Icecast 2 Config File

Overview

This section will describe each section of the config file and is grouped into the following sections:




Limits

    <limits>
        <clients>100</clients>
        <sources>2</sources>
        <threadpool>5</threadpool>
        <queue-size>102400</queue-size>
        <client-timeout>30</client-timeout>
        <header-timeout>15</header-timeout>
        <source-timeout>10</source-timeout>
        <burst-on-connect>1</burst-on-connect>
        <burst-size>65536</burst-size>
    </limits>

This section contains server level settings that, in general, do not need to be changed. Only modify this section if you are know what you are doing.

clients

Total number of concurrent clients supported by the server. Listeners are considered clients, but so is accesses to any static content (i.e. fileserved content) and also any requests to gather stats. These are max *concurrent* connections for the entire server (not per mountpoint).

sources

Maximum number of connected sources supported by the server.

threadpool

This is the number of threads that are started to handle client connections. You may need to increase this value if you are running a high traffic stream. This recommended value is for a small to medium traffic server.

queue-size

This is the maximum size (in bytes) of a client (listener) queue. A listener may temporarily lag behind due to network congestion and in this case an internal queue is maintained for each listener. If the queue grows larger than this config value, then the listener will be removed from the stream.

client-timeout

This does not seem to be used.

header-timeout

The maximum time (in seconds) to wait for a request to come in once the client has made a connection to the server. In general this value should not need to be tweaked.

source-timeout

If a connected source does not send any data within this timeout period (in seconds), then the source connection will be removed from the server.

burst-on-connect

With this enabled, a connecting client will be sent a burst of audio data from the stream. This will have the effect of reducing the startup time for the stream from the perspective of the listener. This is due to the fact that most media players have local buffers that must be filled before the stream begins to play. This may introduce a small latency in the stream (difference in time between when the source plays a clip and the listener hears a clip). If this latency is important to you, then you can disable this feature. The latency is bitrate-dependent, but as an example, for a 128kbps stream, the latency between the source and the player is ~ 1.5 secs WITHOUT burst on connect, and WITH burst on connect the latency is 3 secs.

burst-size

The burst size is the amount of data (in bytes) to burst to a client at connection time. Like burst-on-connect, this is to quickly fill the pre-buffer used by media players. The default is 64kbytes which is a typical size used by most clients so changing it is not usually required. This setting applies to all mountpoints.




Authentication

    <authentication>
        <source-password>hackme</source-password>
        <relay-user>relay</relay-user>
        <relay-password>hackme</relay-password>
        <admin-user>admin</admin-user>
        <admin-password>hackme</admin-password>
    </authentication>

This section contains all the users and passwords used for administration purposes or to connect sources and relays.

source-password

The unencrypted password used by sources to connect to icecast2. Currently, the username for all source connections must be 'source'. This is likely to change in the future.

relay-user

Used in the master server as part of the authentication when a slave requests the list of streams to relay. The default username is 'relay'

relay-password

Used in the master server as part of the authentication when a slave requests the list of streams to relay.

admin-user

admin-password

The username/password used for all administration functions. This includes retrieving statistics, accessing the web-based administration screens, etc. A list of these functions can be found in the "Administration" section of the manual.




YP Directory Settings

    <directory>
        <yp-url-timeout>15</yp-url-timeout>
        <yp-url>http://dir.xiph.org/cgi-bin/yp-cgi</yp-url>
    </directory>

This section contains all the settings for listing a stream on any of the Icecast2 YP Directory servers. Multiple occurances of this section can be specified in order to be listed on multiple directory servers.

yp-url-timeout

This value is the maximum time icecast2 will wait for a response from a particular directory server. The recommended value should be sufficient for most directory servers.

yp-url

The URL which icecast2 uses to communicate with the Directory server. The value for this setting is provided by the owner of the Directory server.




