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https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt

HydraSRT – An Open Source Alternative to Haivision SRT Gateway
https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt

c elixir gstreamer live-streaming low-latency multimedia srt

Last synced: 15 days ago
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HydraSRT – An Open Source Alternative to Haivision SRT Gateway

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README 

          
HydraSRT



# HydraSRT – An Open Source Alternative to Haivision SRT Gateway



> ⚠️ **Pre-Alpha Status**: This project is in a very early development stage. Features may be incomplete, and breaking changes are expected.



- [Overview](#overview)

- [Motivation](#motivation)

- [Architecture](#architecture)

- [Docs](#docs)

- [Features](#features)

- [Deployment](#deployment)

  - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)

- [Development](#development)

- [Building for Production](#building-for-production)

- [Inspiration](#inspiration)

- [Contact](#contact)



## Overview



https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8230f902-b037-424f-a337-a3828dac6a3c



HydraSRT is an open-source, high-performance alternative to the **Haivision SRT Gateway**. It is designed to provide a scalable and flexible solution for **Secure Reliable Transport (SRT)** video routing, with support for multiple streaming protocols.



## Motivation



HydraSRT aims to deliver a robust and adaptable solution for video routing, offering a scalable alternative to proprietary systems. It supports multiple streaming protocols, ensuring flexibility and high performance.



## Architecture



HydraSRT is structured into **three core layers**, each designed for efficiency, reliability, and modularity:



### **1. Management & Control Layer (Elixir)**



- **Manages streaming pipelines** and dynamic route configurations.

- **Exposes a REST API** for frontend interaction.

- **Uses [Khepri](https://rabbitmq.github.io/khepri/)** as a **persistent tree-based key-value store** for system state and configurations.



#### Cluster Mode



Coming soon...



### **2. Streaming & Processing Layer (Isolated C + GStreamer)**



- **Memory safety & stability** – The C-based application runs as a separate, isolated process, ensuring that memory leaks do not affect the Elixir control layer. Elixir can monitor for issues and terminate pipelines if necessary to maintain system stability.

- **High-performance video processing** via **GStreamer**.

- **Secure interprocess communication** with the Elixir layer.



### **3. User Interface Layer (Vite + React + Ant Design)**



- **Communicates with the backend via REST API** for real-time control.

- **Provides a dashboard and route management tools** for users to interact with the system.

- **Supports user authentication and session management** to ensure secure access.

- **Displays route status and allows for route configuration** through a user-friendly interface.



## Docs



Coming soon.



## Features



- [x] SRT Source Modes:

  - [x] Listener

  - [x] Caller

  - [x] Rendezvous

- [x] SRT Destination Modes:

  - [x] Listener

  - [x] Caller

  - [x] Rendezvous

- [x] SRT Authentication

- [x] SRT Source Statistics

- [ ] SRT Destination Statistics

- [x] UDP Support:

  - [x] Source

  - [x] Destination

- [ ] Cluster Mode

- [ ] Dynamic Routing

- [ ] RTSP

- [ ] RTMP

- [ ] HLS

- [ ] MPEG-DASH

- [ ] WebRTC



[Missed something? Add a request!](https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt/issues/new)



## Deployment



### Prerequisites



#### System Dependencies



Before deploying HydraSRT, ensure your system has the following dependencies installed:



1. **Elixir** (version 1.17.1 or later)

2. **Erlang/OTP** (version 27.0 or later)

3. **Node.js** and npm (version 18.13.0 or later, for building the web ui)



   > **Recommended**: Use [asdf](https://asdf-vm.com/) for managing Elixir, Erlang, and Node.js versions.

   > The project includes a `.tool-versions` file with the following versions:

   >

   > - Elixir 1.17.1-otp-27

   > - Erlang 27.0

   > - Node.js 18.13.0



4. **GStreamer** and related libraries for the C application:



   ```bash

   # Ubuntu/Debian

   sudo apt-get install libgstreamer1.0-dev libgstreamer-plugins-base1.0-dev \

     gstreamer1.0-plugins-good gstreamer1.0-plugins-bad \

     libcjson-dev libsrt-dev libcmocka-dev libgio2.0-dev pkg-config



   # macOS (using Homebrew)

   brew install gstreamer gst-plugins-base gst-plugins-good gst-plugins-bad \

     cjson srt cmocka pkg-config

   ```



5. **Verify C application dependencies** are correctly installed:

   ```bash

   pkg-config --libs gstreamer-1.0 libcjson cmocka gio-2.0 srt

   ```

   This command should output the linking flags without errors. If you see errors, ensure all required packages are installed.



## Development



To run HydraSRT locally, you'll need to start both the Elixir backend and the web UI.



### Backend



```bash

# Start the Elixir node

make dev

```



### Frontend



```bash

# Start the web UI

cd web_app && yarn dev

```



## Building for Production



> ⚠️ **Pre-Alpha Warning**: As HydraSRT is in pre-alpha stage, production builds may have unexpected behaviors, bugs, or breaking changes. Use in production environments at your own risk and be prepared to troubleshoot issues.



