Flash crowd management in real-time streaming

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing executable computer program instructions, the computer program instructions when executed by a processor causing the processor to:

• configure a first quantity of computing resources at an endpoint server cluster to stream a real-time content stream;
• determine a first rate of requests by client devices to connect to the endpoint server cluster;
• responsive to determining the first rate of the requests to connect to the endpoint server cluster is greater than a first threshold, provision a second quantity of computing resources at the endpoint server cluster;
• after provisioning the second quantity of computing resources, monitor subscriptions by the client devices to a control channel at the endpoint server cluster, wherein the subscriptions are based on requests to connect to the control channel at the endpoint server cluster;
• determine a second rate of the subscriptions to the control channel at the endpoint server cluster;
• and
• responsive to determining the second rate of the subscriptions to the control channel is greater than a second threshold, configure the provisioned computing resources for streaming the real-time content stream to one or more of the client devices.

A real-time streaming system comprising:

• an endpoint server cluster including first computing resources configured to stream a real-time content stream to client devices;
• and
• a streaming server communicatively coupled to the endpoint server cluster and configured to:
• detect actions by a plurality of client devices during a multi-step process to access the real-time content stream from the endpoint server cluster;
• provision second computing resources different from the first computing resources at the endpoint server cluster based on a rate at which the plurality of client devices perform an action associated with a first step in the multi-step process;
• and
• configure the provisioned second computing resources at the endpoint server cluster to stream the real-time content stream based on a rate at which the plurality of client devices perform an action associated with a second step in the multi-step process after provisioning the second computing resources.