On April 17th, 2023, Wowza deployed an update changing the way usage data for Wowza CDN is reported. The change removed “usage stream targets”, and as a byproduct, impacts the way that usage data is reported on a per-stream-target basis.
Before the 17th of April:
A “Wowza CDN Fastly Stream Targets with a Custom Origin” is created as described in this document: https://www.wowza.com/docs/how-to-stream-to-wowza-cdn. Subsequently, this target can be shared by several streams produced by the Wowza Streaming Engine instance referenced in the custom origin.
For example, assume we have created a Wowza CDN on Fastly Stream Target named MyStreamTarget, configured to pull from a Wowza Streaming Engine instance. This Engine instance produces two streams (StreamOne and StreamTwo) within a single application. Previously, both streams could be streamed using this single target and modified URLs:
https://cdn3.wowza.com/5/c0hPyh6jVVVDv8k/applicationName/StreamOne/playlist.m3u8
https://cdn3.wowza.com/5/c0hPyh6jVVVDv8k/applicationName/StreamTwo/playlist.m3u8
In this scenario, as a byproduct of playback, Wowza CDN previously would automatically create two placeholder stream targets in addition to “MyStreamTarget” solely for the purpose of recording usage for each stream. These are each preceded by the words “Stream Usage”
Stream Usage: MyStreamTarget/StreamOne
Stream Usage: MyStreamTarget/StreamTwo
This functionality changed on the 17th of April 2023 and the additional “Stream Usage...” targets will no longer be created.
After the 17th of April:
For new streams, we are simplifying the data model so that all data usage will be associated with the single, user-created target. Automatic “Stream Usage…” targets will no longer be created. As such, if data is required for each Wowza Streaming Engine stream, you should create new Fastly Stream Targets with a Custom Origin for each stream individually and use the unique URL for streaming. Usage for that stream will then be recorded via the stream target that it is uniquely associated with.
With the release of Wowza Streaming Engine 4.8.23 we have added the additional integration between Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Video CDN which allows you to simply create stream targets on the Wowza Streaming Engine side and automate the target creation on the Wowza Video side. Details on this process are outlined here:
https://www.wowza.com/docs/push-streams-to-wowza-cdn-from-wowza-streaming-engine
For existing streams, usage will no longer be associated with any automatic “Stream Usage…” targets, and will instead be aggregated under the primary, user-created stream target. From the example above, usage for StreamOne and StreamTwo would be summed as a single quantity via the MyStreamTarget target. If you require only aggregate data for your use case, no changes are required. Alternately, if you require data on a per-stream basis, it will be necessary to create additional stream targets and pair these such that each is servicing a single stream.
This change simplifies the use model, while also optimizing the performance for usage reporting. Further, this will only impact data reporting, and in no way impacts how your usage is billed.
Due to changes in how the Wowza Streaming Engine software connects to the Wowza Video service, changes have been made to the Stream Target(s) for a given Stream or Transcoder (including usage reports). While this means that some functionality is now limited, this will allow the better use of these two products together which is important for future development. This also means that it's very unlikely this change is going to be reversed and if the data is required, you will need to make a request to the Customer Experience Team each time.