Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central Services - 1.8 Installation Manual
Interplay® Central Services
Version 1.8 Installation & Configuration Guide
ICS Version: 1.8 Document Version: 1.0.1
Important Infor mati on
Revision Histor y
Date Revised
Version
Changes Made
July 30, 2014
1.0.1
New section “Verifying the hosts file Contents”.
This document provides in str uctions to install and configure Avid Interplay Central Services (ICS)
version 1.8 for use with Interplay Central 1.8, Sphere (latest plug-in for Media Composer 6.5.x
and 7.0.x and correspondi ng NewsCutter versions), and Interplay MAM 4.3.x.
For the latest information on the Interplay Central Services, see the documentation available
from the Interplay Central Services page of the Avid Knowledge Base. Updates are occasionally
issued after initial release.
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/readme/Avid-Interplay-Central-Services-Version-1-8Documentation
Important: Search the Avid Knowledge Base ICS 1.8 web page for the most up-to-date
ICS 1.8 Installation and Co nfiguration Guide , which contains the latest information that
might have become available after this document was published.
Note: For information on upgrading to ICS 1.8 from an earlier release, see the ICS 1.8
Upgrading Guide, available from the Avid Knowledge Base
March 24, 2014 1.0 First publication
ICS 1.8 web page.
Updated “Adding Host Names and IP Addresses to the hosts File”.
Removed redundant editing of rc.local file from “Mounting the
GlusterFS Volumes in Linux”.
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
About ICS 1.8
Please see the Interplay Central Services 1.8 ReadMe and any ReadMe documents pertaining to
the solution(s) by which ICS is used.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Contents
Important Information ....................................................................................................................... 1
Revision History .................................................................................................................................. 1
ART I: INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW ........................................................................................................... 10
P
Welcome .................................................................................................................................................. 11
About this Guide ...................................................................................................................................... 12
Licensing and Additional Installation Information ................................................................................... 12
Front End License Configuration .......................................................................................................... 12
Delivery of Licenses on Back-End Systems ........................................................................................... 13
Installing the iPhone and iPad Apps ..................................................................................................... 13
Intended Audiences and Prere q uisites .................................................................................................... 13
Basic Installation Skills .......................................................................................................................... 14
Clustering Skills ..................................................................................................................................... 14
Interplay MAM Skills ............................................................................................................................ 14
Deployment Options ................................................................................................................................ 15
Interplay Central – iNEWS Only ............................................................................................................ 15
Interplay Central – Interplay Production Only ..................................................................................... 16
Interplay Central – iNEWS and Interplay Production ........................................................................... 17
Interplay Sphere Only ........................................................................................................................... 18
Both Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere (Shared ICS) ................................................................... 19
Interplay MAM ..................................................................................................................................... 20
Port Bonding in Interplay MAM ........................................................................................................ 21
Port Requirements ................................................................................................................................... 21
Caching in ICS ........................................................................................................................................... 22
The Dedicated Caching Volume ........................................................................................................... 22
Caching for Interplay MAM .................................................................................................................. 23
Caching for iOS Devices in Interplay Central ........................................................................................ 23
Caching for Sphere ............................................................................................................................... 23
Working with Linux .................................................................................................................................. 24
Installing Linux ...................................................................................................................................... 24
Linux Concepts ..................................................................................................................................... 24
Key Linux Directories ............................................................................................................................ 25
Linux Command Line ............................................................................................................................ 25
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Linux Text Editor (vi) ............................................................................................................................. 27
Linux Usage Tips ................................................................................................................................... 28
Volumes in Linux .................................................................................................................................. 29
Clock Synchronization i n Linux ............................................................................................................. 29
Time Zones in RHEL .............................................................................................................................. 30
RAIDs in ICS .............................................................................................................................................. 30
Introduction to Clusteri n g ........................................................................................................................ 31
Single Server Deployment .................................................................................................................... 32
Cluster Deployment .............................................................................................................................. 33
Multicast vs Unicast ............................................................................................................................. 33
Working with Gluster ........................................................................................................................... 34
ART II: INSTALLING & CONFIGURING ........................................................................................................... 35
P
Installation Workflow............................................................................................................................... 36
