Repository navigation
Encoder Problem Alerts
When someone uploads a video, it goes to the Encoder, the part of AVideo that converts the file so it plays on every browser and device. The Encoder keeps an eye on every video it is working on and sends an e-mail when something goes wrong, so problems do not go unnoticed.
There are two kinds of alerts:
| Alert | What it is about | Who receives it |
|---|---|---|
| Video alerts | A problem with one specific video | The owner of that video |
| System alerts | A problem that can affect every video | The site administrators |
The owner of the video receives an e-mail when their video:
| Situation | When the e-mail is sent |
|---|---|
| Could not be processed | As soon as the failure is confirmed. Small, temporary hiccups are retried automatically first, so the owner is only told when it really did not work. |
| Is taking too long to process | After more than 1 hour of processing |
| Has been waiting in line too long | After more than 1 day waiting to start |
The e-mail goes to the address on the owner's account and includes a link to the video, so they can check it, fix it, or upload it again.
If the problem is still not solved, the owner receives one reminder a day, for up to 7 days. After that, the Encoder stops reminding them about that video.
The owner is not e-mailed when:
- the problem was already fixed, or the video was published in the meantime;
- the owner uploaded the same video again (only the newest attempt counts);
- the owner's account does not have a valid e-mail address.
Administrators are warned when something affects the whole service:
| Alert | What it means |
|---|---|
| Low disk space | The Encoder is running out of space to store videos while converting them |
| Queue stalled | Videos have been waiting for 30 minutes or more, and nothing is being processed |
| Many failures | 5 or more videos failed within the last hour |
To avoid flooding their inbox, each of these alerts is sent at most once every 6 hours.
The e-mail goes to the account of each AVideo site marked as Admin in the Encoder's Streamers tab.
No. A failure of a single video is sent only to the owner of that video. Administrators are not e-mailed about each failed video, but they can:
- see every failed video, the reason, and whether its owner was notified on the Encoder's Monitor tab;
- receive the Many failures system alert when several videos fail at once;
- see the video with an error status in AVideo's video manager.
If the administrator is also the owner of the video, they receive the normal video alert.
For these e-mails to arrive:
- Your AVideo site must be able to send e-mail. The alerts are sent by your own site, using its normal e-mail settings. See Setting up AVideo to send emails.
- Your AVideo site must be up to date. Older versions cannot receive alerts from the Encoder. The Encoder's Monitor tab lists any site that is not receiving them. See How to Update AVideo.
- The Encoder's monitor must be installed (see below).
Administrators can open the Encoder's status page at:
https://your-encoder-address/index.php#monitor
It shows whether the monitor is running, how many videos are waiting, processing or failed, how much disk space is free, which sites did not accept alerts, and every video being watched with the alerts sent to its owner. The page refreshes itself every 30 seconds.
The alerts depend on a small scheduled task (a cron) that runs every minute on the Encoder server. If it is not installed, the Monitor tab shows a red warning with the exact command to run.
-
Docker: the official Encoder image installs and starts it automatically.
-
Other installations: run this once, as root, on the Encoder server. Replace the path with your Encoder's installation directory:
sudo php /var/www/html/AVideo/Encoder/install/installCron.php
For security, only root can install it, and it always runs as the web server user, never as root. The warning on the Monitor tab disappears after its first run.
The times and limits above are the defaults. They can be changed in the Encoder's videos/configuration.php. For example, to alert owners after 2 hours of processing and to turn off the administrator e-mails:
$global['encoderMonitor'] = ['processingAlertMinutes' => 120, 'adminAlerts' => false];To turn off the e-mails to video owners, use 'ownerAlerts' => false. The settings in use are listed on the Monitor tab under Active settings.
