How to Use the NGINX RTMP Module to Setup a Streaming Server

One of the most common video streaming protocols is an HLS Streaming Server. HLS is an adaptive streaming technology which allows you to stream media content that is tailored to the user’s device and network conditions for the best streaming performance.

HLS and RTMP can be easily integrated with the Nginx web server using the Nginx RTMP module. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to setup an HLS live streaming server on Ubuntu.

See Also: ServerMania Media Streaming Server Solutions

What is Nginx RTMP?

Nginx RTMP is an Nginx module which allows you to add RTMP and HLS streaming to your media server. Previously, the RTMP and HLS modules were seperate Nginx modules, but they can now all be added to Nginx as a single module.

See Also: (Live Webinar) Meet ServerMania: Transform Your Server Hosting Experience

Server Requirements

• Ubuntu OS (May work on other Operating Systems with command modifications)
• Minimum 2GB RAM
• Disk space as required for any media files
• ServerMania Hybrid or Dedicated Server

Installation Instructions

Step 1: Login via SSH to the server

Login as root or a user with sudo access on the server. If you are using a user with sudo access, then add sudo before each command in the tutorial:

ssh root@server-ip

Step 2: Download required software

Start by updating the apt repository:

apt-get update

If this is a new server, you should consider updating the system software:

apt-get Upgrade

We’ll then install the required software:

apt-get install -y git build-essential ffmpeg libpcre3 libpcre3-dev libssl-dev zlib1g-dev

Step 3: Clone Module

Install the clone module:

git clone https://github.com/sergey-dryabzhinsky/nginx-rtmp-module.git

Step 4: Download Nginx

Copy the latest download link from the Nginx website and decompress the files:

wget http://nginx.org/download/nginx-1.17.6.tar.gztar -xf nginx-1.17.6.tar.gzcd nginx-1.17.6

Step 5: Configure Nginx

Configure NGINX by typing in the following command:

./configure --prefix=/usr/local/nginx --with-http_ssl_module --add-module=../nginx-rtmp-modulemake -j 1make install

Step 6: Configure Nginx

Continued…

rm /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.confnano /usr/local/nginx/conf/nginx.conf

Copy the following contents into the file and save it:

worker_processes auto;events {worker_connections 1024;}# RTMP configurationrtmp {server {listen 1935; # Listen on standard RTMP portchunk_size 4000;application show {live on;# Turn on HLShls on;hls_path /mnt/hls/;hls_fragment 3;hls_playlist_length 60;# disable consuming the stream from nginx as rtmpdeny play all;}}}http {sendfile off;tcp_nopush on;directio 512;default_type application/octet-stream;server {listen 8080;location / {# Disable cacheadd_header 'Cache-Control' 'no-cache';# CORS setupadd_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' '*' always;add_header 'Access-Control-Expose-Headers' 'Content-Length';# allow CORS preflight requestsif ($request_method = 'OPTIONS') {add_header 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' '*';add_header 'Access-Control-Max-Age' 1728000;add_header 'Content-Type' 'text/plain charset=UTF-8';add_header 'Content-Length' 0;return 204;}types {application/dash+xml mpd;application/vnd.apple.mpegurl m3u8;video/mp2t ts;}root /mnt/;}}}

Step 7: Start Nginx

Start Nginx:

/usr/local/nginx/sbin/nginx

Step 8: Start Streaming

This server can stream from a variety of sources including a static file, webcam, etc.

We previously installed ffmpeg. We’ll start streaming example-vid.mp4 to our http://localhost/show/stream

ffmpeg -re -i example-vid.mp4 -vcodec libx264 -vprofile baseline -g 30 -acodec aac -strict -2 -f flv rtmp://localhost/show/stream

Step 9: Integrate into Player

The stream can now be integrated into a javascript HLS player as per your requirements.

Deploying An Nginx RTMP Server

If you have any questions about deploying a new Nginx RTMP or HLS server, consider booking a free consultation with one of our our account executives. We can help you choose the right server hardware for your media streaming project.

Now that you’ve learned about creating an Nginx RTMP server, why not read about: What is RTMP?

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