Analysis of Cloud-Based Technologies for Radio Broadcasting
In the modern age, many broadcast companies are considering migrating some or all of their operations to the cloud. Chris "Doc" Tarr, the group director of engineering for Magnum Media, a Wisconsin-based company with 22 stations airing 31 signals, shares his insights on the key factors to consider when making this transition.
Security Measures
When moving functions to the cloud, it is crucial to understand the security measures in place, the vulnerability of data, and ensure PCI-compliance. Magnum Media, for instance, implements robust access controls, compliance policies, and integrates strong content protection specific to broadcasting, such as DRM for OTT streams. Network security (VPNs, firewalls), encryption, and monitoring are essential for protecting live and archived content.
Uptime Guarantees
Uptime guarantees are critical to maintain continuous broadcast availability. Magnum Media aims for cloud providers offering at least 99.9% uptime or better, ensuring minimal downtime, preserving viewer experience during live events or high traffic. Evaluating providers’ Service Level Agreement (SLA) commitments and their track record for reliability during large-scale broadcasts is also important.
Redundancy
Redundancy is needed in network and infrastructure design to avoid any single point of failure. Magnum Media has implemented redundancy measures such as fiber delivery for STLs, diverse network providers, high-availability routing, and backup playout systems at transmitter sites. Geographic distribution of data centers to mitigate localized disasters, redundant network paths and power supplies, failover and backup systems, especially for live streaming and content delivery, and disaster recovery plans tested regularly are also essential.
Additional Considerations
Running pilot migrations to validate integrations and reduce risk, incremental data syncs to minimize downtime during cutover, and post-migration optimization such as adjusting cloud instances and continuous cloud monitoring for performance and security are other important considerations. Good operational support from the cloud provider, preferably 24/7 with multi-channel availability, is also vital for rapid issue resolution during live broadcasts and critical events.
Advice from Chris "Doc" Tarr
Tarr encourages engineers to keep an open mind about the cloud, acknowledging that giving up control of systems to a third party can make systems more reliable. He advises inquiring about uptime guarantees, talking to other users, and considering contingency plans in the event of a provider failure. The advice given by Tarr is further detailed in the ebook "The Cloud Shines for Radio."
Magnum Media has moved to Marketron for traffic, which is a cloud-based service. They have also moved to Google for mail, document sharing, and meetings during the Covid era. Magnum Media is considering using local and cloud-based virtual machines for hosting its metadata systems, and they are considering shifting the management of their current metadata system to pure-play operators. Security is a key concern when migrating to the cloud, with data breaches, ransomware, and other issues being potential risks.
In summary, successful broadcast cloud migration requires a balanced approach emphasizing security, guaranteed high availability with minimal downtime, robust infrastructure redundancy, and strong operational support to maintain seamless and secure broadcast operations in the cloud environment.
- In migrating operations to the cloud, security measures such as robust access controls, compliance policies, content protection like DRM for OTT streams, network security measures (VPNs, firewalls), encryption, and monitoring are crucial.
- Uptime guarantees of at least 99.9% from cloud providers should be sought for continuous broadcast availability, as reliability during large-scale broadcasts and live events plays a vital role in preserving viewer experience.
- Redundancy in network and infrastructure design, such as fiber delivery for STLs, diverse network providers, high-availability routing, backup playout systems, geographic data center distribution, redundant network paths and power supplies, and disaster recovery plans, are needed to avoid single points of failure.
- Additional considerations for a successful cloud migration include running pilot migrations, incremental data syncs, post-migration optimization, good operational support from the cloud provider, and contingency plans in case of a provider failure.