Misc Server Settings

    <hostname>localhost<hostname>

    <-- You can use these two if you only want a single listening socket -->
    <-- <port>8000</port> -->
    <-- <bind-address>127.0.0.1</bind-address> -->

    <-- You may have multiple <listen-socket> elements -->
    <listen-socket>
        <port>8000</port>
        <bind-address>127.0.0.1</bind-address>
    </listen-socket>
    <listen-socket>
        <port>8001</port>
        <bind-address>127.0.0.1</bind-address>
        <shoutcast-compat>1</shoutcast-compat>
    </listen-socket>

    <fileserve>1</fileserve>
    <shoutcast-mount>/live.nsv</shoutcast-mount>

This section contains miscellaneous server settings. Note that multiple listen-socket sections may be configured in order to have icecast2 listen on multiple network interfaces. If a bind-address is not specified for a particular listen-socket, then the socket will be bound to all interfaces. Generally, you won't need to set bind-address.

port

The TCP port that will be used to accept client connections.

bind-address

An optional IP address that can be used to bind to a specific network card. If not supplied, then it will bind to all interfaces.

shoutcast-compat

This optional flag will indicate that this port will operate in 'shoutcast-compatibility' mode. Due to major differences in the source client connection protocol, if you wish to use any of the shoutcast DJ tools, you will need to configure at least one socket as shoutcast-compatible. Note that when in this mode, only source clients (and specifically shoutcast source clients) will be able to attach to this port. All listeners may connect to any of the ports defined without this flag. Also, for proper Shoutcast DSP compatibility, you must define a listen socket with a port one less than the one defined as 'shoutcast-compat'. This means if you define 8001 as shoutcast-compat, then you will need to define a listen port of 8000 and it must not also be defined as shoutcast-compat. See the example config file in the distribution for more info.

fileserve

This flag turns on the icecast2 fileserver from which static files can be served. All files are served relative to the path specified in the <paths><webroot> configuration setting.

shoutcast-mount

An optional mountpoint to use when shoutcast DSP compatible clients connect. The default is /stream but can be overridden here to use an alternative name which may include an extension that some clients require for certain formats.




Relay Settings

    <master-server>127.0.0.1</master-server>
    <master-server-port>8001</master-server-port>
    <master-update-interval>120</master-update-interval>
    <master-username>relay</master-username>
    <master-password>hackme</master-password>
    <relays-on-demand>0</relays-on-demand>

    <relay>
        <server>127.0.0.1</server>
        <port>8001</port>
        <mount>/example.ogg</mount>
        <local-mount>/different.ogg</local-mount>
        <username>joe</username>
        <password>soap</password>
        <relay-shoutcast-metadata>0</relay-shoutcast-metadata>
        <on-demand>0</on-demand>
    </relay>

This section contains the server's relay settings. There are two types of relays: a "Master server relay" or a "Specific Mountpoint relay." A Master server relay is only supported between icecast2 servers and is used to relays all mountpoints on a remote icecast2 server.

Master Relay

The following diagram shows the basics of doing a Master relay. Note that Server 1 is configured with the <master-server>, <master-server-port>, etc settings and Server 2 is the server from which Server 1 will pull all attached mountpoints and relay them. Using a Master Server relay, ALL mountpoints on Server 2 will be relayed. If only specific mountpoints need to be relayed, then you must configure Server 1 as a "Specific Mountpoint Relay". Both Master server relays and Specific Mountpoint relays begin their "relaying" when the Server is started. 

      |-----|                       |-----|
      |     |  all mountpoints      |     | /mount1
      |     | <-------------------  |     | /mount2.ogg
      |-----|                       |-----| /mount3
      Icecast 2                     Icecast 2 
      Server 1                      Server 2
      (RELAY SERVER)                (MASTER SERVER)

     configured with
     <master-server>
     settings

A server is configured as a Master Server relay by specifying the <master-server>, <master-server-port>,<master-update-interval>,<master-password> values in the config file. The server that is being relayed does not need any special configuration.

master-server

This is the IP for the server which contains the mountpoints to be relayed (Master Server).

master-server-port

This is the TCP Port for the server which contains the mountpoints to be relayed (Master Server).

master-update-interval

The interval (in seconds) that the Relay Server will poll the Master Server for any new mountpoints to relay.

master-username

This is the relay username on the master server. It is used to query the server for a list of mountpoints to relay. If not specified then 'relay' is used

master-password

This is the relay password on the Master server. It is used to query the server for a list of mountpoints to relay.

relays-on-demand

Changes the default on-demand setting for relays, so a stream is only relayed if listeners are connected. 1=enabled, 0=disabled (default).


