Skip to main content
SaaS PlatformsArchitecture Confidence: High

Video Streaming Platform Architecture Template

Upload, transcode, and deliver video at scale with CDN. Generate a complete cloud architecture with cost estimates, Terraform, sequence diagrams, CLI deployment workflows, and a GitHub Actions pipeline — on AWS, Azure, or GCP.

Generates forAWSAzureGCP
Cost Estimates
AWS$725 / month
Azure$808 / month
GCP$724 / month

Production estimates. Your workspace generates actuals.

Architecture Overview

Stores raw uploads in object storage, runs a transcoding pipeline for multiple resolutions and adaptive bitrate, distributes via CDN, and gates playback behind subscription and entitlement checks.

Services Selected

~8

cloud services

S3MediaConvertS3CloudFrontECS Fargate+3 more
Cloud Provider

AWS Architecture Diagram

Full topology with all services and request flows — switch providers above to compare.

Cloud Provider
AWS Architecture DiagramProduction flow SVG - implementation-order handoffs
100%
AWS Video Streaming PlatformAWS PRODUCTION ARCHITECTURErequestrouteread · writeinferenceenqueue · publishsecrets · metrics · auditUsersCLIENT & EDGEAmazon CloudFront(Signed)CDN / HLS DeliveryAWS WAF + ShieldWAF / DDoSAmazon API GatewayAPI GatewayAmazon CognitoAuth / EntitlementsAPPLICATION & COMPUTEAmazon ECS FargateUpload ServiceAmazon ECS FargateCatalog & Playback APIAWS LambdaThumbnail WorkerAWS LambdaSubscription WebhookStripe BillingSubscription BillingDATA & STATEAmazon S3Raw Video IngestAmazon S3(Intelligent-Tiering)HLS Segment StoreAmazon AuroraPostgreSQLUser & Subscription DBAmazon ElastiCacheRedisCatalog CacheAI / MLAWS LambdaModeration WorkerAmazon RekognitionContent Moderation AIAmazon SQSModeration QueueASYNC & INTEGRATIONAWS ElementalMediaConvertTranscoding EngineAmazon SQSTranscode QueueAmazon Kinesis DataStreamsPlayback AnalyticsAmazon SQS DLQDead-Letter QueueSECURITY & OPERATIONSAWS Secrets ManagerSecrets ManagementAmazon CloudWatch +X-RayObservability

Video Streaming Platform - AWS - Production implementation lanes - CloudDesign AI

Architecture Breakdown

Every major component, what it does, and the AWS service powering it.

AWS

Raw Upload Store

Amazon ECS Fargate

Stores and retrieves data with durability and access controls.

AWS

Transcoder

Amazon SQS

Handles business logic and integrates with surrounding services.

AWS

HLS Segment Store

Amazon CloudFront (Signed)

Stores and retrieves data with durability and access controls.

AWS

CDN Delivery

Amazon CloudFront (Signed)

Distributes content globally with edge caching.

AWS

API Server

Amazon API Gateway

Routes, authenticates, and rate-limits incoming requests.

AWS

User & Subscription DB

AWS Lambda

Stores and retrieves data with durability and access controls.

AWS

Content Moderation

AWS Lambda

Handles business logic and integrates with surrounding services.

AWS

Job Queue

SQS

Decouples producers from consumers for async processing.

Cost Estimate — AWS

Representative production estimate. Your workspace generates a breakdown based on your actual configuration.

AWS$725 / month estimated

S3

Raw + HLS storage

$40/mo

MediaConvert

Transcoding jobs

$180/mo

CloudFront

CDN delivery

$250/mo

ECS Fargate

API server

$90/mo

RDS Aurora

Users & subscriptions

$120/mo

Rekognition

Content moderation

$30/mo

SQS

Job queue

$5/mo

Cognito

Auth

$10/mo

Total estimate

$725 / month

What CloudDesign AI Generates

Every generation produces a complete set of production-ready artifacts.

🗺️

Architecture Diagram

Full topology showing every service and how traffic flows between them.

↔️

Sequence Diagrams

Request lifecycle flows for upload, query, and overall system paths.

💰

Cost Analysis

Per-service cost breakdown with total estimate for the selected provider.

🏗️

Terraform Code

Complete infrastructure-as-code export you can deploy immediately.

⚙️

CLI Deployment Workflow

Ordered provisioning commands for every service in the architecture.

🚀

GitHub Actions Pipeline

Ready-to-commit `.github/workflows/terraform.yml` for CI/CD.

⚖️

Tradeoff Analysis

Cost, scalability, reliability, and operational complexity breakdown.

Production Checklist

Architecture-specific risks and mitigations before you go live.

Terraform Preview — AWS

Provider-specific infrastructure code. The full export is available after generating.

main.tf — AWS
Full export after generation
resource "aws_s3_bucket" "raw_video" {
  bucket = "${var.prefix}-raw-video"
}

resource "aws_cloudfront_distribution" "hls" {
  enabled         = true
  price_class     = "PriceClass_All"
}

resource "aws_db_cluster" "aurora" {
  cluster_identifier = "${var.prefix}-aurora"
  engine             = "aurora-postgresql"
}

# + 340 more lines — generate the full export →

Full Terraform export includes: variables, outputs, IAM roles, environment configs, and module structure.

