Set up CDN integration with MediaTailor - AWS Elemental MediaTailor
CDN integration components and requirementsPrerequisites for CDN integrationCDN integration setup stepsRequired headers for MediaTailor CDN integration

Set up CDN integration with MediaTailor

This section provides guidance on integrating AWS Elemental MediaTailor with a content delivery network (CDN).

Effective CDN integration with MediaTailor is essential for delivering high-quality streaming experiences with personalized ads at scale. This guide walks you through the complete process of setting up, configuring, and optimizing your CDN integration.

For information about creating MediaTailor configurations, see Using AWS Elemental MediaTailor to insert ads. For information about creating a CloudFront distribution, see Creating a distribution in the CloudFront Developer Guide.

To ensure clarity in this guide, the following terminology is used to describe different types of manifests:

  • HLS manifests:

    • Multivariant playlist: The top-level manifest that contains links to media playlists

    • Media playlist: The second-level manifest with links to content segments

  • DASH manifests:

    • MPD (Media Presentation Description): The standard term for DASH manifests

Integrating MediaTailor with a CDN provides the following benefits:

  • Reduced latency for viewers

  • Improved scalability for high-traffic events

  • Enhanced reliability through redundant delivery paths

  • Optimized costs by reducing origin traffic

  • Better protection against DDoS attacks

CDN integration components and requirements

A successful CDN integration with MediaTailor involves configuring the following key components:

CDN routing behaviors

Rules that determine how different types of requests (manifests, content segments, ad segments) are routed through your CDN.

CDN mapping in MediaTailor

Configuration in MediaTailor that ensures manifests reference your CDN domain instead of directly referencing origin servers.

Security settings

Configurations that protect your content and infrastructure, including transport security, access control, and monitoring.

Testing and validation

Procedures to verify that your CDN integration is working correctly before deploying to production.

Prerequisites for CDN integration

Before configuring your CDN integration, ensure you have the following:

  1. A MediaTailor configuration with the following settings:

    • Your content origin as the Content source

    • Your ADS as the Ad decision server

    You need the origin and ADS URLs in the CDN integration steps as well.

  2. Access to your CDN's configuration interface

  3. Understanding of your CDN's specific terminology for behaviors, rules, and cache settings

  4. Knowledge of your content structure, including file extensions used for segments (such as .ts, .mp4, or .m4s)

CDN integration setup steps

The process of integrating MediaTailor with a CDN follows these high-level steps:

  1. Configure CDN routing behaviors - Set up your CDN to route different types of requests appropriately.

  2. Configure CDN mapping in MediaTailor - Update your MediaTailor configuration to use your CDN domain names.

  3. Implement security best practices - Configure security settings to protect your content and infrastructure.

  4. Test your integration - Verify that your CDN integration is working correctly.

Required headers for MediaTailor CDN integration

For MediaTailor to function correctly with your CDN, you must configure your CDN to forward specific HTTP headers. These headers are essential for proper functionality including compression, device detection, ad personalization, and geo-targeting.

Configure your CDN to forward the following headers to MediaTailor:

Accept-Encoding

Purpose: Required for compression functionality

Details: This header tells MediaTailor which compression methods the client supports. MediaTailor uses this information to compress manifests when possible, reducing bandwidth usage and improving performance. Legacy devices that don't support compression won't send this header, and MediaTailor will return uncompressed manifests.

User-Agent

Purpose: Required for device detection and ad personalization

Details: MediaTailor analyzes the User-Agent header to identify the client device type, browser, and capabilities. This information is used for ad targeting, device-specific optimizations, and ensuring compatibility with different playback clients.

Host

Purpose: Required for proper request routing

Details: The Host header ensures that requests are routed to the correct MediaTailor endpoint. This is particularly important in multi-tenant environments and when using custom domain configurations.

Many CDNs, including Amazon CloudFront, do not forward the Host header by default. For CloudFront users: See Configure Host header forwarding for configuration instructions.

X-Forwarded-For

Purpose: Required for client IP detection and geo-targeting

Details: This header preserves the original client IP address when requests pass through your CDN. MediaTailor uses this information for geographic ad targeting, analytics, and compliance with regional content restrictions.

Important

All four headers are required for full MediaTailor functionality. Missing any of these headers can result in reduced functionality, including:

  • Inability to compress manifests (missing Accept-Encoding)

  • Poor ad targeting and device compatibility issues (missing User-Agent)

  • Request routing failures (missing Host)

  • Inaccurate geo-targeting and analytics (missing X-Forwarded-For)

For CDN-specific configuration instructions, see the routing behaviors and caching sections that reference this header list.

The following topics provide detailed instructions for each aspect of CDN integration.

Topics