Specific Mountpoint Relay

The following diagram shows the basics of doing a Specific Mountpoint relay. Note that Server 1 is configured with the <relay> settings and Server 2 is the server from which Server 1 will pull the specified mountpoint(s) and relay them. Using a Specific Mountpoint Relay, only those mountpoints specified on Server 1 will be relayed from Server 2. 
      |-----|                       |-----|
      |     |      /mount3          |     | /mount1
      |     | <-------------------  |     | /mount2.ogg
      |-----|                       |-----| /mount3
      Icecast 2                     Icecast 2/Shoutcast/Icecast
      Server 1                      Server 2
      (RELAY SERVER)                (REMOTE SERVER)

     configured with
     <relay>
     settings
Specific Mountpoint Relays can be configured to relay from an Icecast 2 server, as well as Icecast 1.x and Shoutcast. A server is configured as a Specific Mountpoint Server relay by specifying a <relay> XML chunk in the config file for each mountpoint to be relayed. The server that is being relayed does not need any special configuration. 
    <relay>
        <server>127.0.0.1</server>
        <port>8001</port>
        <mount>/example.ogg</mount>
        <local-mount>/different.ogg</local-mount>
        <username>joe</username>
        <password>soap</password>
        <relay-shoutcast-metadata>0</relay-shoutcast-metadata>
        <on-demand>1</on-demand>
    </relay>

server

This is the IP for the server which contains the mountpoint to be relayed.

port

This is the TCP Port for the server which contains the mountpoint to be relayed.

mount

The mountpoint located on the remote server. If you are relaying a shoutcast stream, this must be '/'.

local-mount

The name to use for the local mountpoint. This is what the mount will be named on the RELAY SERVER.

username

The source of the relay may require authentication itself, if so state the username here.

password

The source of the relay may require authentication itself, if so state the password here.

relay-shoutcast-metadata

If you are relaying a Shoutcast stream, you need to specify this indicator to also relay the metadata (song titles) that is part of the Shoutcast stream (1=enabled, 0=disabled).

on-demand

An on-demand relay will only retrieve the stream if there are listeners connected 1=enabled, 0=disabled (default is <relays-on-demand>).




Mount Specific Settings

    <mount>
        <mount-name>/example-complex.ogg</mount-name>
        <username>othersource</username>
        <password>hackmemore</password>
        <max-listeners>1</max-listeners>
        <dump-file>/tmp/dump-example1.ogg</dump-file>
        <intro>/intro.ogg</intro>
        <fallback-mount>/example2.ogg</fallback-mount>
        <fallback-override>1</fallback-override>
        <public>1</public>
        <stream-name>My audio stream</stream-name>
        <stream-description>My audio description</stream-description>
        <stream-url>http://some.place.com</stream-url>
        <genre>classical</genre>
        <bitrate>64</bitrate>
        <type>application/ogg</type>
        <subtype>vorbis</subtype>
        <hidden>1</hidden>
        <burst-size>65536</burst-size>
        <mp3-metadata-interval>4096</mp3-metadata-interval>
        <authentication type="htpasswd">
                <option name="filename" value="myauth"/>
                <option name="allow_duplicate_users" value="0"/>
        </authentication>
        <on-connect>/home/icecast/bin/source-start</on-connect>
        <on-disconnect>/home/icecast/bin/source-end</on-disconnect>
    </mount>

This section contains the settings which apply only to a specific mountpoint and applies to an incoming stream whether it is a relay or a source client. The purpose of the mount definition is to state certain information that can override either global/default settings or settings provided from the incoming stream.