1. **Clone the repository**:



   ```bash

   git clone https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt.git

   cd hydra-srt

   ```



2. **Build the release**:



   ```bash

   # Get Elixir dependencies

   mix deps.get



   # Install JavaScript dependencies for the web application

   cd web_app && npm install && cd ..



   # Compile the project

   MIX_ENV=prod mix compile



   # Create the release (this will automatically build the web app and C application)

   MIX_ENV=prod mix release

   ```



   The release process will:



   - Compile the Elixir application

   - Build the C application using `make`

   - Build the web application using `npm run build`

   - Package everything into a self-contained release



### Running in Production



> ⚠️ **Pre-Alpha Stability Notice**: During this early development phase, the interactive shell mode (`start_iex`) is strongly recommended as it allows you to monitor and debug issues in real-time. Expect frequent updates and potential breaking changes.



1. **Start the application**:



   ```bash

   # Start the application with interactive Elixir shell (recommended during early development)

   API_AUTH_USERNAME=your_username API_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_password _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt start_iex

   ```



   Or in daemon mode (for stable production environments):



   ```bash

   # Start the application in the background

   API_AUTH_USERNAME=your_username API_AUTH_PASSWORD=your_password _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt start

   ```



2. **Additional commands**:



   ```bash

   # To stop the application

   _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt stop



   # To connect to a running application remotely

   _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt remote



   # To see all available commands

   _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt

   ```



3. **Accessing the Web UI**:



   After starting the application, the web interface will be available at:



   ```

   http://your_server_ip:4000

   ```



   Where:



   - `your_server_ip` is the IP address or hostname of your server

   - `4000` is the default port (can be changed using the `PORT` environment variable)



   You'll need to use the credentials specified in `API_AUTH_USERNAME` and `API_AUTH_PASSWORD` to log in.



### Environment Variables



Configure HydraSRT using the following environment variables:



| Variable               | Description                             | Default          |

| ---------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ---------------- |

| `API_AUTH_USERNAME`    | Username for API authentication         | (required)       |

| `API_AUTH_PASSWORD`    | Password for API authentication         | (required)       |

| `PORT`                 | HTTP port for the API server            | 4000             |

| `RELEASE_COOKIE`       | Erlang distribution cookie              | (auto-generated) |

| `DATABASE_DATA_DIR`    | Directory for Khepri database storage   | ./khepri#node()  |

| `VICTORIAMETRICS_HOST` | Host for VictoriaMetrics metrics export | (optional)       |

| `VICTORIAMETRICS_PORT` | Port for VictoriaMetrics metrics export | (optional)       |



### Troubleshooting



1. **C Application Issues**:



   - Verify all dependencies are installed with `pkg-config --libs gstreamer-1.0 libcjson cmocka gio-2.0 srt`

   - Check the C application logs in `_build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/log/`



2. **Web Application Issues**:



   - Ensure Node.js and npm are installed and working correctly

   - Try building the web app manually: `cd web_app && npm install && npm run build`



3. **Elixir Application Issues**:



   - Ensure all required environment variables are set



4. **Metrics Monitoring**:



   - To enable metrics export to VictoriaMetrics, set both `VICTORIAMETRICS_HOST` and `VICTORIAMETRICS_PORT` environment variables

   - Example: `VICTORIAMETRICS_HOST=localhost VICTORIAMETRICS_PORT=8428 API_AUTH_USERNAME=admin API_AUTH_PASSWORD=password _build/prod/rel/hydra_srt/bin/hydra_srt start_iex`

   - You can visualize these metrics using Grafana or any other compatible dashboard tool



## Running with Docker



To run HydraSRT using Docker and Docker Compose, follow these steps:



1. **Build the Docker image**:



   ```bash

   docker-compose build

   ```



2. **Start the application**:



   ```bash

   docker-compose up

   ```



   This will start the application and all its dependencies in Docker containers.



3. **Access the Web UI**:



   After starting the application, the web interface will be available at:



   ```

   http://127.0.0.1:4000

   ```



   Use the credentials specified in `API_AUTH_USERNAME` and `API_AUTH_PASSWORD` to log in.



4. **Stop the application**:



   To stop the application and remove the containers, run:



   ```bash

   docker-compose down

   ```



### Network Mode: Host



When using Docker Compose, setting `network_mode: "host"` allows the container to share the host's networking namespace. This means:



- The container will use the host's IP address and network interfaces.

- Ports exposed by the container will be accessible on the host's network interfaces.

- This mode is useful for applications that require high network performance or need to access services running on the host.



**Implications:**



- **Performance**: Network performance can be improved since there is no network translation between the host and the container.

- **Security**: The container has access to the host's network, which can pose security risks if not managed properly.

- **Port Conflicts**: Since the container shares the host's network, ensure that there are no port conflicts with other services running on the host.



## Inspiration



- [Secure Reliable Transport](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secure_Reliable_Transport)

- [Haivision SRT Gateway](https://www.haivision.com/products/srt-gateway/)



## Contact



For support or inquiries, create an issue here: [https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt/issues](https://github.com/abc3/hydra-srt/issues).