This article navigates an account administrator through the session rules in Revma.com and explains the different uses.
Session Rules Overview
The Session Rules refer to an IP-based filtering method, that allows an account administrator to route the listeners through a certain stream or a group of streams, with various actions being applied.
Some examples of how the rules can be applied are:
redirecting listeners from different countries to alternative content, different bitrates and even particular advertising serving static media files and/ or on demand vast ads.
Allowing specific groups of listeners to reach a station’s broadcast only on specific time-frames.
Via the account's management portal, administrators have access to the “Filtering” administration panel, under which all “Filtering” related tools can be configured. Following a match of stream(s) and rule(s), one of the following actions can apply.
1. Actions
There are five different kinds of actions: Drop, Continue, Redirect, Loop, Vast.
Each one is explained below:
a. Drop
With the Drop action, a listener connection is dropped (access to the stream is restricted), with an optional media injection (media prompt).
b. Continue
The Continue action intercepts and allows the connection with an optional media play (used to play a specific media to user before starting the stream). This is widely used in order to serve advertisements or promos before listeners actually tune-in.
c. Redirect
Using the Redirect action, listeners are redirected to another HTTP location.
d. Loop
With the Loop action, a static media file can be broadcasted in a continuous loop.
e. Vast
Using the Vast action, allows media to be served on (a group of) listeners, using a VAST compatible provider’s inventory. This media can be served upon a listener’s connection (preroll) and/or during the listeners connection (midroll).
Vast actions can also be set to include a static media file (media prompt) play before the ad (station promo/ welcome message) or an alternative media file (in case the ad provider fails to serve an ad for any reason). Both prompts and alternative media are included in reports.
2. Content Providers
In this section of the Session Rules is where content providers can be added. These are the ad providers that can be used by rules that contain the Vast action.
To add a provider you will need to enter a URL from which pre-roll ads will be served, and a Midroll URL from which midroll ads will be served.
It’s advisable that the Append Listener Id box remains ticked at all times, as, including the listener id in the ad request url, more targeted advertisements will be generated.
The Delay Report is best kept ticked, as it delays the reports coming through by a few seconds, in order to balance the misbehaviour of different web players.
3. Stream Groups
In this section is where you can create groups of Stations under your account to use for Rules that might require them. For example, a target group of people located in a specific country, can be set to only listen 2 stations, which have been categorised in this section already as a stream group with the name of the account admin’s choice.
4. Geo Groups
Geo Groups are groups of Countries of the account admin’s choice.
5. Geo Areas
Geo Areas are more specific areas of the map that can be created in another location (eg. google maps) and be added here. Unlike the Geo Groups, the choice does not depend on countries.
Geo Areas is based on a protocol called KML geographic areas.
They can be created using Google Maps:
Open Google Maps
Click on the top left for the menu
Click on “Your Places”
Click the Tab “Maps”
Click the “Create Map” option on the bottom
You will see an editing tool and on the floating bar there is an option called “Draw a line”
Select the “Add Line or Shape” option and draw lines on the map. When the lines meet you will have a GEO Area
You can select the 3 dots next to the map’s name to export in KML. Select only the active Layer and that will give you the GEO Area KML.
On the Revma side, KML files need to be in the form of a URL, so this KML file needs to be public on any drive and accessed directly via a URL. That URL is the value of the KML area.
The URL of the area created, can be added to the KML file URL field
6. IP Groups
In this category you can create IP groups to have available to use for your Rules. The types of IP groups vary. You can create one based on the CIDR notation, the IP Range or just a single IP address.
7. Rules
Creating a rule is a multi-step process.
priority
In case more than one rules match, the one with the lowest integer value priority applies (0 being the highest priority). Prioritizing rules is required in a number of cases and is used to handle advanced scenarios.
Make sure that you do not create multiple rules with the same priority, as only one of them will randomly apply.
source
As source we refer to any certain IP or groups of IPs, Geo Groups or Geo Areas, filtering (groups of) listeners that the rule will apply to.
target
This is the step where the rule's target is selected. Target could be a single stream, a group of streams (i.e. 30 out of 150 streams operating under an account) or all streams (any target) operating under an account.
action
Here is where an action is configured to apply once stream(s) and rule(s) match.
percentage
Configuration of the percentage of listeners (that match the rule) the action will apply to.
schedule (optional)
Once a rule is created, it will be active immediately (scheduled to always apply) or can be scheduled to apply in certain time frames. Scheduled slots can either refer to day(s) or hour(s) or both. Additionally, there can be combinations of different slots.
