Custom CDN resources for Video Streaming

Video Streaming includes integrated CDN delivery by default. A custom CDN resource is a separate CDN product that uses the Video Streaming subdomain as its origin, placed in front of streaming delivery and managed independently. This enables custom domains, access policies, secure tokens, and caching settings that the integrated CDN does not expose.

Delivery approaches

The table below shows where the two approaches differ:

Feature	Default streaming CDN	Custom CDN resource
Billing model	Per-minute, all-inclusive	Per-GB (bandwidth only)
Custom domains	Not available	Supported
Geo-blocking	Not available	Country access policies
Referrer validation	Not available	Domain restrictions
IP allowlists/blocklists	Not available	IP access policies
Secure tokens	Not available	Configurable
Advanced caching	Default settings	Full control
Separate policies per content type	Not available	Multiple resources

Billing

The default streaming CDN is all-inclusive: transcoding, storage, and bandwidth are billed together per minute of content streamed. A custom CDN resource adds a separate per-GB bandwidth charge on top of the existing streaming costs — transcoding and storage remain covered by the streaming plan.

Custom CDN resource setup

Video Streaming must be active before creating a custom CDN resource.

1. Activate CDN product

   1. Log in to the Gcore Customer Portal
   2. Navigate to CDN in the main menu
   3. Click Activate CDN service if not already active
   4. Select a paid tariff that fits the bandwidth requirements
2. Create a CDN resource

   1. Navigate to CDN > CDN resources
   2. Click Create CDN resource
   3. Configure the resource:
      • Origin source: the Video Streaming subdomain (e.g., 12345.gvideo.io)
      • Add domain (optional): a custom domain for branded delivery (e.g., video.example.com)
   4. Click Create resource
   5. In the resource settings, set Origin pull protocol to HTTPS (General section)

   If a custom domain is added, create a CNAME DNS record pointing to the CDN resource and attach an SSL certificate to serve content over HTTPS. The CDN resource guide covers the full creation flow.

3. (Optional) Configure access policies

   1. Navigate to CDN > CDN resources and select the resource
   2. In the left sidebar under Options, select Access
   3. Enable the policies needed for this resource. Each policy supports Allow by default (allow all except listed entries) and Block by default (block all except listed entries) modes:

   Policy	Controls	Notes
   Country access policy	Countries where content can be delivered	Use for broadcasting rights — restrict to specific regions or block individual markets
   Referrer access policy	Domains that can embed or request content	Add domains with wildcard support: *.mywebsite.com allows all subdomains
   IP access policy	IP addresses or CIDR ranges	Use for corporate intranets, partner delivery, or blocking bot networks
   User agents policy	Browsers or client identifiers	Use to block scrapers or restrict delivery to specific apps

   For token-based access control, configure Video secure tokens separately — these are not in the Access section.

4. Request Streaming Rules

   Gcore Support must apply Streaming Rules to the CDN resource before streaming traffic is routed correctly. Provide the CDN resource ID and the streaming client ID when contacting support.

   Streaming will not work on a custom CDN resource without this support configuration.

5. Update application URLs

   Once support confirms the setup is complete, replace clientID.gvideo.io with the custom domain in all video URLs and verify playback:

   Before: https://12345.gvideo.io/videos/12345_ABcdefg123HiJ/master.m3u8
   After:  https://video.mywebsite.com/videos/12345_ABcdefg123HiJ/master.m3u8
   

Multiple CDN resources

Multiple custom CDN resources pointing to the same streaming origin can each carry different access policies. This enables content segmentation without duplicating the stream:

Domain	Access policy	Use case
public.mysite.com	No restrictions	Free, public content
protected.mysite.com	Secure tokens	Paid/private content
us-only.mysite.com	Country: US only	US-specific content
eu-only.mysite.com	Country: EU only	EU-specific content

Each resource has separate billing, monitoring, and policy configuration.

Troubleshooting

Most issues with custom CDN resources fall into one of the categories below. Check the CDN resource status in the Customer Portal before investigating further — an inactive resource causes all four.

CDN resource not delivering content

If the CDN resource returns 404 or 502 errors, confirm that support has applied Streaming Rules, verify the origin is set to the streaming subdomain, and confirm the CDN tariff is paid and active.

Secure tokens not working

If requests with a secure token return 403, verify the secure token is enabled on the CDN resource, check that the token generation parameters match the CDN configuration (IP binding, expiration), and confirm the token has not expired. The Video secure token article covers configuration and implementation details.

Geo-blocking not working

If content is accessible from blocked countries, verify the country access policy is enabled and saved, confirm the policy mode (Allow by default vs. Block by default), and allow 5–15 minutes for CDN propagation. Test from a VPN in the target country to confirm the policy is active.

Custom domain not working

For DNS errors or certificate issues on a custom domain, verify the CNAME record points to the CDN resource, allow up to 24–48 hours for propagation, check the SSL certificate status, and confirm the CDN resource is active in the Customer Portal.

CDN caching rules and resource monitoring are configured through CDN settings.