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MistServer Introduction

MistServer Documentation​

Welcome to the MistServer introduction documentation.

Here you will find everything you need to know to install, configure and use MistServer.

MistServer is the open source streaming media toolkit that puts you in charge. You are able to control every step of your streaming pipeline whether it is a single server or multiple working together as a CDN.

When would you use MistServer?​

Simply put - whenever you want to get media from point A to point B and you're not sure how to do so. MistServer will help you get your media across & compatible for the intended target or use-case.

Key benefits to Mistserver are:

  • Highly efficient multi-protocol ingest/egress; One input allows all supported outputs instantly
  • Modulair design; Don't need a component? Remove it without conflicts
  • Made for development; multiple event-based triggers/webhooks for ultimate control
  • Unlimited scalability; No discussions/licenses/fees needed, simply run more
  • Extreme adaptability; Make MistServer work for your project, not the other way around

Introducing how MistServer works​

Core workflow​

  • Streams let you configure "stream names" to refer to a particular source for ingest
  • Protocol handles two tasks:
    • Opening listening ports
    • Enable output formats for playback requests by users of those "stream names"
  • Pushes handle recording to file and pushes to other servers

Each "stream name" within MistServer represents an unique stream that can follow general or unique rules about ingest, playback for viewers, processing tasks such as adding encoders or recording/pushes providing a method to change or adapt every stream exactly to your liking. For starting users we recommend starting with the defaults, familiarizing yourself with how MistServer works and then adding more advanced options such as access control, pushing/viewing tokens and other integration pipelines.

In-depth explanations​

  • Architecture here we'll describe the design principles, booting order and Inter-Process Communication.
  • Control here we'll describe the various methods to instruct MistServer binaries to perform tasks
  • Ingest Describes how to get stream data into MistServer
  • Processing How to select/change/encode/add stream data
  • Distribution Describes how to get sream data out of MistServer
  • Automation Automation & integration with MistServer
  • Monitoring Observability, statistics, analytics and logging.