can use to test whether the software is running properly and can serve content.
- In Wowza Streaming Engine Manager, create a new VOD application.
- Click the Applications tab and then click Add Application in the contents panel.
- On the Add Application page, click the VOD Single server button to select that application type.
- In the New Application dialog box, enter a name and then click Add.
- Click Save.
- From your application's page, click Test Playback. The Test Playback window is configured to use the sample.mp4 video file that installs with Wowza Streaming Engine.
- Copy one of the playback URLs.
When you can successfully play sample.mp4, then Wowza Streaming Engine is running properly.
Next steps
If you experienced a problem installing Wowza Streaming Engine, see Troubleshoot Wowza Streaming Engine installation.
After successfully installing Wowza Streaming Engine, see any of the following articles, depending on what you want to do or learn next.
- Find your way around Wowza Streaming Engine Manager
- Get started as a Wowza Streaming Engine Manager administrator
- Start and stop Wowza Streaming Engine
- Tune Wowza Streaming Engine for optimal performance
- Understanding protocols and output formats supported by Wowza Streaming Engine
- Set up live streaming using an RTMP-based encoder in Wowza Streaming Engine
