This article covers common errors that may occur when installing Wowza Streaming Engine™ media server software on a new server and provides troubleshooting steps to help resolve them.
Troubleshoot Java-related problems
When you install Wowza Streaming Engine, it automatically installs the server version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) that it requires. If you need help installing or troubleshooting Java for Wowza Streaming Engine, see Manually install and troubleshoot Java on Wowza Streaming Engine.
Troubleshoot installation problems
If you encountered problems with the Wowza Streaming Engine installer, try these steps to complete the installation process.
Check permissions
Make sure you're running the installer as an elevated user with administrative privileges. If you're not, you won't be able to run the installer.
On Linux, check that the permissions on the installer file allow execution by running the following command:
ls -la
You should see file permissions similar to the following:
-rwxr-xr-x 1 wowza wowza 206904581 Aug 13 08:48 WowzaStreamingEngine-4.2.0-linux-x64-installer.run
If the file permissions are not the same, run the following command:
chmod +x
Disable antivirus software
Make sure you've disabled antivirus software before you try to install Wowza Streaming Engine. Antivirus programs can cause installation errors.
Check the installer log file
Open the installer log file and look for any errors or scripts that didn't run. Installation scripts should exit with code: 0 and should end as follows:
Starting Wowza Streaming Engine Manager Creating Uninstaller Creating uninstaller 25% Creating uninstaller 50% Creating uninstaller 75% Creating uninstaller 100% Uninstaller icon changed Installation completed Log finished 06/18/2015 at 09:13:13 Launching https://localhost:8088/enginemanager
You can find installer log file(s) at the following locations:
- Windows - C:/Users/[user-name]/AppData/Local/Temp/bitrock_installer.log
- Linux - /tmp/bitrock_installer.log, as the root user
(Linux) Check run levels
Wowza Streaming Engine requires that the run level support multi-user mode with network services started and no graphical interface. For Red Hat/Centros distributions, Wowza Streaming Engine should be configured to use run level 3. For Ubuntu/Debian distributions, it should be configured to use run level 2.
To check the run level for the user account, open Terminal and enter the command:
who -r
The run levels for the startup scripts are:
Default-Start - 2 3 4 5 Default-Stop - S 0 1 6
You may have to change the run level if your Linux distribution is blocking installation in one of these run levels. For example, OpenSUSE 11.4 blocks services that start in run level 4. To change the run level, edit the designated runlevels for the /etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngine and /etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngineManager files.
(Linux) Look for a noexec flag
A noexec flag on the mounted file system may result in the following install error:
Wowza Streaming Engine Setup - Warning: This license key is not valid for version 4. Please enter a valid key.
If you encounter the error, download the latest installer file and run the installer again.
Install Wowza Streaming Engine services manually
If you can't get the installer wizard to work, try manually installing the Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager services.
Install Wowza Streaming Engine services manually on Windows
- Navigate to [install-dir]/bin/ and open the file InstallWowzaStreamingEngine-Service.bat.
- Look for and delete the following lines:
net session >nul 2>&1 if NOT %errorLevel% == 0 ( echo Administrator privileges are required to install Wowza Streaming Engine, Please retry with Administrator privileges. echo InstallWSE: no admin privileges. >> installbatch.log goto :end )
- Save the file and then double-click it to run it.
- Navigate to [install-dir]/manager/bin/ and open the file InstallWowzaStreamingEngineManager-Service.bat.
- Look for and delete the following lines:
net session >nul 2>&1 if NOT %errorLevel% == 0 ( echo Administrator privileges are required to install Wowza Streaming Engine Manager. Please retry with Administrator privileges. echo InstallWSEM: no admin privileges. >> installbatch.log goto :end )
- Save the file and then double-click it to run it.
- Go back to the Services window and see if the Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager services have been added and have been started. You may need to refresh the panel.
Install Wowza Streaming Engine services manually on Linux
- Make sure Wowza Streaming Engine is correctly added to your startup scripts in /etc/init.d by running the command:
ls -la /etc/init.d | grep Wowza
You should see output similar to:
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 56 Apr 9 17:19 WowzaStreamingEngine -> /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/WowzaStreamingEngine lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 71 Apr 9 17:19 WowzaStreamingEngineManager -> /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/bin/WowzaStreamingEngineManager
- If you don't see these links, add them manually as a service on default run levels by running the following commands:
ln -s /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/WowzaStreamingEngine /etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngine ln -s /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/bin/WowzaStreamingEngineManager /etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngineManager update-rc.d WowzaStreamingEngine defaults update-rc.d WowzaStreamingEngineManager defaults
Note: Depending on your Linux distribution, the commands may be different. See your Linux documentation on how to add symbolic links and startup services.
