The Hidden Cost of Manual Stream Monitoring (And How to Fix It)
Webhooks allow you to proactively monitor your live streams and servers, automatically receiving notifications about events as they happen. This guide will walk you through what webhooks can do, how you can use them with Wowza, and why they are essential for anyone managing live video at scale.
Monitoring Feeds Manually Is Unreliable And Costly.
Manually monitoring live streams and server logs is inefficient and prone to human error. It simply does not scale. For a video developer or system architect managing multiple feeds, a single stream going down can go unnoticed for minutes, if not hours. This leads to a frustrating viewer experience and a potential loss of revenue. This manual effort also translates to higher operational costs. A reactive workflow leaves you playing catch-up, rather than staying ahead of potential issues.
What Are Webhooks?
Webhooks are automated, user-defined HTTP callbacks triggered by specific events. When an event occurs on your media server a webhook instantly sends a notification to a URL you’ve specified. Webhooks could notify you to a stream starting or an error being logged.
Proactively monitor your server events and error logging
Webhooks offer better stream and server management by providing proactive notifications about stream or server errors. They can be picked up by multiple monitoring tools, allowing for automated error reporting to any preferred third-party systems. This automated workflow moves you from a reactive to a proactive approach in managing your media infrastructure.
How You Can Use Webhooks
Webhooks can be applied to a variety of use cases across different industries. They help automate workflows to save you time and money.
- Events & Entertainment
Use a webhook to send an alert to your on-call engineer’s Slack channel when a live stream unexpectedly ends or experiences a fatal error. Take action immediately to restore service. - Compliance & Audit Logs
In regulated industries, a webhook can automatically log every stream start and stop event to a database. Provide a secure, automated, and immutable audit trail. - Law Enforcement & Surveillance
Trigger a webhook when a live feed from a surveillance camera goes down and send an instant notification to a monitoring dashboard or a patrol officer’s mobile device. Investigate the issue and restore service. - Wildlife & Weather Monitoring
When a remote camera detects an animal in a specific area, an AI model can trigger a webhook to send a real-time alert to a researcher. Streamline always-on live feed monitoring. - Building Security
When a camera detects an object or person in a restricted area, a webhook can send an alert to a security guard’s app and log the event in a centralized security system for review. Safeguard property from unwanted access.
Getting Started With Wowza’s Webhooks
Implementing Wowza Webhooks is a straightforward process designed to give you the ultimate flexibility. Our platform allows you to use webhooks to monitor and manage your streams whether you are running a server on a public cloud, in an on-premises data center, or even in a secure, air-gapped environment. For those who need to manage multiple servers or who simply don’t want to monitor their servers manually, webhooks provide the proactive solution you need.
To learn more or to discuss a custom solution, contact a Wowza specialist today.