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Ad-Flow Deployment QuickStart

This guide will help you quickly deploy Ad-Flow and connect to its monitoring Dashboard.

Prerequisites​

Before starting, ensure you have:

  • An AWS account with appropriate permissions to:
    • Create CloudFormation stacks
    • Create EC2 instances
    • Create ECS clusters
    • Create IAM roles
  • A VPC with a public subnet
  • An EC2 key pair (for SSH access if needed)

Then, subscribe to Ad-Flow on AWS Marketplace

Deployment Steps​

Deploy CloudFormation Templates​

Ad-Flow is available through AWS Marketplace. Setup is done via CloudFormation templates for AWS Elastic Container Service (ECS).

Read the setup guide.

View the setup video.

  1. Download the two CloudFormation templates:

Note: if you have already successfully deployed Ad-Flow, modify the values in the CloudFormation templates according to the documentation provided on this website.

  1. Deploy the Cluster Template:

    • Navigate to AWS CloudFormation
    • Click "Create stack" → "With new resources (standard)"
    • Upload ecsClusterTemplate-adFlow.json
    • Configure the stack:
      • Stack name: adflow-cluster (or your preferred name)
      • KeyName: Select your EC2 key pair
      • ECSClusterName: Leave as default (adflow)
      • InstanceType: Leave as default (t4g.medium)
      • VpcId: Select your VPC
      • SubnetId: Select a public subnet
    • Review and create the stack

  2. Deploy the Task Template:

    • Create another stack
    • Upload ecsTaskTemplate-adFlow.json
    • Configure the stack:
      • Stack name: adflow-task (or your preferred name)
      • ECSClusterName: Use the same name from Step 2 (adflow)
    • Review and create the stack

Wait for both stacks to show CREATE_COMPLETE status (approximately 5-10 minutes).

Access Grafana Dashboard​

What is Grafana?​

Grafana is an open-source platform for visualizing metrics and logs. It provides dashboards that display real-time data, helping you monitor the performance and health of your Ad-Flow deployment.

Capture Metrics Dashboard​

Ad-Flow includes a dashboard called the Capture Metrics Dashboard, which visualizes key metrics such as:

  • Stream reception status
  • Ad detection rates
  • Output streaming performance

How to Access and Navigate​

  1. Use your instance's Public IPv4 DNS address in a browser at port 3000 (e.g., https://<your-instance-public-dns>:3000)
  2. Accept the self-signed certificate warning
  3. Log in to Grafana:
    • Default username: admin
    • Default password: admin
  4. Change the default password when prompted
  5. Once logged in, navigate to the Capture Metrics Dashboard:
    • Click on the Dashboards in the left-hand menu
    • Search for "Capture Metrics Dashboard" and click to open it
  6. Use the dashboard to monitor your stream and ad detection metrics in real-time.

Next Steps​

  • Connect your RTP or SRT source to Ad-Flow
  • Connect Ad-Flow to your video encoder
  • Configure advanced parameters for optimal ad detection
  • Set up monitoring alerts in Grafana
  • Configure backup streams using Delay-Flow
  • Test with your full workflow (AWS MediaTailor, Google DAI, YoSpace DAI)