Create Live Streaming (RTMP) Server on Ubuntu 24.04

Introduction

In this guide, we will set up an Ubuntu 24.04 server to receive input from Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) and output it in HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) format. Additionally, we will integrate AWS CloudFront for content delivery (CDN) and assign sub-domains for seamless streaming.

For example:

RTMP Link (Input): rtmp://live-in.example.com/live/stream
Stream Key: stream
HLS (Output): https://live.example.com/hls/stream.m3u8

1. Setup Docker to Ubuntu Server (EC2)

After launching your instance, we need to log in into our new server using SSH client.

bash

ssh -i "YourKey.pem" ubuntu@SERVER_IP

After login, you need to update packages

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Set Timezone (Asia/Kolkata):

bash

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata && sudo timedatectl

Install Required Dependencies

bash

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

bash

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc > /dev/null
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

Add Docker Repository

bash

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify Docker Installation

bash

sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo docker --version

Run Docker Without `sudo` (Optional)

bash

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Test Docker

bash

docker run hello-world

2. Run the `nginx-live-stream` Docker Image

To start the Nginx Live Stream server, follow the steps below:

Pull the Docker image:

bash

docker pull sannjayy/nginx-live-stream:latest

For more information about the Docker image, click here.

Run the Docker container

bash

# Run in CLI
docker run -p 1935:1935 -p 8080:8080 sannjayy/nginx-live-stream
 
# Run in Detached Mode
docker run -d -p 1935:1935 -p 8080:8080 sannjayy/nginx-live-stream:latest

3. Start Streaming

Using ffmpeg:

To start streaming using ffmpeg, execute the command below:

bash

ffmpeg -re -i video.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -maxrate 3000k -bufsize 6000k -pix_fmt yuv420p -g 50 -c:a aac -b:a 160k -ar 44100 -f flv rtmp://SERVER-IP:1935/live/test

Rename the video.mp4 and replace SERVER-IP with your server's IP address.

Testing the video feed Embedded Player

To access the embedded player, navigate to the following URL in your browser:

bash

http://SERVER-IP:8080/player/?url=http://SERVER-IP:8080/hls/test.m3u8

4. Setup CloudFront for content delivery (CDN)

Create distribution

Origin domain

Public IPv4 DNS of the EC2 Instance

Protocol

HTTP Only
8080

Enable Origin Shield

Compress objects automatically

Viewer protocol policy

HTTP and HTTPS

Allowed HTTP methods

GET, HEAD

Restrict viewer access

Cache key and origin requests

Legacy cache settings

Headers: None
Query strings: None
Cookies: None

Object caching

Customize
Minimum TTL: 0
Maximum TTL: 0
Default TTL: 0

Your setup is now complete. You have successfully configured an Ubuntu 24.04 server to receive input from Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) and output it in HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) format. Additionally, you have integrated AWS CloudFront for content delivery (CDN) and assigned sub-domains for seamless streaming.

5. Custom Domain Setup (Optional)

In your DNS Server (Route 53 or Cloudflare) add these records.

Record Name	Record Type	Value
live-in	A	[Server_IP]
live	CNAME	d1234abcd.cloudfront.net

Your custom domain setup is now complete. You can access your streaming server using your custom domain (e.g., https://live.example.com/hls/stream.m3u8).

To test the stream: https://sanjaysikdar.dev/tools/video-stream-tester

Troubleshoot

Before starting, ensure that the following inbound rules are allowed in your firewall settings:

Custom TCP 8080
Custom TCP 1935
TCP 22 for SSH access

Create Live Streaming (RTMP) Server on Ubuntu 24.04

Introduction

For example:

RTMP Link (Input): rtmp://live-in.example.com/live/stream
Stream Key: stream
HLS (Output): https://live.example.com/hls/stream.m3u8

1. Setup Docker to Ubuntu Server (EC2)

After launching your instance, we need to log in into our new server using SSH client.

bash

ssh -i "YourKey.pem" ubuntu@SERVER_IP

After login, you need to update packages

bash

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Set Timezone (Asia/Kolkata):

bash

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Asia/Kolkata && sudo timedatectl

Install Required Dependencies

bash

sudo apt install -y ca-certificates curl gnupg

Add Docker’s Official GPG Key

bash

sudo install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg | sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc > /dev/null
sudo chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc

Add Docker Repository

bash

echo "deb [signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(lsb_release -cs) stable" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null

Install Docker

bash

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin

Verify Docker Installation

bash

sudo systemctl enable --now docker
sudo docker --version

Run Docker Without `sudo` (Optional)

bash

sudo usermod -aG docker $USER
newgrp docker

Test Docker

bash

docker run hello-world

2. Run the `nginx-live-stream` Docker Image

To start the Nginx Live Stream server, follow the steps below:

Pull the Docker image:

bash

docker pull sannjayy/nginx-live-stream:latest

For more information about the Docker image, click here.

Run the Docker container

bash

# Run in CLI
docker run -p 1935:1935 -p 8080:8080 sannjayy/nginx-live-stream
 
# Run in Detached Mode
docker run -d -p 1935:1935 -p 8080:8080 sannjayy/nginx-live-stream:latest

3. Start Streaming

Using ffmpeg:

To start streaming using ffmpeg, execute the command below:

bash

ffmpeg -re -i video.mp4 -c:v libx264 -preset veryfast -maxrate 3000k -bufsize 6000k -pix_fmt yuv420p -g 50 -c:a aac -b:a 160k -ar 44100 -f flv rtmp://SERVER-IP:1935/live/test

Rename the video.mp4 and replace SERVER-IP with your server's IP address.

Testing the video feed Embedded Player

To access the embedded player, navigate to the following URL in your browser:

bash

http://SERVER-IP:8080/player/?url=http://SERVER-IP:8080/hls/test.m3u8

4. Setup CloudFront for content delivery (CDN)

Create distribution

Origin domain

Public IPv4 DNS of the EC2 Instance

Protocol

HTTP Only
8080

Enable Origin Shield

Compress objects automatically

Viewer protocol policy

HTTP and HTTPS

Allowed HTTP methods

GET, HEAD

Restrict viewer access

Cache key and origin requests

Legacy cache settings

Headers: None
Query strings: None
Cookies: None

Object caching

Customize
Minimum TTL: 0
Maximum TTL: 0
Default TTL: 0

5. Custom Domain Setup (Optional)

In your DNS Server (Route 53 or Cloudflare) add these records.

Record Name	Record Type	Value
live-in	A	[Server_IP]
live	CNAME	d1234abcd.cloudfront.net

Your custom domain setup is now complete. You can access your streaming server using your custom domain (e.g., https://live.example.com/hls/stream.m3u8).

To test the stream: https://sanjaysikdar.dev/tools/video-stream-tester

Troubleshoot

Before starting, ensure that the following inbound rules are allowed in your firewall settings:

Custom TCP 8080
Custom TCP 1935
TCP 22 for SSH access

Written by Sanjay Sikdar

Written by Sanjay Sikdar