What This Page Does

This page lets you manage remote servers that handle video processing for your site. Instead of your main web server doing all the heavy lifting when converting uploaded videos, you can spread the work across multiple dedicated servers. This speeds up video processing and keeps your website responsive for visitors.

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How to Get Here

Navigate to Admin Panel > Video Processor > Conversion Servers

Understanding the Page

When you open this page, you will see a few key areas.

Feature Status Banner

At the very top, a colored banner tells you whether remote conversion is turned on or off.

Click the Settings button on the banner to go to Video Processor Settings, where you can turn this feature on or off.

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Statistics Dashboard

Below the banner, eight cards give you a quick overview of your system at a glance.

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Servers Tab

This is the main area showing all your conversion servers in a table. Each row shows one server with its name, connection type, status, health, current workload, job counts, last check-in time, and action buttons.

Activity Logs Tab

Click the Activity Logs tab to see a record of recent events, including task assignments, completions, failures, and connection tests. Click the Refresh button to load the latest entries.

Common Tasks

How to Add a New Server

When you have a new dedicated server ready to handle video processing, add it here so your site knows about it.

1. Click the Add Server button at the top of the page.
2. Type a name in the Server Name field (for example, "Conversion Server 1").
3. Select a Status: choose Enabled to start using it right away, or Disabled to set it up now and turn it on later.
4. Choose a Connection Type from the dropdown:

• SSH/SFTP -- The most common and recommended option for remote servers
• FTP -- Use this if your remote server only supports FTP connections
• Local -- Use this if the conversion server is on the same machine
• S3 Compatible -- Use this for cloud storage-based workflows

1. Fill in the connection details that appear (these change depending on the connection type you chose -- see the "Connection Types Explained" section below).
2. Set the Working Directory -- this is where video files will be stored on the remote server during processing.
3. Set the Max Concurrent Jobs to control how many videos this server can process at the same time.
4. Click Save Server.

1. After saving, click the Test Connection button (plug icon) on your new server's row to make sure your site can reach it.
2. Click the Deploy Worker button (upload icon) to send the processing software to the remote server.
3. Copy the command shown in the popup and set it up on your remote server (your server administrator or hosting provider can help with this step).

How to Edit a Server

1. Find the server in the list.
2. Click the Edit button (pencil icon) on that server's row.
3. Make your changes in the popup form.
4. Click Save Server.

How to Test a Server Connection

Use this to check that your site can successfully communicate with a conversion server.

1. Find the server in the list.
2. Click the Test Connection button (plug icon).
3. A message appears telling you whether the connection succeeded or failed.

How to Turn a Server On or Off

Each server has three possible states:

To change a server's status:

1. Click the Edit button on the server's row.
2. Change the Status dropdown to your desired setting.
3. Click Save Server.

How to Deploy the Worker Software

Before a server can process videos, it needs the worker software installed. This is done with one click from the admin panel.

1. Find the server in the list.
2. Click the Deploy Worker button (upload icon).
3. Wait while the files are uploaded to the remote server.
4. When deployment succeeds, a command appears in the popup.
5. Click the Copy button to copy this command.
6. Give this command to your server administrator to set up on the remote server. This ensures the processing software runs automatically.

If the worker was already deployed previously, the popup shows a confirmation along with the command. You can click Redeploy if you need to update the worker files.

How to Check a Server's Health (Diagnostics)

The diagnostics panel gives you a detailed look at how a specific server is performing.

1. Find the server in the list.
2. Click the Diagnostics button (heartbeat icon).
3. A popup opens showing detailed health information in a grid of cards.

What you will see:

If any problems are detected, a red alert box appears at the top of the popup listing each issue.

Click Refresh to update the diagnostics without closing the popup.

How to Delete a Server

1. Find the server you want to remove.
2. Click the Delete button (trash icon).
3. Confirm by clicking Yes in the popup.

How to View Activity Logs

1. Click the Activity Logs tab at the top of the page.
2. The most recent 50 log entries are displayed.
3. Click Refresh to load the latest entries.

Each log entry shows the time, which server it relates to, the type of event, and a message describing what happened.

Log entries are color-coded by type:

Connection Types Explained

When adding a server, the fields you need to fill in change depending on the connection type.