Generate Full Terraform

CLI Preview — AWS

Ordered provisioning commands for every service. The full workflow is generated in your workspace.

deploy.sh — AWS
Full workflow after generation
aws s3api create-bucket --bucket $PREFIX-raw-video --region $REGION
aws mediaconvert create-job-template --name $PREFIX-hls-template
aws rds create-db-cluster --db-cluster-identifier $PREFIX-aurora \
  --engine aurora-postgresql
aws cloudfront create-distribution --origin-domain-name $PREFIX.s3.amazonaws.com

# + 26 more commands — generate the full workflow →

Full CLI workflow includes: bucket creation, networking, IAM setup, application deployment, and health checks — in order.

Generate Full CLI Workflow

Cloud Provider Mapping

Every architectural function mapped to its native service on AWS, Azure, and GCP.

FunctionAWSAzureGCP
CDN / HLS DeliveryAmazon CloudFront (Signed)Azure Front Door PremiumCloud CDN (Signed URLs)
WAF / DDoSAWS WAF + ShieldAzure WAF + DDoS ProtectionCloud Armor
API GatewayAmazon API GatewayAzure API ManagementCloud Endpoints
Auth / EntitlementsAmazon CognitoAzure AD B2CFirebase Auth
Upload ServiceAmazon ECS FargateAzure Container AppsCloud Run
Catalog & Playback APIAmazon ECS FargateAzure Container AppsCloud Run
Thumbnail WorkerAWS LambdaAzure FunctionsCloud Run
Moderation WorkerAWS LambdaAzure FunctionsCloud Run
Subscription WebhookAWS LambdaAzure FunctionsCloud Run
Raw Video IngestAmazon S3Azure Blob StorageCloud Storage
HLS Segment StoreAmazon S3 (Intelligent-Tiering)Azure Blob Storage (Cool)Cloud Storage (Nearline)
User & Subscription DBAmazon Aurora PostgreSQLAzure PostgreSQL Flexible ServerCloud SQL PostgreSQL
Catalog CacheAmazon ElastiCache RedisAzure Cache for RedisCloud Memorystore
Content Moderation AIAmazon RekognitionAzure AI Content SafetyVideo Intelligence API
Transcoding EngineAWS Elemental MediaConvertAzure Media ServicesTranscoder API
Transcode QueueAmazon SQSAzure Service BusCloud Pub/Sub
Moderation QueueAmazon SQSAzure Service BusCloud Pub/Sub
Subscription BillingStripe BillingStripe BillingStripe Billing
Playback AnalyticsAmazon Kinesis Data StreamsAzure Event HubsCloud Pub/Sub
Dead-Letter QueueAmazon SQS DLQService Bus Dead-letterPub/Sub Dead-letter Topic
Secrets ManagementAWS Secrets ManagerAzure Key VaultGCP Secret Manager
ObservabilityAmazon CloudWatch + X-RayAzure Monitor + App InsightsCloud Monitoring + Logging

Architecture Tradeoffs

How AWS, Azure, and GCP compare across the dimensions that matter most for this architecture.

CDN Cost

AWS
4
Azure
3
GCP
4

AWS CloudFront and GCP Cloud CDN have competitive egress pricing; Azure CDN costs more at high volume.

Transcoding Quality

AWS
5
Azure
4
GCP
4

AWS MediaConvert offers the most encoding profiles and presets out of the box.

Scalability

AWS
5
Azure
5
GCP
5

All three providers handle petabyte-scale video delivery with global PoPs.

Operational Simplicity

AWS
3
Azure
4
GCP
4

GCP Transcoder API and Azure Media Services are simpler to configure than MediaConvert job templates.

Compliance

AWS
5
Azure
5
GCP
4

AWS and Azure have broader media industry compliance coverage including GDPR and COPPA.

Production Risks for This Architecture

Known failure modes with concrete mitigations — included in every generated checklist.

1

CDN egress cost surprise: video delivery traffic can multiply your AWS bill 3–10x without per-user bandwidth caps and CloudFront cost alerts configured

2

MediaConvert job queue saturation during upload spikes: implement priority queuing so paid subscribers get faster encoding than free-tier users

3

Adaptive bitrate stall on slow connections: ensure your HLS segment sizes and keyframe intervals are tuned — default MediaConvert settings often cause rebuffering on mobile networks

Key Capabilities Covered

Video transcoding pipeline
Adaptive bitrate + CDN
Object storage at scale
Subscription management
Content moderation queue

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this architecture and what CloudDesign AI generates.

AWSAzureGCP

Generate the Video Streaming Platform Architecture

Get the full architecture diagram, cost breakdown, Terraform, CLI workflow, and GitHub Actions pipeline — specific to your chosen cloud provider.

Free account · No credit card required · 5 architecture runs per month