Wowza Media Server Frequently Asked Questions

Installation

What OS platforms does Wowza Media Server run on?
Wowza Media Server is a Java server and will run on any platform that supports the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5 (a.k.a. 1.5) or 6. Wowza Media Server is multi-threaded at its core and can take full advantage of the 64-bit capabilities of Java. Install packages are available for Windows, Red Hat and Debian Linux, Mac OS X, and generic Linux/Unix/Solaris. You will also need to have Java Runtime Environment (JRE) or Java Development Kit (JDK) installed on the system with Wowza Media Server. Java download information can be found on our Support page.

What are the hardware requirements?
As a minimum we recommend a dual core system with at least 1 GB of RAM per core. To get the most throughput out of Wowza Media Server we suggest you use RAID 0 or RAID 10 configurations with at least 2 or more disks in the array. Depending upon your application and load, you may need more or less horsepower.

Where can I download Java Runtime Environment (JRE)?
Java downloads are available at http://java.sun.com.

I've installed Wowza Media Server but it is not running.
Make sure that you have Java Runtime Environment installed on the system. If you don't have it installed, the Java download instructions can be found on our Support page.

Flash Player Client Communications

What protocol does Wowza Media Server use?
Wowza Media Server communicates with the Adobe Flash Player client using RTMP, RTMPT, RTMPS, RTMPE ad RTMPTE. Your choice of the RTMP variant depends upon your application needs.

Does Wowza Media Server work with standard Adobe Flash Players?
Yes. Wowza Pro has been tested by Wowza and used by thousands of licensees in numerous applications using Flash Player 7, 8, 9 and 10(beta). Wowza Pro has remained compatable with Flash player changes. In fact, Wowza Pro 1.0.0 maintains its full functionality with Flash Player 10 beta 2. (We have made many upgrades to Wowza since then, so it is best to be on the latest release.)

Does Wowza Media Server support Remote Shared Objects?
Wowza Media Server implements the server component of Remote Shared Objects.

Integration

Can I use the Flash FLVPlayback component with Wowza Media Server?
Yes. Make sure you follow the instructions as posted in the Forums at http://www.wowzamedia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171.

Can I use server-side programming with Wowza Media Server?
Yes. Server-side programming in version 1.0 is in Java. It offers an extensive API to give you maximum flexibility. For more information please refer to the Wowza Media Server API and the Wowza Media Server to FMS API Mapping documents found on the Resources page.

Can I use client-side programming?
Yes. Wowza Media Server supports Flash Media Server client-side ActionScript API.

Are there any differences between Wowza Media Server API and FMS API?
The Wowza Media Server API covers an extensive set of functionality, including a number of unique features that are not available with the FMS. The mapping between the APIs is documented in the Wowza Media Server to FMS API Mapping document.

Does Wowza Media Server provide backend system integration?
Our extensible Java API provides a wide variety of system integration options. Integrations options include: web services, JNI (Java Native Interface), direct Java integration, XML, remote procedure calls and others.

Is there a tool for server-side programming?
You can utilize industry-standard development tools to accomplish the server-side programming tasks. For this we recommend Wowza's free Eclipse-based Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which greatly simplifies the leap into the Java development world. There are numerous advantages gained when using Wowza IDE as it allows you to easily create, debug and validate your server-side code prior to deployment. Eclipse is being embraced by many development communities, including the Flash community with Flex, as a great cross platform, cross language and cross runtime development platform. The download information for this free development tool can be found on our Labs page.

How easy is it to port my application from FMS to Wowza Media Server?
Our users have ported numerous applications with great success. The level of difficulty depends upon the amount of server side programming that was employed.

Do you offer a development tool for server-side programming?
Yes. Wowza Integrated Development Environment (Wowza IDE) is a free tool based on the popular Eclipse applications framework. It greatly simplifies and streamlines the task of extending, configuring and managing Wowza Media Server Pro.

Administration & Management

What is the management model for Wowza Media Server?
Wowza Media Server uses a flexible, standards-based Java Management Extension (JMX) interface that works with a variety of administration consoles and management systems such as the HP OpenView. Please refer to the product documentation for the specific details.