Troubleshoot startup problems
If the Wowza Streaming Engine installer appeared to complete successfully but you can't start or use the Wowza Streaming Engine, try these steps to resolve the issue.
Confirm that the install directory is present
The default install directories are:
- Windows - /Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine [version]/
- Linux - /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine-[version]/, as the root user
If any of the install directories is missing, run the installer again. See Install and configure Wowza Streaming Engine.
Account for relocated base server files
Linux installers don't provide an option to choose where the base Wowza Streaming Engine files are installed. All of the server startup scripts locate the server files through a symbolic link named /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine (Linux). If you relocate the base server files, be sure to update the symbolic link using this command:
ln -sf
Confirm that the install directory contains required folders
Make sure the install directory contains the following folders: applications, bin, conf, lib, lib-native, logs, manager, stats, transcoder, and updates. There may be other folders but these folders must be present in order for Wowza Streaming Engine to run. If any of these folders is missing, run the installer again.
See if the services are running
By default, the Wowza Streaming Engine installer configures its required services to start automatically. If something happened to those settings, the software won't start and you won't be able to sign in to the Wowza Streaming Engine Manager. So check to see if the services are running and start them if they're not.
Check services on Windows
- Press Win + R.
- In the Run dialog box, type services.msc and then click OK.
- In the Services window, see if Wowza Streaming Engine 4.x.x and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager 4.x.x show a status of Running and a Startup Type of Automatic (Delayed Start) or Automatic.
- If either status is blank, right-click the service and select Start.
Tip: If the Startup Type is Manual, change it to Automatic by right-clicking the service and selecting Properties. On the General tab of the Properties window, select Automatic for the Startup Type.
Check services on Linux
- Open Terminal and enter the following command:
ps ax | grep Wowza
The command should return output similar to:
9020 ? Ss 0:00 /bin/bash /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/systemd.sh start /var/run/WowzaStreamingEngine.pid 9118 ? Ss 0:00 /bin/bash /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/bin/startmgr.sh 9120 ? Sl 0:24 /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/java/bin/java -cp :/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-jaxb/istack-commons-runtime-3.0.11.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-jaxb/jakarta.activation-1.2.2.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-jaxb/jakarta.xml.bind-api-2.3.3.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-jaxb/jaxb-runtime-2.3.3.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-jaxb/txw2-2.3.3.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/ecj-3.22.0.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-annotations-api-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-api-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-el-api-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-embed-core-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-embed-el-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-embed-jasper-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-jasper-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-jasper-el-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-jsp-api-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-juli-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-servlet-api-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-util-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/lib-tomcat/tomcat-util-scan-9.0.36.jar:/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/wms-tomcat-9.0.36.jar -Djava.security.egd=file:/dev/./urandom -Dcom.wowza.wms.ConfigURL="" -Dcom.wowza.wms.ConfigHome=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager -Djava.io.tmpdir=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/temp -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Djava.util.logging.manager=org.apache.juli.ClassLoaderLogManager -Djava.util.logging.config.file=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/conf/tomcat-log4j.properties -Dlog4j.configurationFile=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/conf/log4j2-config.xml -Dlogback.configurationFile=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/conf/logback-config.xml launch.Main --prefix=/enginemanager --defaultWebApp=/enginemanager --tempDirectory=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/temp --webroot=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/temp --warfile=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/lib/WMSManager.war --httpPort=8088 --config=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/manager/conf/tomcat.properties --ajp13Port=-1 --directoryListings=false 9147 ? Sl 0:07 /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/java/bin/java -Xmx1533M -XX:+UseG1GC -XX:MaxGCPauseMillis=100 -XX:SurvivorRatio=1 -server -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote=true -Dfile.encoding=UTF-8 -Dcom.wowza.wms.runmode=service -Dcom.wowza.wms.native.base=linux -Dlog4j.configurationFile=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/conf/log4j2-config.xml -Dcom.wowza.wms.AppHome=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine -Dcom.wowza.wms.ConfigURL= -Dcom.wowza.wms.ConfigHome=/usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine -cp /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/wms-bootstrap.jar com.wowza.wms.bootstrap.Bootstrap startLicenseUpdateServer
- If you don't see processes for WowzaStreamingEngined or WowzaStreamingEngineManagerd, start it. In Terminal, enter one of the following commands, depending on your distribution and the service that needs to be started:
sudo service WowzaStreamingEngine start
sudo service WowzaStreamingEngineManager start
/etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngine start
/etc/init.d/WowzaStreamingEngineManager start
- If you're running Wowza Streaming Engine as a service and it won't start, the installer might have misidentified the init system for your operating system. Use one of the following commands to change the init system between sysvinit/upstart and systemd:
- To change from sysvinit/upstart to systemd, run the command:
sudo /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/installsystemd.sh
This removes the sysvinit/upstart services, and then creates and starts the systemd services.
