WHAT TO EXPECT
Navigating the Protocol Fanout and Conversion tab in wXcked Eye can be a little confusing when first starting out.
In this article, users will see a typical SRT Listener configuration workflow and the various pieces that go into setting it up. The differences between ingress and egress, and what that means in relation to the cloudSwXtch or cloudSwXtch bridge (i.e., components) will be explained.
Step One: Setting up Your Aliases
The Aliases tab allows users to set friendly names or "aliases" for their streams and sockets so that it is easier to organize them in the Protocol Fanout tab. In this example, the user has named their stream SRT-listener -> MC 239.1.1.1:5500, inputting a stream IP of 239.1.1.1 and a Stream Port of 5500. This name is helpful for the user because it illustrates what they hope to do when setting up for Protocol Fanout. They are going to set up for an SRT to MC conversion using the stream IP and Stream Port assigned to the name.
For more information about how aliases work, see the Aliases article under Configure cloudSwXtch with wXcked Eye.
Step Two: Adding Adaptors
In the Protocol Fanout Settings page, the user has set up two SRT Listeners. An SRT Listener configuration is telling the cloudSwXtch to listen for any incoming messages from endpoints ready to send/receive SRT data. This method of transmission is considered to be more user-friendly since a user will not have to worry about pointing to a specific IP address. It places the burden of targeting on the endpoint instead. The adaptors that are showing active are for this particular use case.
The user has set up SRT Listener for both Egress and Ingress using the Alias assigned earlier: SRT-Listener -> Multicast 239.1.1.1:5500. When differentiating between Egress and Ingress, always imagine it from the perspective of the cloudSwXtch:
SRT Listener Ingress/Egress
For Ingress, users should think about the cloudSwXtch Ingesting a stream. The user has set up an SRT Listener Ingress using the SRT-Listener -> with Listener Port 1599. That means that an endpoint will have to target port 1599 to send SRT traffic to the cloudSwXtch. Since it is ingress, the cloudSwXtch will automatically convert the SRT stream it receives into multicast.
Using the Topology Graph in wXcked Eye, users can see how SRT Listener Ingress is set up in relation to the cloudSwXtch below.
For Egress, users can imagine the stream EXITING the cloudSwXtch. In this example, the user has set up SRT Listener Egress using the SRT-Listener using Listener Port 5888. That means that an endpoint will have to target port 5888 and let the cloudSwXtch know that it would like to receive SRT traffic. Note that this is a 1:1 connection, meaning only one SRT endpoint can use the listener port. In the example below, an endpoint has requested the SRT traffic, and the cloudSwXtch is sending it out. Since the adaptor is set with a specific multicast of 239.1.1.1:5500, the SRT in and out show as that multicast, so that the user can see what the stream is, whether it is SRT, multicast, or any other protocol. Note that the endpoints show the protocol, SRT(C) for caller SRT endpoints and SRT(L) for listener on the cloudSwXtch endpoint, and MC for Multicast on multicast endpoints.
The endpoints highlighted have requested and are receiving multicast traffic via IGMP join to 239.1.1.1:5500, designated in the endpoints with MC.