Before You Begin ...................................................................................................................................... 39
Make Sure the Host Solutions Are I nstalled and Running ................................................................... 39
Make Sure You Have the Following Items ............................................................................................ 39
Make Sure You Can Answer the Following Questions ......................................................................... 40
Make Sure You Have All the Information You Need ............................................................................ 42
Make Sure You Change the Default Passwords ................................................................................... 42
Obtaining the Software ............................................................................................................................ 43
Obtaining the ICS Installation Package ................................................................................................. 43
Obtaining Red Hat Enterprise Linux ..................................................................................................... 44
Obtaining Gluster ................................................................................................................................. 45
Obtaining Additional Packages ............................................................................................................. 45
Preparing the ICS Installation USB Key .................................................................................................... 46
Transferring ICS and Linux to the USB Key ........................................................................................... 46
Copying Gluster to the U SB Key ........................................................................................................... 48
Installing the Network Interface Cards .................................................................................................... 49
Connecting to ISIS Proxy Storage ......................................................................................................... 49
Connecting to non-ISIS Proxy Storage .................................................................................................. 50
Setting the System Clock and Disabling HP Power Saving Mode ............................................................ 51
Setting Up the RAID Level 1 Mirrored System Drives .............................................................................. 52
Setting Up the RAID Level 5 Cache Drives ............................................................................................... 54
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Installing RHEL and the ICS Software ....................................................................................................... 56
Booting RHEL for the First Time ............................................................................................................... 58
Booting from the System Drive ............................................................................................................ 59
Changing the root Password ................................................................................................................ 60
Verifying the Date and Time................................................................................................................. 60
Setting the Time Zone .......................................................................................................................... 61
Editing the Network Connections ............................................................................................................ 62
Identifying NIC Interfaces by Sight ....................................................................................................... 62
Verifying the NIC Interface Name ........................................................................................................ 63
Swapping NIC Interface Names ............................................................................................................ 64
Removing the MAC Address Hardware References ............................................................................. 65
Configuring the Hostname and St a tic Network Route ......................................................................... 66
Verifying the hosts file Contents .......................................................................................................... 68
Verifying Network and DNS Connectivity ............................................................................................. 69
Synching the System Clock ....................................................................................................................... 70
Creating the File Cache on the RAID ........................................................................................................ 72
Partitioning the RAID ............................................................................................................................ 72
Creating the Logical Volume and Mounting the Cache ........................................................................ 73
Installing the Interplay Central Distribution Service ................................................................................ 76
Determining Where to Install ICDS ...................................................................................................... 76
Before You Begin .................................................................................................................................. 77
Configuring ICS for Interplay MAM .......................................................................................................... 78
Configuring ICS for Interplay Central and/or Interplay Sphere ............................................................... 80
Configuring Workflow .......................................................................................................................... 80
Before You Begin .................................................................................................................................. 82
Configuring the Interplay Central UI .................................................................................................... 83
Logging into Interplay Central .............................................................................................................. 84
Changing the Administrator Password ................................................................................................. 88
Configuring iNEWS Settings .................................................................................................................. 88
Configuring Interplay Production Settings ........................................................................................... 89
Configuring ICPS for Interplay .............................................................................................................. 90
Configuring the ICPS Player .................................................................................................................. 92
Configuring the ICPS Player for Interplay Sphere ................................................................................. 92
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Configuring the ISIS Connecti on(s) ....................................................................................................... 93
Mounting the ISIS System(s) ................................................................................................................ 94
Verifying the ISIS Mount ....................................................................................................................... 95
Verifying Video Playback ...................................................................................................................... 96
Configuring Wi-Fi Only Encoding for Facility-Based iOS Devices ......................................................... 97
ART III: CLUSTERING .................................................................................................................................. 98
