Overview of multi-application stream groups
A multi-application stream group is a stream group that's linked to multiple applications. This allows you to stream multiple applications by using the same set of compute resources in a single stream group.
Most of the time, you may want a single stream group with multiple applications. A common use case for multi-application stream groups is to release different versions of your game. For example, suppose that you created a stream group and set the default application to the original version of your game. Then, suppose you create additional applications that contains other versions of your game and link them to the stream group. Since these applications are associated with the same stream group, you only have to manage a single set of compute resources, or stream capacity, to stream all of these games. This means, regardless of which application an end-user streams, the application runs on a compute resource from the same set that this stream group has allocated.
Here are other possible real-life examples:
-
A game streaming platform that offers different streaming tiers to customers.
-
A quality assurance team that's testing multiple versions of a game.
-
To simplify stream capacity management by using a single stream group for multiple applications.
-
To enable a set of applications to stream from the same pool of stream capacity.
Limitations and requirements
You can only associate applications to stream groups that have compatible runtime environments and stream classes. For more information, refer to Runtime environment and stream class compatibility.
About linking applications to a stream group
Among the set of applications in a stream group, one of the applications is configured as the default application. The default application is required and immutable—you set it once, typically when creating a stream group, and cannot change it to a different application. The default application receives a streaming performance advantage: it is automatically pre-cached on all of your always-on compute resources, which reduces stream startup times. The Amazon GameLift Streams service may cache other linked applications too during its optimization processes.
Characteristics of a default application:
-
The default application is pre-cached (on pre-allocated compute resources such as your always-on capacity) to help improve the stream startup time.
-
Once set, the default application is immutable. This means that the stream group will always be linked to the application you selected when creating a stream group.
-
A single linked application is required when creating a stream group from the console, and that application will become the default application. This means you must have already created an Amazon GameLift Streams application before you create a stream group using that workflow. Conversely, the Amazon GameLift Streams API supports creating a stream group without any linked applications. However, you must associate an application later, before you can start streaming from the stream group.
-
The same application can be the default application for multiple stream groups.
-
The set of linked applications is mutable until the stream group is 180 days old. In practical terms, this means that you can link and unlink applications until the stream group is 180 days old. After that, you will only be able to unlink applications from a stream group throughout the remainder of the stream group's lifecycle.
Link an application to a stream group
When you link, or associate, an application to a stream group, the stream group will be able to stream the application. You can link and unlink additional applications to a stream group until it reaches 180 days old. After that, you will only be able to unlink applications from a stream group throughout the remainder of the group's lifecycle.
Important
You cannot link an application to a stream group that is over 180 days old. To associate different applications to the stream group, you will first need to recreate it. For instructions on how to recreate a stream group, refer to Stream group maintenenace.
Before you link an application, ensure that the stream group is in Active status.
Unlink an application from a stream group
When you unlink, or disassociate, an application from a stream group, you can no longer stream this application by using that stream group's allocated compute resources. Any streams in process will continue until they terminate, which helps avoid interrupting an end-user's stream. Amazon GameLift Streams will not initiate new streams using this stream group. The unlink action does not affect the stream capacity of a stream group.
You can only unlink an application if it's not a default application of the stream group. You set the default application when you first create a stream group.
Multi-application stream group quota
| Quota name | Default quota | Is adjustable | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of links in multi-application stream groups | 100 links | No |
The maximum number of associations for a single stream group or application. For example, a single stream group can link to up to 100 applications, and vice versa. |
