Set up third-party CDNs for MediaTailor ad delivery - AWS Elemental MediaTailor
PrerequisitesConfigure CDN caching rulesVerify your CDN configurationOptimize CDN performanceTroubleshoot third-party CDN issues

Set up third-party CDNs for MediaTailor ad delivery

Third-party CDNs like Akamai and Fastly can significantly improve the performance and scalability of your AWS Elemental MediaTailor ad delivery while reducing bandwidth costs. However, CDN configuration for personalized advertising requires specific settings that differ from standard video delivery.

This guide walks you through the complete process of setting up your third-party CDN to work optimally with MediaTailor. You'll learn how to configure two essential behaviors:

  • Manifest bypass: Ensures each viewer receives personalized ad insertions by preventing manifest caching

  • Segment caching: Maximizes performance and reduces costs by efficiently caching video content

The configuration process typically takes 30-60 minutes and includes provider selection, setup, verification, and optimization. Once complete, you'll have a CDN configuration that delivers personalized ads efficiently while maintaining optimal viewer experience.

Note

This guide focuses on Akamai and Fastly configurations. For CloudFront setup instructions, see CloudFront integration.

Prerequisites

Before setting up your third-party CDN with MediaTailor, make sure you have:

  • An active MediaTailor configuration that includes your content origin and ad decision server

  • Access to your CDN's configuration interface

  • A list of file extensions used in your content (.m3u8, .mpd, .ts, and so on)

  • Your CDN provider's documentation for reference

For CloudFront setup instructions instead of third-party CDNs, see CloudFront integration.

Terminology

To understand CDN configuration requirements, you need to know these manifest types:

  • 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

This guide refers to all manifest files (multivariant playlists, media playlists, and MPDs) collectively as manifests when discussing common configuration requirements.

For general CDN configuration principles that apply to all providers, see Set up CDN integration with MediaTailor.

For CDN optimization guidance, see Performance optimization guide for CDN and MediaTailor integrations.

Configure CDN caching rules

CDN caching configuration is critical for MediaTailor ad delivery because it determines how your content reaches viewers. Proper configuration ensures that manifests remain personalized for each viewer while segments are efficiently cached to reduce origin load and improve performance.

This configuration typically takes 15-30 minutes per CDN provider and requires two distinct behaviors:

  • Manifest handling: Prevents caching to ensure each viewer receives personalized ad insertions

  • Segment caching: Maximizes cache efficiency for video content to improve delivery performance

Follow these steps to configure your CDN's caching rules for optimal ad delivery.

Choose your CDN provider from the following tabs for specific instructions:

Akamai

Configure these two behaviors in your Akamai property:

  • Manifest handling to prevent caching

  • Segment caching for optimal performance

Configure manifest delivery

Configure your Akamai CDN to avoid caching manifests so that each viewer receives personalized ads.

Manifest files contain the personalized ad insertion points that MediaTailor generates for each viewer. Caching these files would result in all viewers seeing identical ads, defeating the purpose of personalized advertising.

Follow these steps for manifest requests (files ending in .m3u8, .mpd, or .smil):

  1. Create a behavior to match manifest file extensions (.m3u8, .mpd, .smil)

  2. Set Caching Option to No Store

  3. Configure cache keys to include all query parameters

  4. Enable Forward Host Header for proper origin routing

  5. Configure header forwarding for all headers. For minimum requirements, see Required headers for MediaTailor CDN integration.

Configure segment delivery

Configure your Akamai CDN to cache video segments to maximize CDN efficiency and reduce origin load.

Video segments are the actual content files that can be safely cached because they don't contain personalized information. Proper segment caching reduces bandwidth costs and improves playback performance for viewers.

Follow these steps for segment requests (files ending in .ts, .mp4, .m4s, and so on):

  1. Create a behavior to match segment file extensions (.ts, .mp4, .m4s)

  2. Set Honor Origin Cache Control to Yes

  3. Configure default time-to-live (TTL) settings for when origin headers are missing:

    • Default TTL: 86400 seconds (24 hours)

    • Maximum TTL: 604800 seconds (7 days)

Note

After configuring these behaviors, activate your property changes in Akamai Control Center.

The changes take effect after activation.

Fastly

Create these two configurations in your Fastly service:

  • Manifest handling to prevent caching

  • Segment caching for optimal performance

Configure manifest delivery

Configure your Fastly CDN to bypass caching for manifest files so that each viewer receives personalized ad content.

Manifest files must reach MediaTailor for each request to ensure proper ad personalization. Bypassing the cache for these files ensures that each viewer's unique targeting parameters are processed correctly.