P
Setting up the Server Cluster ................................................................................................................... 99
Clustering Workflow .............................................................................................................................. 101
Before You Begin ................................................................................................................................ 102
Configuring the Hosts File and Name Services File ................................................................................ 103
Adding Host Names and IP Addresses to the hosts File ..................................................................... 103
Optimizing the Lookup Servic e Order: Editing the Name Service Switch File .................................... 104
Setting Up DRBD .................................................................................................................................... 105
Starting the Cluster Services .................................................................................................................. 108
Joining the Cluster .................................................................................................................................. 111
Replicating the Cluster File Caches ........................................................................................................ 112
Before You Begin ................................................................................................................................ 112
Mounting the USB Key ....................................................................................................................... 113
Installing Gluster................................................................................................................................. 114
Unmounting and Removing the USB Key ........................................................................................... 115
Creating the Trusted Storage Pool ..................................................................................................... 115
Configuring the GlusterFS Volumes ................................................................................................... 117
Making Cache Directories and Changing Ownership ......................................................................... 119
Mounting the GlusterFS Volumes in Linux ......................................................................................... 121
Testing the Cache ............................................................................................................................... 122
Ensuring Gluster is On at Boot ........................................................................................................... 122
Reconfiguring the ICPS Player for Interplay Central in a Cluster........................................................ 123
ART IV: POST-INSTALLATION .................................................................................................................... 124
P
Post-Installation Steps ........................................................................................................................... 125
Determining the Installed ICS Version................................................................................................ 125
Verifying Cache Directory Permissions .............................................................................................. 125
Securing the System ........................................................................................................................... 126
Enabling and Securing the Player Demonstration Web Page ............................................................ 126
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Backing up the ICS System Settings and the ICS Database ................................................................ 127
Monitoring Services and Resources ................................................................................................... 130
Monitoring the AAF Generator Service .............................................................................................. 133
Monitoring ICS High-Availability......................................................................................................... 135
Monitoring Load Balancing ................................................................................................................ 136
Observing Failover in the Cluster ....................................................................................................... 137
Testing the Cluster Email Service ....................................................................................................... 140
Changing the Cluster Administrator Email Address ........................................................................... 141
Reconfiguring Interplay Central Settings in a Cluster......................................................................... 142
Taking a Cluster Node Off-Line Temporarily ...................................................................................... 142
Permanently Removing a Node from a Cluster .................................................................................. 142
Adding a New Node to a Cluster ........................................................................................................ 142
Retrieving ICS Logs ............................................................................................................................. 145
Log Cycling .......................................................................................................................................... 146
Using SNMP Monitoring on the ICPS Server ...................................................................................... 146
Migrating the ICP Database from Windows to Linux ......................................................................... 146
Backing up and Restoring the ICS Data base ....................................................................................... 146
Appendix A: Installing IC S on Non-HP Hardware ................................................................................... 148
Non-HP Installation Notes .................................................................................................................. 148
Appendix B: Table of Deployment Options and Requirements ............................................................. 150
Appendix C: Configuring Port Bonding for Interplay MAM (Optional) .................................................. 152
Verifying the Ethernet Ports ............................................................................................................... 152
Configuring the Port Bonding ............................................................................................................. 153
Appendix D: Handling SSL Certificates ................................................................................................... 155
Built-In Browser Functionality ........................................................................................................ 155
SAN Certificates .............................................................................................................................. 156
Understanding the “Certificate Not Trusted” Warning ...................................................................... 156
Eliminating the Certificate not Trusted and Name Mismatch Warnings ........................................... 157
Generating a Self-Signed Certificate for a Single Server .................................................................... 158
Generating a Self-Signed Certificate for a Server Cluster .................................................................. 160
Before You Begin ............................................................................................................................ 161
Obtaining a Trusted CA-signed Certificate ......................................................................................... 168
Adding a CA-Signed Certificate to a Single Server .............................................................................. 171
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Adding a CA-Signed Certificate to a Server Cluster ............................................................................ 176
