Power and Network Redundancy Setup

During a live stream, there are a number of unpredictable factors that can affect the stability and quality of your broadcast. This is why it is important to make sure that redundant measures are put in place to establish a strong power and internet connection before the start of your broadcast. 

Power Redundancy

The Server-Grade E2211, E2221, and E4300 encoders all come equipped with redundant, hot-swappable power supplies. This means that both power supplies, which should be plugged in and pulling power from two different electric circuits, will fail over to the secondary power supply unit in the event of an outage for the other one. This allows you to continue broadcasting or decoding, without losing power to your device. In order to take full advantage of this feature, you will need to take the following steps:

• Plug at least one of the outlets into an uninterruptible power supply (UPS). However, plugging both into separate backup units would be ideal.
• Plug both power supplies or UPS’s into two separate power circuits.

The RAY and Server-Grade E1200 encoder models do not come equipped with redundant power supplies. However, you can still plug these devices into an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) to help ensure the resilience of your stream in case of short power outages.

Network Redundancy

In order to broadcast with minimal interruption, you need to make sure that your encoder has a resilient network connection. To do so, make sure your modem and router are powered by an uninterruptible power supply, just as you would an encoder or decoder.

Multi-WAN routers

One way to help provide network redundancy is to use a multi-WAN router. These routers are designed to use two or more network connections in case one experiences a network outage, which would normally result in a loss of bandwidth and streaming quality. Using a Multi-WAN router will require you to have at least two separate ISPs so that the router can failover to an active network in case of a sustained outage. For more information, you can check out our list of recommended multi-WAN routers.

Emergency mobile device tethering

If you do not have a battery backup for your router, or in case of a complete network outage, you can typically use a cellular device with network tethering capabilities on your decoder or encoder. However, this is only recommended as a last resort, as using hotspot signals can be unpredictable and may result in latency or buffering on your broadcast

For the time being, iOS devices do not work with Resi’s hardware due to a security update on Apple’s end. If you would like to tether a mobile device to your encoder or decoder, you will need to make sure it is through an Android or dedicated cellular network device (such as a mobile hotspot).

If you have a multi-WAN router, you may be able to plug your cellular device directly into it. You can refer to your device's documentation for more information. Otherwise, you will have to connect the hotspot device directly to your encoder or decoder.

An emergency hotspot device will not automatically failover in the event of a network outage. You will need to go through the process of manually connecting your encoder or decoder to a hotspot network whenever you realize that your network is down. This is why it is important to test your connection before the start of your event.

Set up a hotspot on your decoder:

1. Enable the hotspot feature on your cellular device. For help, refer to the documentation for your cellular device.
2. With your device unlocked, plug it into the decoder via a USB cable.
3. You will receive a prompt on your device that asks you to allow the connection, which our support team will verify. Tap allow or trust. (Your decoder may display the message “The device is not yet trusted,” after you have trusted the decoder on your hotspot device. On the decoder, click Try Again to allow the decoder to try to connect to the device again).

The decoder will begin to use the cellular internet connection. You will receive a notification on your decoder when it detects the new internet connection.

Set up a hotspot on your encoder:

1. Enable the hotspot feature on your cellular device. For help, refer to the documentation for your cellular device.
2. With your device unlocked, plug it into the encoder via a USB cable.
3. You will receive a prompt on your device that asks you to allow the connection. Tap allow or trust.
4. Unplug the device from the encoder.
5. Plug the device into your encoder again.

The encoder will begin to use the cellular connection after it has been trusted.