SSH/SFTP (Recommended)

The most common and full-featured option. Fill in:

• Host -- The server address (for example, 192.168.1.100 or myserver.example.com)
• Port -- Usually 22 (filled in automatically)
• Username -- The login name for the remote server
• Password -- The login password

FTP

Similar to SSH but with fewer features. Fill in the same fields as SSH, but the port defaults to 21.

Local

Use this when the conversion software runs on the same machine as your website. No host or login details are needed.

S3 Compatible

Use this for cloud storage workflows. Fill in:

• S3 Access Key -- Your storage provider's access key
• S3 Secret Key -- Your storage provider's secret key
• S3 Bucket -- The name of your storage bucket
• S3 Region -- The region where your bucket is located (for example, us-east-1)
• S3 Endpoint -- Only needed for non-AWS providers (like Wasabi or MinIO)

Settings and Options

Capacity Settings

When adding or editing a server, you can fine-tune how it handles workload.

Hardware Information (Optional)

These fields are for your reference only and help you keep track of your servers' capabilities.

Notes

A free-text area where you can write anything useful about the server, such as its physical location, who manages it, or maintenance schedules.

Understanding Server Health

Each server shows a health indicator that updates automatically.

Understanding Load Balancing

When you have multiple servers, your site automatically decides which server should handle each new video. There are four methods for distributing work.

Understanding How Video Tasks Flow

When a video is uploaded to your site, it goes through several steps on the conversion server:

1. Pending -- The video is waiting for an available server
2. Assigned -- A server has been selected to handle it
3. Uploading -- The video file is being sent to the remote server
4. Queued -- The file arrived and is waiting for the worker to pick it up
5. Processing -- The video is actively being converted
6. Downloading -- The finished files are being sent back
7. Completed -- Everything is done and the video is ready to appear on your site

If something goes wrong, the task moves to Failed. Failed tasks are automatically retried up to three times before giving up.

Demo Mode

If you see an orange/yellow banner at the top of the page saying you are in demo mode, it means the page is in read-only demonstration mode. In demo mode:

• You can browse and view all settings, but you cannot make changes
• Sensitive information like server addresses and passwords is hidden
• The Add Server button is disabled

This mode is typically used for demonstrations or training purposes.

Tips for New Users

Troubleshooting

Connection test fails

What you see: After clicking the Test Connection button, you get an error message saying the connection failed.

How to fix it:

1. Double-check the Host, Port, Username, and Password by clicking Edit on the server.
2. Make sure the remote server is turned on and reachable.
3. If you recently changed the password on the remote server, update it here as well.
4. Contact your server administrator or hosting provider if the problem persists.

Server shows "Offline" health status

What you see: A server's health indicator shows a gray "Offline" badge, and the last heartbeat time is not updating.

How to fix it:

1. Click Test Connection to check if the server is reachable.
2. If the connection test passes, the worker software may not be running. Click Deploy Worker and make sure the command was set up on the remote server.
3. If the connection test also fails, the remote server may be down. Contact your server administrator.

Videos are not being processed

What you see: Videos stay in "Pending" status and the Pending Tasks count on the dashboard keeps growing.

How to fix it:

1. Check that the feature banner at the top of the page shows green (enabled). If it shows amber, click Settings to enable remote conversion.
2. Make sure at least one server is Enabled and showing a Healthy status.
3. Verify that the worker software has been deployed by checking for a green checkmark on the Deploy Worker button.
4. Check the Activity Logs tab for error messages that might explain the issue.

Worker deployment fails

What you see: When clicking Deploy Worker, you see a red X with an error message instead of a success message.

How to fix it:

1. Run a Test Connection first to make sure your site can reach the server.
2. Check that the Working Directory path is correct and that the user account has permission to write files there.
3. Try clicking Try Again in the deployment popup.
4. If it continues to fail, contact your server administrator to verify the remote server's settings.

Server health keeps changing between "Healthy" and "Warning"

What you see: A server's health status flickers between green and amber.

How to fix it:

1. The server may be under heavy load. Try reducing the Max Concurrent Jobs in the server settings.
2. Open Diagnostics and check the Load Average card. If it shows "High" or "Critical," the server needs fewer simultaneous tasks or more resources.
3. Check the Disk Space card to make sure the server is not running out of storage.

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