Configuring Google Chrome (Windows) ............................................................................................ 178
Configuring Internet Explorer (Windows) .......................................................................................... 182
Configuring Safari (Mac OS) ............................................................................................................... 186
Launching the Windows Import SSL Certificate Directly .................................................................... 187
The Interplay Central Application Properties File .............................................................................. 188
Appendix E: Migrating the UMS Database with the User Management Utilities Tool .......................... 189
Appendix F: Installing t he Chrome Extension for Interplay Central MOS Plug-Ins ................................ 192
Setting Up Your Browser .................................................................................................................... 192
Enabling MOS ..................................................................................................................................... 192
Installing Plug-Ins ............................................................................................................................... 192
Uninstalling the Chrome Extension .................................................................................................... 193
Appendix G: Enabling Interplay Central MOS Plug-Ins in IE9................................................................. 194
Sample ActiveX Object in the Preferences File .................................................................................. 195
Appendix H: Unicast Support in Clustering ............................................................................................ 197
Appendix I: Installing t h e Inter play Production License for Interplay Central ....................................... 200
Appendix J: Configuring iNEWS f or Integration with Interplay Central ................................................. 201
Verifying Interplay Central Licenses on iNEWS .................................................................................. 201
Editing SYSTEM.CLIENT.VERSIONS ..................................................................................................... 202
Editing SYSTEM.CLIENT.WINDOWS .................................................................................................... 203
Appendix K: Installing and Configuring the Avid Central Mobile Application for the iPad or iPhone ... 205
Before You Begin ................................................................................................................................ 205
iNEWS Configuration for iPad and iPhone Integration ...................................................................... 205
Editing SYSTEM.CLIENT.VERSIONS ..................................................................................................... 206
Adding iPad and iPhone Devices to the iNEWS Configuration File .................................................... 207
Installing Avid Central on the iPad or iPhone ..................................................................................... 208
Appendix L: Installation Pre-Flight Checklist .......................................................................................... 210
Default Password Information ........................................................................................................... 210
Contact Information ........................................................................................................................... 210
Hardware ............................................................................................................................................ 211
Software ............................................................................................................................................. 211
Network Settings ................................................................................................................................ 211
NTP Time Server ................................................................................................................................. 212
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
ICS Server Information ....................................................................................................................... 212
Cluster Information ............................................................................................................................ 213
iNEWS Information ............................................................................................................................. 214
Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere Information .......................................................................... 214
Interplay Production Information ...................................................................................................... 215
ISIS Information .................................................................................................................................. 216
Interplay MAM Information ............................................................................................................... 217
Copyright and Disclaimer ....................................................................................................................... 218
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
PART I: INTRODUCTION & OVERVIEW
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Welcome
Welcome to the ICS Installation and Co nfi guration Guide . This document will guide you through
the installation and set up of the Interplay Central Services (ICS) software components. It
provides step by step instructions to visually verify the hardware setup, install Linux and the ICS
software, and configure the software systems that will make use of ICS. It also provides detailed
steps for optional activities, for example: setting up a cluster of ICS servers, or configuring for an
iPad-only deployment.
Note: Beginning with version 1.6, the term “Interplay Central Services” replaces
“Interplay Common Services.” In addition, t he term “I nterplay Central Playback Service”
replaces “Interplay Common Playback Service.”
ICS is a set of software services running under t h e Linux operating system. ICS serves layouts for
applications, provides user authentication, manages system configuration settings, and provides
proxy-based playback of video assets over the network to web-based and mobile clients.
ICS supports several different Avid Integrated Media Enterprise (IME) solutions, including
Interplay Central, and Interplay Sphere, and Interplay MAM. ICS installs on its own set of
servers, distinct from the IME solution it is supporting. Multiple ICS servers can be clustered
together to obtain one or more of high-availability, load balancing and scalability.
Note: Refer to the “How to Buy Hardware for Interplay Central Services” guide for
detailed information on hardware specifications and deployment options. The guide is
available on the Avid Knowledge Base
The installation and configuration steps vary depending on the deployment model, target
hardware, and optional steps. For example, installations on qualified HP servers can use an
express process involving a USB key and the supplied Red Hat Enterprise Linux kickstart (ks.cfg)
file. Kickstart files are commonly used in Linux installs to automatically answer questions for
hardware known in advance. On non-HP servers you must install Red Hat Enterprise Linux
manually.
Note: All decisions pertaining to hardware, deplo yment mode l, optional activities (such
as setting up a cluster), network connections (GigE vs 10GigE), must be made before
beginning the installation. If these decisions have not been taken, or, to verify a non-HP
server, please consult an Avid representative.
Red Hat Enterprise Linux — sometimes just called Red H at, but ref err ed to in this guide as RHEL
— is a commercially supported, open source version of the popular Linux operating system. No
matter what the deployment model and target hardware, the installation of RHEL is mandatory.
