From the documentation:
ApplicationTimeout
Length of time, in milliseconds, that the server will wait before shutting down an application to which no clients are connected. A Timeout value of 0 keeps applications running until the virtual host is shut down. If this value is not provided (or the section is commented out), the value set in the VHost.xml file is used.
My first question is if there is any downside in setting this timeout to be 0 and keep the application running even when there is no clients are connected?
Second question regarding this ApplicationTimeout is what to be considered as “clients are connected”. Does it refer to consumption, i.e. a player is consuming the m3u8/mpd feed? Does a running stream/RTMP push without consumption being still considered as “clients are connected”?