Build redundancy into your production workflow by using more than one Wowza ClearCaster™ appliance to deliver a live stream to a destination. If one ClearCaster appliance breaks or is disconnected from the destination, a second ClearCaster appliance can continue to supply the source video.
You can connect the redundant ClearCaster to the same source that provides video to the primary ClearCaster appliance (providing an exact copy of the stream) or to a different video source to provide an alternative perspective or different content altogether.
For true redundancy, the second ClearCaster appliance should use a different power supply and network connection from the primary appliance.
Note: For additional resiliency, Wowza ClearCaster Enterprise models have redundant power supplies.
Before you start
You should have access to the following items:
- A Wowza account and a ClearCaster subscription.
- Two registered ClearCaster appliances. See Register Wowza ClearCaster with Wowza.
- Two video sources with internet connection. See Get started with Wowza ClearCaster for information about how to connect your Wowza ClearCaster appliances and video sources.
Go live with your redundant broadcasts
Create two broadcasts. You need a broadcast for each appliance. See Create Wowza ClearCaster broadcasts if you have not already created two broadcasts.
- All broadcast options except Facebook Paired - The two broadcasts need two different Server URLs. To change the ingest URL at any time, click Edit, change the Server URL, and click Save Broadcast.
- Facebook Paired broadcasts - Be sure Primary ingest stream is selected for the main ClearCaster appliance in the Create Broadcast dialog and not for the backup ingest, and that both broadcasts are paired to the same Facebook destination on the Broadcast Setup page. See Manage Facebook Paired broadcasts to learn about account pairing.
- All broadcast options except Facebook Paired - The two broadcasts need two different Server URLs. To change the ingest URL at any time, click Edit, change the Server URL, and click Save Broadcast.
You are now ready to go live. Click Go Live on both the primary and redundant broadcasts.
Your destination receives a source stream from your primary ClearCaster appliance at the primary ingest URL and a backup stream from your secondary ClearCaster appliance at the backup ingest URL.
Note: ClearCaster appliances used in this redundant configuration aren't keyframe-aligned. However, they leverage the same Network Time Protocol (NTP) server using UTC time, and their RTMP streams have aligned timecodes.