Note: ICS requires RHEL 6.3. Do not i nstal l any OS updat es, patches. Do not upgrade to
RHEL 6.4 or higher. Do not run the Linux yum update command.
ICS 1.8 web page.
For more information on Red Hat see “Wor king with Linux ” on page 24
support options are covered in the “How to Buy Hardware for Interplay Central Services” guide,
available on the
11
Avid Knowledge Base ICS 1.8 web page.
. RHEL licensing and
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
About this Guide
Licensing and Additional Installation Information
Front End License Configuration
Note: Clock setting and synchronization play an important role in some ICS deployments.
For a discussion of the issues associated with clock synchronization and using a time
server to set the system clock, see “Clock Synchronization in Linux” on page 29
.
This guide provides all the inst ructions you need to set up ICS 1.8. The installation and
configuration is complex and can be difficult, particularly if you are unfamiliar with Linux.
The following tips will ensure a smooth installation:
• Read the whole guide, thoroughly and all the way through, before beginning the
installation process.
• Gather all the information required to perform the install before you start. Waiting until
the information is called for by an installation step will result in considerable delays.
• For a list of required information, see “Appendix L: Installation Pre-Flight Checklist
page 210.
• Complete all the relevant sections in the pre-flight checklist for your deployment.
Licenses must be installed on an iNEWS server, an Interplay Production server, or both. No
licenses are installed on the Interplay Central Services server.
For Interplay Production, the license types are J (Interplay Production Base license) an d G
(Advance license).
• Base license: Ca n connect to only one system type: iNEWS or Interpl ay Production.
Access is limited to specific panes.
• Advance licens e: Can connect to both system types: iNEWS and Interplay Production,
with access to all panes.
Note: Please refer to the “Interplay Central Administration Guide” for licensing details,
such as the panes and features made available by each license t y pe. The guide is
available with other Interplay Central v1.8 documentation on the Avid Knowledge Base:
http://avid.force.com/pkb/articles/en_US/readme/Avid-Interplay-Central-Version-1-81-8-Documentation
” on
You specify the type of license for each Interplay Central role in the Details tab of the Users
layout. For more information, see "Interplay Central Client Licensing" in the Avid Interplay
Central Administration Guide.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Delivery of Licenses on Back-End Systems
Installing the iPhone and iPad Apps
Intended Audiences and Prerequisites
An iNEWS client license or an Interplay Central mobile license for a specified number of clients is
sent to the customer through email along with specific installation instructions. However, to
ensure proper licensed integration between Interplay Central and iNEWS, additional
modification to system files in the iNEWS database is also required.
For more information see “
Central” on page 201.
An Interplay Production license for a specified number of clients is supplied to the customer on
a USB flash drive as a file with the extension nxn.
For more information, see “
Central” on page 200.
Appendix J: Conf i g ur ing iNEWS for Inte gration with Inte r p l ay
Appendix I: Installing the Interplay Production License for Interplay
The Avid Central mobile application is a native user interface designed to run on the Apple iPad
touch-screen tablet and the Appl e iPhone touch-screen phone, and enable direct, secure access
to your station’s iNEWS newsroom computer system.
For installation information, see “
Mobile Application for the iPad or iPhone” on page 205.
Appendix K: Installing and Configuring the Avid Central
This guide is aimed at the person responsible for performing a fresh install of ICS, or upgrading
or maintaining an existing ICS installation. It can also be used by someone creating a cluster of
ICS nodes out of a non-clustered setup. In particular, the following audiences have be en
identified:
• Avid Professional Services: Avid personnel whose responsibilities include installing and
upgrading the ICS system, on-site at a customer’ facility.
• Avid Channel Partners and Resellers: Selected organizations qualified by Avid to educate,
market, sell, install, integrate and provide support for the Avid product line, including ICS.
• In-House Installers: Clients with a sophisticated in-house IT department that has expertise
in systems integration and Linux (including networking, port-bonding, etc.). This kind of
person might be called on to add a new server to an already established cluster of ICS
servers, for example.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Basic Installation Skills
Clustering Skills
Interplay MAM Skills
The following skills are needed to perform the basic installation:
• Windows: Format a USB key, unzip files, etc.
