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    Intelligent Media Services:Create and manage flows

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    Intelligent Media Services:Create and manage flows

    Last Updated:Jun 10, 2025

    A flow is a transport between a source and one or more output destinations. This topic describes how to create and manage flows in MediaConnect.

    Before reading this topic, learn the basics of MediaConnect by referring to Overview and Get started with MediaConnect.

    Create a flow

    1. Log on to the Intelligent Media Services (IMS) console.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, select MediaConnect > Flows, and click Create Flow.

      Important

      This feature is available in limited regions.

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    3. Configure the flow information.

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      Parameter

      Description

      Flow Name

      The name can contain digits, letters, underscores (_), and hyphens (-). The maximum length is 64 characters.

      Region

      Supported regions: Singapore, Germany (Frankfurt), China (Beijing), Saudi Arabia (Riyadh).

    Configure a flow

    To use a flow, you need to configure the source, output, and other advanced settings according to your business requirements.

    On the Flows page, click the flow ID to go to the flow details page for configuration. If the flow is unavailable, check if you have selected the accurate region.

    Add a source

    A flow supports multiple types of sources, including the output from another flow, RTMP-PUSH, RTMP-PULL, SRT-Listener, and SRT-Caller:

    • Output from another flow: The flow uses the output of another flow as its source.

    • RTMP-PULL/SRT-Caller: The flow pulls the stream from the RTMP or SRT URL that you specified when data is available.

    • RTMP-PUSH/SRT-Listener: The system generates an RTMP or SRT URL where you can push your stream.

    For details about source configuration, see Add a source to a flow.

    Configure source failover

    What is source failover?

    Source failover is a setup that involves two redundant sources for a flow. You can specify one as the primary source and the other as the backup. The stream ingest client sends data to both primary and backup sources. MediaConnect uses that primary source to provide content for the flow. When the primary source becomes unstable or abnormal, the flow automatically switches to the backup stream to avoid interruptions.

    How to enable source failover?

    After adding a source to the flow, turn on the switch to enable source failover. Then, add another source as the backup, which must use the same protocol as the first source.

    Note

    • The default primary source is Source Stream 1 (the first source added).

    • If both primary and backup sources are specified, you cannot disable source failover. To disable it, remove the primary or backup source.

    • If source failover is enabled and you remove the primary source, the backup source automatically becomes the primary one.

    Add an output

    A flow supports multiple types of outputs, including output to another flow, RTMP-PUSH, RTMP-PULL, SRT-Listener, and SRT-Caller:

    1. Output to another flow: The output of this flow becomes the source input of another flow.

    2. RTMP-PUSH/SRT-Caller: The flow pushes the output to the specified RTMP or SRT URL.

    3. RTMP-PULL/SRT-Listener: The flow generates an RTMP or SRT URL from which viewers can pull the stream.

    For details of output configuration, see Add an output to a flow.

    Note

    A flow supports multiple outputs of different types.

    Manage a flow

    On the Flows page, click the flow ID to go to the flow details page for management.

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    View basic information

    Flow ID: Automatically generated after the flow is created.

    Flow Name: Cannot be edited when the flow is running.

    Started At: If the flow is running, it shows the time of the most recent startup.

    Running Time: If the flow is running, it shows the time elapsed since the most recent startup.

    Created At: The time when the flow was created.

    View flow status

    Available status: idle, running, starting, and restoring.

    The following figure illustrates the transitions between flow status:

    image

    • Start/Stop a flow: Click Start or Stop in the flow status section.

      You must add a source before starting the flow. If the current flow is connected with other flows (for example, the source of the current flow uses the output of another flow, or the output of the current flow serves as the source of another flow), you must also start those connected flows.

      Note

      A flow in the running state incurs fees, even if there is no audio or video data input. For details, see Billing of MediaConnect.

      Recommended order

      Suppose your business involves three flows connected in the following sequence:

      image

      To ensure that flows can work collaboratively, it is recommended to start them in the following order: Flow 3 > Flow 2 (current Flow) > Flow 1 (except for special business scenarios). This is because Flow 1 acts as the data entry point, and starting it first may initiate data flow. For example, if the source protocol of Flow 1 is RTMP-PULL, it will actively pull streams from the configured URL once started.

      Similarly, it is recommended to stop them in reverse order: Flow 1 > Flow 2 (current Flow) > Flow 3 (except for special business scenarios), because it is essential to stop the data source first to prevent any ongoing data flow.

      Note

      • Before performing the stop operation, make sure that it will not affect your business.

      • If a flow is not only connected to the current flow (for example, its source URL is also used for stream ingest), you cannot stop the connected flow.

    • Refresh a flow: Click Refresh in the flow status section to get the latest information, such as flow status and running time.

    Manage sources

    Sources cannot be edited when the flow is running.

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    Online indicates that there is audio or video data input, while Offline indicates no data input.

    Edit a source

    Note

    The source name and protocol type cannot be modified.

    To ensure business stability, follow the steps below to modify a source:

    1. Stop the flow.

    2. Back up the source configuration.

    3. Modify the source configuration.

    4. Start the flow.

    Remove a source

    Note

    • If there is only one source, you can remove it only when the flow outputs are deleted.

    • Before removal, make sure that the source is no longer needed for your business.

    • If the source uses the output of another flow, modify the output configurations of that flow after source removal.

    To ensure business stability, follow the steps below to remove a source:

    1. Stop the flow.

    2. Back up the output configurations.

    3. Delete the outputs.

    4. Back up the source configurations.

    5. Remove the source.

    Manage outputs

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    Output configurations support hot updates, which means you can add, edit, or delete an output when the flow is running.

    Enable an output

    When added, the output is enabled by default. The flow pushes audio and video data from the source to the enabled output. If an output is disabled, click Enable to enable it.

    To ensure business stability, we recommend that you perform the following operations before enabling the output:

    1. Check the output configuration. If there are flows using this output as the source, start the corresponding flows.

    2. When operating on the target flow, repeat step 1 if the target flow is also connected to other flows.

    Disable an output

    When an output is disabled, the flow stops pushing audio and video data to this destination. Before disabling, make sure that this operation will not affect your business.

    To ensure business stability, we recommend that you perform the following operations after disabling the output:

    1. Check the output configuration. If there are flows using this output as the source, stop the corresponding flows.

    2. When operating on the target flow, repeat step 1 if the target flow is also connected to other flows.

    Edit an output

    You can also modify output configurations, such as output URL and IP address whitelist.

    Note

    • Output name and protocol type cannot be modified.

    • Disable the output before modification.

    To ensure business stability, follow the steps below to edit an output:

    1. Disable the output.

    2. Back up the output configuration.

    3. Modify the output configuration.

    4. Enable the output.

    Delete an output

    Output deletion is not recommended. If an output is no longer used, disable it to retain the configuration information for future viewing or re-enabling.

    If you need to delete it, make sure that the output is no longer needed and perform the following steps:

    1. Disable the output.

    2. Back up the output configuration.

    3. Delete the output.

    Note

    If other flows use this output as a source, modify the source configuration of those flows after deleting the output.

    Delete a flow

    Flow deletion is not recommended. If a flow is no longer used, stop it to retain the configuration information for future viewing or restart.

    If you need to delete it, make sure it is no longer used and perform the following steps:

    1. Stop the flow.

    2. Back up the flow configuration (including source and output configurations).

    3. Delete the outputs.

    4. Remove the source.

    5. Delete the flow.