- To change from systemd to sysvinit/upstart, run the command:
This removes the systemd services, and then creates and starts the sysvinit/upstart services.
sudo /usr/local/WowzaStreamingEngine/bin/installupstart.sh
- To change from sysvinit/upstart to systemd, run the command:
Troubleshoot licensing errors
Licensing errors can prevent Wowza Streaming Engine from starting. Take the following steps to troubleshoot problems related to licensing.
- Make sure your license key file, Server.license, is in the [install-dir]/conf folder.
- Make sure Server.license doesn't have a file name extension such as .txt or .rtf.
- Open the Server.license file and verify that it contains the correct license key, and that the key is on a line by itself.
- Open the Server.license file and verify that it doesn't contain expired license keys or license keys for previous versions of Wowza Streaming Engine. License keys for Wowza Streaming Engine version 4 have the number 4 in the prefix (for example, ENGM4, EPBP4, EPBU4, or ENGP4).
- Verify that your server can access Wowza licensing servers. If you have proxy servers, see Configure Wowza Streaming Engine to use a proxy server to communicate with the license server.
- Wowza Streaming Engine periodically tries to connect to the Wowza license servers when it starts. If your license is invalid or your Wowza Streaming Engine server isn't connected to the Internet, you'll encounter an error. For more information on fixing these types of errors, see Troubleshoot Wowza Streaming Engine licensing errors at startup.
Troubleshoot network errors
If you can't sign in to the Wowza Streaming Engine Manager or you can't stream, your ports may be configured incorrectly. Make sure that you have the appropriate ports open to access the Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager services, and that HTTP requests are being routed correctly through these ports.
The default ports are:
| Port | Type | Use |
| 1935 | TCP | RTMP (all variants), RTSP, HLS, MPEG-DASH, WOWZ™ |
| 6970-9999 | UDP | Incoming RTP UDP streaming |
| 8084-8085 | TCP | JMX/JConsole monitoring and administration |
| 8086-8087 | TCP | HTTP administration |
| 8088 | TCP | Wowza Streaming Engine Manager |
| 554 (optional) | TCP | RTSP |
| 443 (optional) | TCP | SSL connections |
| 80 | TCP | Licensing server connections |
- Check that Wowza Streaming Engine services are listening on the ports that you have specified.
Check listening ports on Windows
-
Open Command Prompt and run the command:
netstat -an | findstr "1935 8088"
You should see output similar to the following:
TCP 0.0.0.0:1935 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING TCP 0.0.0.0:8088 0.0.0.0:0 LISTENING
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-
Check listening ports on Linux
-
Open Terminal and enter the command:
netstat -an | grep '1935\|8088'
You should see output similar to the following:
tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:1935 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN tcp 0 0 0.0.0.0:8088 0.0.0.0:* LISTEN
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-
If the appropriate ports aren't open, check your server's firewall configuration to make sure it isn't blocking them.
Note: Linux doesn't allow non-root users to start ports under 1024. To work around this, start Wowza Streaming Engine on port 1935, then redirect the port:
iptables -t nat -A PREROUTING -p tcp --dport 80 -j REDIRECT --to-ports 1935
Check firewall configuration on Windows
- Open Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and check the policies.
-
Check firewall configuration on Linux
- Run the iptables command and check the policies.
- If you're trying to access Wowza Streaming Engine on a different network, check to see whether the specified ports are open on the server's public IP address or public domain hostname. You can check the ports by using a network sniffer program such as Wireshark.
- Make sure you've configured any port forwarding or NAT rules correctly on your router or switch. You can check port forwarding and NAT rules by using a network sniffer program such as Wireshark.
Manually start Wowza Streaming Engine in standalone mode
If you can't get Wowza Streaming Engine to run as a service, you can start it in standalone mode. For instructions on how to start Wowza Streaming Engine and Wowza Streaming Engine Manager in standalone mode, see Start and stop Wowza Streaming Engine.