Follow these steps for manifest requests:

  1. Create a request condition to identify manifest paths

  2. Set cache condition to Do not cache for these requests

  3. Configure Forward settings to include all query parameters

  4. Add User-Agent to your header forwarding configuration

Configure segment delivery

Configure your Fastly CDN to cache video segments to improve delivery performance and reduce origin traffic.

Segment caching is essential for cost-effective delivery and optimal viewer experience. These files are identical for all viewers and benefit significantly from CDN caching.

Follow these steps for segment requests:

  1. Create a request condition to identify segment paths

  2. Set Cache Settings to Honor origin cache headers

  3. Configure default time-to-live (TTL) to 86400 seconds (24 hours) for when origin headers are missing

Note

After making these changes, activate a new version of your Fastly service.

The configuration takes effect after activation.

Verify your CDN configuration

Verification ensures that your CDN configuration works correctly before you direct production traffic through it. These tests confirm that ad personalization functions properly and that caching provides the expected performance benefits.

Complete verification typically takes 10-15 minutes and should be performed from multiple geographic locations if possible.

After setting up your CDN, perform these checks to verify it's working correctly:

  1. Test manifest personalization:

    1. Request the same content URL with different ad parameters

    2. Verify that each request returns different ad insertions

  2. Test segment caching:

    1. Check CDN metrics for segment cache hit ratio (should be greater than 90%)

    2. Monitor origin traffic to confirm it's lower than direct delivery

  3. Test playback performance:

    1. Play content through your CDN from different locations

    2. Verify smooth playback with no buffering issues

For comprehensive testing methodologies and advanced validation procedures, see Testing and validation for CDN and MediaTailor integrations.

Optimize CDN performance

After verifying your basic configuration, implement these optimizations to maximize performance and minimize costs:

Monitor key performance metrics

Track these metrics to ensure optimal performance:

Cache hit ratio

Target: Greater than 90% for video segments

Impact: Higher ratios reduce origin load and improve viewer experience

Monitor: Check your CDN provider's analytics dashboard daily

Origin response time

Target: Less than 200ms for manifest requests

Impact: Faster manifest delivery reduces startup time for viewers

Monitor: Set up alerts for response times exceeding 500ms

Error rates

Target: Less than 0.1% for all requests

Impact: High error rates indicate configuration issues or origin problems

Monitor: Set up alerts for error rates exceeding 1%

Fine-tune caching behavior

Adjust these settings based on your content characteristics and viewer patterns:

Segment TTL optimization

Live content: Use shorter TTL (1-4 hours) to ensure timely updates

VOD content: Use longer TTL (24-48 hours) to maximize cache efficiency

Ad segments: Consider shorter TTL (30 minutes to 2 hours) for frequently updated ad content

For comprehensive TTL recommendations and caching strategies across all MediaTailor workflows, see Caching optimization for CDN and MediaTailor integrations.

Geographic optimization

Multi-region origins: Configure origin selection based on viewer location

Edge locations: Enable additional edge locations in regions with high viewer concentration

Failover: Configure backup origins for high availability

Optimize costs

Implement these strategies to reduce CDN costs while maintaining performance:

  • Compression: Enable gzip compression for manifest files to reduce bandwidth usage

  • Purging strategy: Implement selective cache purging instead of full cache clears

  • Traffic analysis: Review traffic patterns monthly to identify optimization opportunities

  • Tier selection: Use appropriate CDN service tiers based on your performance requirements

Troubleshoot third-party CDN issues

CDN configuration issues typically manifest as either ad personalization problems or performance degradation. Use this systematic approach to identify and resolve the most common issues that affect MediaTailor ad delivery.

Most troubleshooting can be completed within 15-30 minutes by checking the specific symptoms and applying the corresponding solutions.

If viewers experience problems with ad delivery or playback quality, use this guide to identify and resolve common CDN configuration issues:

Akamai: Cached manifests

Symptom: Viewers see identical ads even when you configure different targeting parameters.

Solution: Verify that you applied the No Store caching option to manifest paths.

Also verify that you included query parameters in the cache key.

Fastly: Incorrect cache keys

Symptom: Viewers experience inconsistent ad personalization.

Viewers might also see ads intended for other viewers.

Solution: Verify that you configured the Forward settings to include all query parameters in the cache key.

General: High origin traffic

Symptom: Your origin servers experience unexpectedly high traffic

Solution: Verify segment caching settings and time-to-live (TTL) values.

Check cache hit ratios in your CDN metrics.

General: Playback errors

Symptom: Viewers experience buffering or playback failures

Solution: Check CDN routing rules and origin health.

Verify that all required headers are being forwarded correctly.

Note

If these solutions don't resolve your issue, check your CDN provider's documentation. You can also contact their support team for additional troubleshooting steps.

For general CDN troubleshooting guidance, see Troubleshoot issues with MediaTailor and CDN integration.