Background

The client sought to create a full-stack Over-The-Top (OTT) platform tailored to their specific needs. The goal was to provide a robust, high-performance streaming service integrated with PRIDE Group’s own Online Video Streaming service hosted in PRIDE CLOUD.

Challenges

The primary challenge was to guarantee the delivery of video content with a maximum delay of 1 second from the source to the client. Ensuring high availability, zero downtime during deployments, and seamless integration with various backend technologies were also critical requirements.

Solution

PRIDE Group developed a comprehensive solution, addressing the challenges through meticulous planning and implementation. The project was executed in several key phases:

1. Consulting and Feasibility Study: Detailed analysis of client requirements and technical feasibility.

2. Architectural Design: High-Level Design (HLD) and Low-Level Design (LLD) of the OTT platform, incorporating software architecture patterns to ensure robustness and scalability:

   • Microservices Architecture: Decomposing the application into loosely coupled, independently deployable services.
   • Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA): Integrating different services to ensure interoperability and reusability.

3. Implementation of High-Availability Infrastructure:

   • Purpose-built Infrastructure: Utilizing PostgreSQL and Kubernetes (K8) nodes to ensure high availability and performance.
   • Zero-Downtime Deployments: Implemented using Nginx Proxy, Analytics, Workflow Runner, Timescale Writer, Timers, and ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana) for real-time monitoring, log management, and as a layer for document-oriented storage.

4. Technology Stack:

   • Frontend: Developed using Angular and jQuery for dynamic and responsive user interfaces.
   • Backend: Built on Symfony, a high-performance PHP framework, ensuring scalable and maintainable code.
   • Real-Time Communication: Utilized WebRTC for real-time video streaming to minimize latency and enhance user experience.
   • Programming Languages: Python was used for scripting and automation tasks.

Technologies Used

• PostgreSQL: For relational data storage.
• ELK Stack (Elasticsearch, Logstash, Kibana): For real-time monitoring, log management, and document-oriented data storage.
• Kubernetes (K8) Nodes: For container orchestration and scaling.
• Nginx Proxy: For load balancing and proxying requests.
• Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE)
• WebRTC: For real-time communication and streaming.
• Symfony: High-performance PHP framework.
• Angular and jQuery: For frontend development.
• Python: For scripting and automation tasks.
• Microsoft System Center

Benefits

• High Availability: The infrastructure design ensured continuous availability, meeting the client’s uptime requirements.
• Low Latency: Achieved video content delivery with less than 1-second delay from source to client.
• Zero Downtime: Implemented zero-downtime deployment strategies, ensuring uninterrupted service.
• Scalability and Flexibility: The use of Kubernetes and a microservices architecture allowed the platform to scale efficiently according to demand.
• Enhanced User Experience: Real-time streaming and responsive frontend technologies provided a seamless user experience.
• Comprehensive Monitoring and Storage: ELK Stack enabled real-time monitoring and logging, improving system reliability and performance, and served as a document-oriented storage layer.

Conclusion

PRIDE Group's development of the full-stack OTT platform successfully met the client's stringent requirements for performance, availability, and low latency. The project demonstrated PRIDE Group’s capability to deliver complex, high-performance streaming solutions, leveraging advanced technologies and best practices in software development and deployment.