Capture AI crawlers on Akamai.

DataStream 2 sends JSON request logs straight to Virent over HTTPS, so cached responses are covered without code on your origin.

You need your site ID and server secret from Settings → Connection (see Hosting integrations). In the dashboard, Connect analytics → Hosting integrations → Akamai shows these steps with your site ID, domain and secret filled in. Below, replace <your-site-id>, <paste-your-server-secret> and example.com with your own values.

Configure Akamai so example.com sends reliable AI crawler request telemetry to Virent.

Site ID: <your-site-id>
Use the full Virent server secret from the Connect dialog. Do not use the masked preview "vha_sk_••••" as the real value.

Use the current provider documentation: https://techdocs.akamai.com/datastream2/docs/stream-custom-https

Steps:
1. Create the HTTPS destination: Create a DataStream 2 stream with a Custom HTTPS destination and JSON output. Use 30-second delivery for the freshest dashboard data.

https://stage.virent.app/api/ingest/akamai

2. Authenticate delivery: Add this supported custom request header. Virent acknowledges Akamai’s access_validation payload during destination validation without recording it as traffic.

x-api-key: <paste-your-server-secret>

3. Select request fields: Select these DataStream 2 fields and keep the output format as JSON. Virent decodes Akamai’s URL-encoded user-agent and referrer values.

reqId, reqTimeSec, cliIP, statusCode, proto, reqHost, reqMethod, reqPath, rspContentType, UA, queryStr, referer, country

4. Activate and verify: Activate the stream for the example.com property, send a supported AI crawler request, and verify the connection status in Virent.

Keep the secret server-side, preserve 100% request coverage where the provider supports sampling, and verify both normal site delivery and a crawler request after activation.

Steps#

1. 01

   Create the HTTPS destination

   Create a DataStream 2 stream with a Custom HTTPS destination and JSON output. Use 30-second delivery for the freshest dashboard data.

   Destination URL

   https://stage.virent.app/api/ingest/akamai

2. 02

   Authenticate delivery

   Add this supported custom request header. Virent acknowledges Akamai’s access_validation payload during destination validation without recording it as traffic.

   Custom header

   x-api-key: <paste-your-server-secret>

3. 03

   Select request fields

   Select these DataStream 2 fields and keep the output format as JSON. Virent decodes Akamai’s URL-encoded user-agent and referrer values.

   Data set fields

   reqId, reqTimeSec, cliIP, statusCode, proto, reqHost, reqMethod, reqPath, rspContentType, UA, queryStr, referer, country

4. 04

   Activate and verify

   Activate the stream for the example.com property, send a supported AI crawler request, and verify the connection status in Virent.

Check Akamai's current documentation if its screens differ from these steps.

Verify#

Send a test crawler request to your site. The setup dialog in Virent shows "Virent is receiving AI crawler traffic" once the first request arrives.