Test your implementation for CDN and MediaTailor integrations - AWS Elemental MediaTailor

Test your implementation for CDN and MediaTailor integrations

Ensure reliable viewer experiences by thoroughly testing your AWS Elemental MediaTailor content delivery network (CDN) integration before production deployment. Proper testing helps identify and resolve issues before they impact your audience. For guidance on testing methodologies, see Testing CloudFront distributions. You can also consult your CDN provider's testing documentation.

Follow these testing steps that validate your CDN integration:

  1. Create a test environment that mirrors your production configuration. Include:

    • Identical CDN settings and cache behaviors

    • Include representative content with various bitrates and formats

    • Configure test ad decision server with sample ad responses

    • Set up monitoring and alerting configurations

    For step-by-step implementation guidance, see Creating a staging distribution in the CloudFront Developer Guide.

  2. Conduct load testing to verify your capacity estimates. For guidance on load testing, see Monitoring MediaPackage. Test scenarios should include:

    • Gradual viewer count increases (typically 10-20% of expected peak every 5 minutes)

    • Sudden traffic spikes based on your expected peak loads (simulate 50% of peak audience joining within 60 seconds)

    • Extended peak load periods (maintain peak load for at least 30-60 minutes)

    • Geographic distribution matching your audience (distribute test traffic according to expected viewer locations)

    Validate that response times remain under target thresholds. Typically, this means less than 500ms for manifests and less than 200ms for segments. Error rates should stay under 1%. For implementation details on load testing tools and methodologies, see Load testing with CloudFront on the AWS Networking & Content Delivery Blog.

  3. Test failover scenarios to ensure reliability. Simulate:

    • Origin server failures (complete outage and partial degradation scenarios)

    • CDN edge location outages (test with traffic routing to backup locations)

    • Ad decision server unavailability (test with 5-10 second timeouts)

    • Network connectivity issues (simulate packet loss and latency increases)

    Work with your CDN provider to establish appropriate failover response time targets for your use case. Typically, this means less than 3 seconds for failover completion. For implementation guidance on failover testing, see Origin failover in the CloudFront Developer Guide.

  4. For major events, implement gradual ramp-up strategies based on AWS load testing guidelines:

    • Stagger start times for different audience segments. For example, allow premium subscribers first with 15-minute intervals between audience groups.

    • Use pre-warming techniques to gradually increase load. Pre-warming involves:

      • Populate CDN caches with popular content 2-4 hours before the event

      • Gradually increase synthetic traffic to 20-30% of expected peak to warm up systems

      • Test all components under realistic load conditions with actual content

    • Monitor system performance throughout the ramp-up period, tracking:

      • Cache hit ratios and response times (target >90% hit ratio, <500ms response)

      • Error rates and origin load (maintain error rates <1%, origin CPU <70%)

      • Ad personalization success rates (target >98% successful personalization)

      • Viewer experience metrics (target <2 second startup time, <0.5% rebuffering)

    • Have a contingency plan for unexpected traffic surges. Your plan should include these essential components:

      • Emergency capacity scaling procedures with documented steps to increase capacity by 50-100% within 15 minutes

      • Backup CDN activation protocols with ability to shift 20-50% of traffic to secondary CDN

      • Simplified ad insertion fallback to reduce targeting parameters from 10 or more to 3-5 essential ones

      • Communication plans for stakeholders with pre-defined notification templates and contact lists

    After completing your testing, proceed to Implementing your CDN integration for production deployment steps.