A mount does not need to be stated for each incoming source although you may want to specific certain settings like the maximum number of listeners or a mountpoint specific username/password. As a general rule, only define what you need to but each mount definition needs at least the mount-name. Changes to most of these will apply across a configuration file re-read even on active streams, however some only apply when the stream starts or ends.

mount-name

The name of the mount point for which these settings apply.

username

An optional value which will set the username that a source must use to connect using this mountpoint.

password

An optional value which will set the password that a source must use to connect using this mountpoint.

max-listeners

An optional value which will set the maximum number of listeners that can be attached to this mountpoint.

dump-file

An optional value which will set the filename which will be a dump of the stream coming through on this mountpoint.

intro

An optional value which will specify the file those contents will be sent to new listeners when they connect but before the normal stream is sent. Make sure the format of the file specified matches the streaming format. The specified file is appended to webroot before being opened.

fallback-mount

This optional value specifies a mountpoint that clients are automatically moved to if the source shuts down or is not streaming at the time a listener connects. Only one can be listed in each mount and should refer to another mountpoint on the same server that is streaming in the same streaming format.
If clients cannot fallback to another mountpoint, due to a missing fallback-mount or it states a mountpoint that is just not available, then those clients will be disconnected. If clients are falling back to a mountpoint and the fallback-mount is not actively streaming but defines a fallback-mount itself then those clients may be moved there instead. This multi-level fallback allows clients to cascade several mountpoints.

A fallback mount can also state a file that is located in webroot. This is useful for playing a pre-recorded file in the case of a stream going down. It will repeat until either the listener disconnects or a stream comes back available and takes the listeners back. As per usual, the file format should match the stream format, failing to do so may cause problems with playback.

Note that the fallback file is not timed so be careful if you intend to relay this. They are fine on slave streams but don't use them on master streams, if you do then the relay will consume stream data at a faster rate and the listeners on the relay would eventually get kicked off.

fallback-override

When enabled, this allows a connecting source client or relay on this mountpoint to move listening clients back from the fallback mount.

no-yp (deprecated)

Setting this option prevents this mountpoint from advertising on YP. The default is 0 so YP advertising can occur however you may want to prevent it here if you intend listeners to connect to a local relay instead. Deprecated option, replaced by <public>

public

The default setting for this is -1 indicating that it is up to the source client or relay to determine if this mountpoint should advertise. A setting of 0 will prevent any advertising and a setting of 1 will force it to advertise. If you do force advertising you may need to set other settings listed below as the YP server can refuse to advertise if there is not enough information provided.

stream-name

Setting this will add the specified name to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one.

stream-description

Setting this will add the specified description to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one.

stream-url

Setting this will add the specified URL to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one. The URL is generally for directing people to a website.

genre

Setting this will add the specified genre to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one. This can be anything be using certain key words can help searches in the YP directories.

bitrate

Setting this will add the specified bitrate to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one. This is stated in kbps.

type

Setting this will add the specified mime type to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint even if the source client/relay provide one. It is very unlikely that this will be needed.

subtype

Setting this will add the specified subtype to the stats (and therefore YP) for this mountpoint. The subtype is really to help the YP server to identify the components of the type. An example setting is vorbis/theora do indicate the codecs in an Ogg stream

burst-size

This optional setting allows for providing a burst size which overrides the default burst size as defined in limits. The value is in bytes.

mp3-metadata-interval

This optional setting specifies what interval, in bytes, there is between metadata updates within shoutcast compatible streams. This only applies to new listeners connecting on this mountpoint, not existing listeners falling back to this mountpoint. The default is either the hardcoded server default or the value passed from a relay.

