Understanding Fast Reconnect

Fast Reconnect minimizes the impact to each client during a temporary network outage by enabling the client to reconnect to the server automatically and restart streaming. If the client was connected to an on-demand publishing point, the client restarts playback at the point at which the connection was lost by synchronizing itself with the content timeline. If the content includes video, the client estimates the approximate video frame at which the connection was lost. If the content is indexed, this estimate is more accurate. If the client is connected to a broadcast publishing point, the client reconnects to the broadcast in progress. Depending on the content, the user may experience a gap in the broadcast.

The following are some key details about the Fast Reconnect feature:

• Fast Reconnect can be used with clients that connect through any of the default connection protocols (MMS, HTTP, and RTSP).
• A successful reconnection is reflected in the log file with a status code of 210.
• Both broadcast and on-demand publishing points can use the Fast Reconnect feature.

Notes

• You can control the behavior of individual streams by adding Fast Streaming modifiers to the URL that clients use to connect to the stream. The WMReconnect modifier sets the number of times a client will attempt to reconnect to a stream if a connection is lost. For example, a client that connects to a stream using the following URL format will attempt to reconnect three times before stopping: http://servername/broadcast?WMReconnect=3. For more information, see Controlling streaming behavior.
• The Fast Reconnect feature is only used by clients that connect to a unicast stream.

Related topics

• Understanding Fast Streaming