What administration consoles can I use?
The server can be administered with any JMX-compatible administration console such as JConsole (available with the Java JDK) or the open source MC4J JMX browser. Both are available free of charge - for download information go to our Support page. Wowza Media Server can also be administered from HP OpenView, Tivoli, IBM Websphere, BEA Weblogic and many other management platforms.

Can I manage Wowza Pro from one central point?
Yes, Wowza offers a free Centralized Management utility that you can employ to manage many Wowza Pro servers from a central point. Contact Wowza for additional information.

Operation & Support

Does Wowza Media Server support H.264/HE-AAC streaming?
Yes. H.264 video and HE-AAC audio streaming are fully supported, including our exclusive live H.264/HE-AAC streaming using RTSP/RTP encoders.

Can I use RTSP/RTP H.264 media encoders with Wowza Pro?
Wowza Pro supports a wide range of RTSP/RTP encoders that you can use for H.264/HE-AAC streaming. For an up to date listing of compatible encoders visit Wowza Media System Forums: Live Encoders.

Can I use MPEG-TS H.264 media encoders with Wowza Pro?
Wowza Pro Unlimited with MPEG-TS edition supports MPEG-TS encoders that you can use for H.264/HE-AAC streaming. For an up to date listing of compatible encoders visit Wowza Media System Forums: Live Encoders.

Does Wowza Media Server support virtual hosting?
Yes. Wowza Media Server can be configured to run multiple virtual host environments. Each of these virtual host environments has its own set of configuration files, application folders and log files. This arrangement enables a single server to serve multiple users in separate environments.

How can I get support?
Wowza provides FREE Forums or email support. Please check our Support page.

I can't get my .flv content to play from Wowza Pro, what do I do?
Make sure you follow the instructions as posted in the Forums at http://www.wowzamedia.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171.

Do you support re-streaming of SHOUTcast or Icecast streams?
Yes. Wowza Pro supports re-streaming of MP3 and HE-AAC SHOUTcast/Icecast streams to the Flash Player client.

Performance & Scalability

Is Wowza Media Server scalable?
Yes. Wowza Media Server is a highly scalable, tightly coded multi-threaded Java server. Wowza Media Server effectively utilizes CPU (up to 8 cores) and memory resources to let you get more connection capacity out of any given hardware. The connection capacity in most cases is limited by the disk or network I/O performance.

How does Wowza Pro perform for live streaming?
Wowza Pro sets a new benchmark for live streaming in terms of the concurrent connection capacity, stability, and interoperability with live encoders. In our testing a single Wowza Pro Unlimited delivered 2000 simultaneous live video streams at 512 kbps each on ordinary dual-core hardware (see test results). Additionally, Wowza Pro has shown superior stability in long-term live streaming tests with (weeks of continuous, uninterrupted live streaming) with various live encoders.

Have you conducted any performance tests?
Yes. Sample tests were conducted as follows:

CPU: Single Dual Core Xeon 5160, 4MB Cache, 3.00 GHz, 1333MHz FSB
Memory: 2GB
Disk IO (streaming disks): 2X 36GB, SAS, 15K RPM Hard Drives, RAID 0 (striping)
Disk IO (OS disk): 1X 250GB, SATA, 7K RPM Hard Drive
Network: Dual 1Gb controller

OS: Fedora Core 6
JRE: Sun Java6-Update1

Connections: 700
Files: 400 (random selection of files)
Video bitrate: 400kbs
Audio bitrate: 96kbs
Overall bitrate per file: ~512kbs (with overhead)
Results: 368Mbs (no connections starved for data)
Memory Usage: 361MB
RTMP: CPU: 14.5%
RTMPE: CPU: 22.6%

Connections: 1800
Files: 1
Video bitrate: 400kbs
Audio bitrate: 96kbs
Overall bitrate per file: ~512kbs (with overhead)
Results: 900Mbs (no connections starved for data)
Memory Usage: 543MB
RTMP: CPU: 35%

Connections: 2000
Live Video: ~512kbps On2 Flix Live stream
Results: 840Mbs (no connections starved for data)
Memory Usage: 267MB
RTMP: CPU: 21%

These tests were performed using Wowza Media Server Pro 1.5.2-patch1 and were not specifically performance tuned.