hidden

Enable this to prevent this mount from being shown on the xsl pages. This is mainly for cases where a local relay is configured and you do not want the source of the local relay to be shown

authentication

This specifies that the named mount point will require listener authentication. Currently, we only support a file-based authentication scheme (type=htpasswd). Users and encrypted password are placed in this file (separated by a :) and all requests for this mountpoint will require that a user and password be supplied for authentication purposes. These values are passed in via normal HTTP Basic Authentication means (i.e. http://user:password@stream:port/mountpoint.ogg). Users and Passwords are maintained via the web admin interface. A mountpoint configured with an authenticator will display a red key next to the mount point name on the admin screens. You can read more about listener authentication here.

on-connect

State a program that is run when the source is started. It is passed a parameter which is the name of the mountpoint that is starting. The processing of the stream does not wait for the script to end. This option is not available on win32

on-disconnect

State a program that is run when the source ends. It is passed a parameter which is the name of the mountpoint that has ended. The processing of the stream does not wait for the script to end. This option is not available on win32




Path Settings

    <paths>
        <basedir>./</basedir>
        <logdir>./logs</logdir>
        <pidfile>./icecast.pid</pidfile>
        <webroot>./web</webroot>
        <adminroot>./admin</adminroot>
        <alias source="/foo" dest="/bar"/>
    </paths>

This section contains paths which are used for various things within icecast. All paths should not end in a '/'.

basedir

This path is used in conjunction with the chroot settings, and specified the base directory that is chrooted to when the server is started. This feature is not supported on win32.

logdir

This path specifies the base directory used for logging. Both the error.log and access.log will be created relative to this directory.

pidfile

This pathname specifies the file to write at startup and to remove at normal shutdown. The file contains the process id of the icecast process. This could be read and used for sending signals icecast.

webroot

This path specifies the base directory used for all static file requests. This directory can contain all standard file types (including mp3s and ogg vorbis files). For example, if webroot is set to /var/share/icecast2, and a request for http://server:port/mp3/stuff.mp3 comes in, then the file /var/share/icecast2/mp3/stuff.mp3 will be served.

adminroot

This path specifies the base directory used for all admin requests. More specifically, this is used to hold the XSLT scripts used for the web-based admin interface. The admin directory contained within the icecast distribution contains these files.

alias source="/foo" dest="/bar"

Aliases are used to provide a way to create multiple mountpoints that refer to the same mountpoint.




Logging Settings

    <logging>
        <accesslog>access.log</accesslog>
        <errorlog>error.log</errorlog>
        <playlistlog>playlist.log</playlistlog>
      	<loglevel>4</loglevel> <-- 4 Debug, 3 Info, 2 Warn, 1 Error -->
    </logging>

This section contains information relating to logging within icecast. There are two logfiles currently generated by icecast, an error.log (where all log messages are placed) and an access.log (where all stream/admin/http requests are logged).

Note that on non-win32 platforms, a HUP signal can be sent to icecast in which the log files are re-opened for appending giving the ability move/remove the log files.

accesslog

Into this file, all requests made to the icecast2 will be logged. This file is relative to the path specified by the <logdir> config value.

errorlog

All icecast generated log messages will be written to this file. If the loglevel is set too high (Debug for instance) then this file can grow fairly large over time. Currently, there is no log-rotation implemented.

playlistlog

Into this file, a log of all metadata for each mountpoint will be written. The format of the logfile will most likely change over time as we narrow in on a standard format for this. Currently, the file is pipe delimited. This option is optional and can be removed entirely from the config file.

loglevel

Indicates what messages are logged by icecast. Log messages are categorized into one of 4 types, Debug, Info, Warn, and Error.

The following mapping can be used to set the appropraite value :

Security Settings

    <security>
        <chroot>0</chroot>
        <changeowner>
            <user>nobody</user>
            <group>nogroup</group>
	</changeowner>
    </security>

This section contains configuration settings that can be used to secure the icecast server by performing a chroot to a secured location. This is currently not supported on win32.

chroot

An indicator which specifies whether a chroot() will be done when the server is started. The chrooted path is specified by the <basedir> configuration value.

changeowner

This section indicates the user and group that will own the icecast process when it is started. These need to be valid users on the system.