If you start in standalone mode using Command Prompt or Terminal, you'll know the software is working if you see output similar to the following:
Configure logging: file:///C:/Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine 4.x.x/conf/log4j2-config.xml INFO server server-start Wowza Streaming Engine 4 Monthly Edition 4.x.x buildxxxx - INFO server comment - Server License Key: INFO server comment - Maximum Connections: Unlimited INFO server comment - Maximum Incoming Streams: Unlimited INFO server comment - Transcoder Streams Available: Unlimited INFO server comment - Transcoder Watermark: No INFO server comment - nDVR Available: Yes INFO server comment - DRM Available: Yes INFO server comment - HTTP Origin Available: Yes INFO server comment - Push Publish Available: Yes INFO server comment - REST API Available: No INFO server comment - Hardware Available Processors: 4 INFO server comment - Hardware Physical Memory: 2650MB/8069MB INFO server comment - Hardware Swap Space: 2584MB/9349MB INFO server comment - Max File Descriptor Count: Unlimited INFO server comment - OS Name: Windows 8.1 INFO server comment - OS Version: 6.3 INFO server comment - OS Architecture: amd64 INFO server comment - OS CPU: amd64 INFO server comment - Java Name: Java HotSpot(TM) 64-Bit Server VM INFO server comment - Java Vendor: Oracle Corporation INFO server comment - Java Version: 1.8.0_25 INFO server comment - Java VM Version: 25.25-b02 INFO server comment - Java Spec Version: 1.8 INFO server comment - Java Home: C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.8.0_25\jre INFO server comment - Java Max Heap Size: 3194MB INFO server comment - Java Architecture: 64 INFO server comment - Java Locale[user.language]: en INFO server comment - Java Locale[user.country]: US INFO server comment - Java Locale[user.variant]: INFO server comment - Java Locale[file.encoding]: Cp1252 INFO server comment - Java Timezone[user.timezone]: America/ INFO server comment - Java Args[0]: -Xmx3227M INFO server comment - Java Args[1]: -XX:+UseConcMarkSweepGC INFO server comment - Java Args[2]: -XX:+UseParNewGC INFO server comment - Java Args[3]: -XX:NewSize=256m INFO server comment - Java Args[4]: -Djava.net.preferIPv4Stack=true INFO server comment - Java Args[5]: -Dcom.sun.management.jmxremote=true INFO server comment - Java Args[6]: -Dcom.wowza.wms.runmode=standalone INFO server comment - Java Args[7]: -Dcom.wowza.wms.native.base=win INFO server comment - Java Args[8]: -Dcom.wowza.wms.ConfigURL= INFO server comment - Server runmode: standalone INFO server comment - Server native.platform: win INFO server comment - Server threads[h/t]: 240/160 INFO server comment - RESTServer: Bind attempt ([any]:8087) INFO server comment - RESTServer: Bind successful ([any]:8087) INFO server comment - Wowza REST API started INFO server comment - RESTServer: Using configs from:C:/Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine 4.1.2/ INFO server comment - RESTServer: SSL:No INFO server comment - RESTServer: BasicAuth:No INFO server comment - RESTServer: Digest:Yes INFO server comment - RESTServer: XML Viewer:No INFO server comment - RESTDocumentationServer: Bind attempt ([any]:8089) INFO server comment - RESTDocumentationServer: Bind successful ([any]:8089) INFO server comment - Wowza REST Documentation Server started INFO server comment - RESTDocumentationServer: Using configs from:C:/Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine 4.1.2/ INFO server comment - RESTDocumentationServer: BasicAuth:No INFO server comment - CMDInterface now listening: [any]:8083 INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Thread pool size: [writer/readahead]:8/4 INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: MAX Pending size: [writer/readahead]:500M/25M INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Add store: path:C:/Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/Wowza Streaming Engine 4.1.2/mediacache maxSize:10737418240 INFO server comment - REST API: ready INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Add source[dvrorigin]: prefix:dvrorigin/ basePath:https:// INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Add source[amazons3]:prefix:amazons3/basePath:https://s3.amazonaws.com/ INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Flushing cache: start INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Flushing cache: done INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Start MediaCache GC INFO server comment - MediaCache[MediaCache]: Started INFO vhost vhost-start _defaultVHost_ - INFO server comment - _defaultVHost_ threads[h/t]:0/0 home:C:/Program Files/Wowza Media Systems/WowzaStreaming Engine 4.1.2 INFO vhost comment _defaultVHost_ Bind attempt ([any]:1935:8) INFO vhost comment _defaultVHost_ Bind successful ([any]:1935) INFO vhost comment _defaultVHost_ Bind attempt ([any]:8086:4) INFO vhost comment _defaultVHost_ Bind successful ([any]:8086) INFO server comment - VHost.loadConfig: Local XML override: HTTPStreamers.xml INFO server comment - VHost.loadConfig: Local XML override: LiveStreamPacketizers.xml INFO server comment - Server.startShutdownHook: Start server shutdown hook INFO server comment - StatsManager:startManager() Enabled=true INFO server comment - Wowza Streaming Engine is started!
If you encounter errors when you start in standalone mode, open a Support ticket. (Technical support is included with all active subscriptions and maintenance and support contracts.) Copy the error messages and include them in your detailed problem description in the support ticket form.