How can I maximize the server performance?
A lot of Wowza Media Server performance is driven by the underlying systems I/O performance. Wowza Media Server can only go as fast as the server can deliver .flv bits from the disk. To get the most throughput out of Wowza Media Server we suggest you use RAID 0 or RAID 10 configurations with as many disks as possible in the RAID array.

Do you offer a load-testing tool?
We have a tool allows you to benchmark the performance of Wowza Media Server in some applications environments. Please see our Support page for more information.

Can I load balance an on demand video application across multiple Wowza Pros?
Yes. Wowza Pro provides a very scalable, HTTP-based approach for providing multiple server delivery of a video on demand application.

How can I scale live streaming beyond a single server?
Wowza Pro servers implement an origin and edge configuration feature set to deliver live media content across multiple servers. This functionality is standard in Wowza Pro.

Pricing and Licensing

How much does it cost?
The product pricing is available on the Pricing and Editions page.

Do you have a version for developers?
Yes. We offer a FREE 10-connection Wowza Media Server Pro10 edition that can be used as a developer platform or for commercial deployment. See the EULA for additional terms and restrictions that may apply.

What are the licensing terms for CDNs, hosting and streaming service providers?
Separate licensing terms are offered for service providers such as Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), hosting and streaming services. These licensing terms include full Wowza Media Server Pro Unlimited with MPEG-TS edition capabilities, flexible license deployment models, comprehensive upgrade policies and the exclusive benefits of the Wowza Streaming Partner program for qualifying service providers. Contact sales@wowzamedia.com for details.

Do you offer discounts to academic institutions and non-profits?
Yes. We offer a 20% discount to these organizations with proof of eligibility. For more information visit our Education and Non-Profit Programs page.

Can I trade up from my limited connection license to a Wowza Pro Unlimited license?
Yes. Please check our Trade Up Policy for details.

Can I trade up from my Wowza Pro Unlimited license to a Wowza Pro Unlimited with MPEG-TS license?
Yes. Please check our Trade Up Policy for details.

General

Do you provide any unique features?
Yes. Wowza Media Server provides numerous unique and exclusive capabilities, including support for live H.264 streaming with RTSP/RTP encoders, optional live H.264 streaming with MPEG-TS encoders, re-streamig from SHOUTcast/Icecast, SecureToken anti-ripping protection and TiVo®-like Fast Forward, Rewind and Slow-play of Flash (.flv) streaming video. There is also a server-side API that allows you to extend the functionality of the server, including full access to the media stream.

What are some advantages of streaming over progressive download?
There are a number of advantages, including:

Content Security: Streaming is inherently more secure than PD since streaming allows only a small amount of the video in memory at any given time. SecureToken, RTMPE and other content security methodologies available in Wowza Pro further enhance content security.
Bandwidth Savings: Streaming is throttled so that less bandwidth is used for videos that are abandoned (viewer does not watch the whole video). The amount of savings can vary widely depending upon abandonment habits, seek habits, replay, content duration, etc...
Viewer Experience: Seek experience, jumping ahead/back on longer video (anything more than 5-7 minutes), is greatly enhanced.
Paid Content: business models such as pay per minute are much easier implemented with streaming.
Live Video/Chat/Recording: all require streaming.

Partnering & Distribution

Can I embed Wowza Pro with my software or hardware product?
Yes, you can OEM Wowza Pro software for embedding with your software and hardware products. Please send us a Partnership Request if you are interested.

Can I resell/distribute Wowza Pro software?
To resell or distribute Wowza Pro software you need to become a Wowza Affiliate reseller, Authorized reseller or Authorized distributor. For information on how to become a Wowza reseller or distributor, please fill out a Partnership Request form.

How do I become a Wowza Streaming Partner?
You can become an official Wowza Streaming Partner if you provide hosting, streaming or CDN services based on the Wowza Pro platform, Minimum qualification requirements apply. To get the most current Wowza Streaming Partner program requirements please fill out a Partnership Request form.