• Server: Access to the physical server, booting/rebooting, interrupting startup screens to
enter BIOS and other utilities, navigating and altering BIOS, setting up RAIDs.
• Network Interface Cards (NI Cs ): Identify a NIC, knowledge of which NIC interface is
being used.
• Linux (install): Previous experience installing Linux is preferred but not essential,
knowledge of manually installing RPM files will be helpful.
• Linux (general): Work with Linux directories (cd, mkdir, ls), create volumes,
mount/unmount directori es, volumes and devices (e.g. USB key) , verify the status of a
Linux service.
• Linux (file editing): Use the Linux text editor (vi) to open/create files, add/delete text,
save/close files, etc.
• Networking: An understanding of network topologies and Ethernet protocols (TCP/IP),
using ping command, verify/change a NIC card Ethernet interface (i.e. eth0).
• System Clocks: Setting the system clock in BIOS and in Linux. For a discussion of system
clock options, see “Clock Synchronizat i on” on page 29
.
The following skills are desirable for setting up a cluster of ICS nodes:
• Gluster: Familiarity with Gluster, as it is used to create a shared pool of storage,
including starting/stopping Gluster services, creating shared storage pools, creating
GlusterFS volumes, etc.
• Networking: A basic understanding of unicast or multicast and IP ne tworking. An
advanced understanding of networking in Linux would be helpful, but is not essential,
since all instructions are provided.
The following skills are desirable or setting up ICS for Interplay MAM (port bonding optional):
• Port Bonding (general): Knowledge of theory and practice of port bonding (also called
link aggregation).
• Port Bonding (Linux): Understanding contents and purpose of Linux network-scripts
directory, editing interface configuration (ifcfg-ethN) files, restarting network services.
Note: Port bonding is an option that is exclusive to Int erpl ay MAM installations. Do not
perform port bonding when performing any other kind of install.
• Interplay MAM configuration: Ability to work as administrator in Interplay MAM.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Deployment Options
Interplay Central – iNEWS Only
ICS is a collection of software services designed to support a number of Avid enterprise solutions
and deployment options. S ince each deployment scenario has different hardware and software
configuration requirements (and playback characteristics), it will be helpful to have a high-level
overview of the deployment of interest before proceeding.
As noted, the installation follows one of these basic deployment models:
• ICS for Interplay Central
o iNEWS only
o Interplay Production only
o iNEWS and Interplay Production
• ICS for Inter play Sphere
• ICS for Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere (Shared ICS)
• ICS for Interplay MAM
This section provides an overview of each of these deploymen ts.
For a detailed technical summary of deployment options, see “
Deployment Opt ions and Requirements” on page 150.
Appendix B: Table of
One of the most straightforward deployments is ICS for Interplay Central in an iNEWS-only
environment; that is, with connections to iNEWS but no connection to Interplay Production. In
this deployment ICS provides the ability to browse and edit iNEWS content (queues, stories)
from a remote web client. The ability to browse, play and edit associated video requires
Interplay Production a n d is not p ro vided by the iNEWS-only deployment.
Interplay Central for iNEWS:
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Interplay Central – Interplay Production Only
The iNEWS-only deployment typically requires a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the Linux operating
system. Since ICS is not providing playback of any video assets, there is no need for caching, so
the media cache volume referred to in this guide is not required. Typically, a single ICS server is
sufficient. Two ICS servers configured as a cluster provide high-availability.
Note: The iNEWS-only deployment can be
on smaller, less expensive server hardware.
Refer to the “How to Buy Hardware for Interplay Central Services” gui de f o r detailed
information on hardware specifications and deployment opt i ons. The guide is available
on the Avid Knowledge Base
ICS 1.8 web page.
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and edit iNEWS content
• RAID 1 required
• Media cache volume not required
• Clustering yields high-availability
ICS for Interplay Central with Interplay Production has connections to Interplay Production only.
In this deployment ICS serves layouts for applications, provides user authentication, manages
system configuration settings, and provides proxy-based playback o f video assets over the
network to web-based and mobile clients. ICS decodes the source format and streams images
and sound to the remote web-based Interp
Interplay Central for Interplay Production:
l
ay Centr al client.
This deployment typically requires two HDs configured as a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the Linux
operating system. No iOS devices implies no special caching requirements; however, Multicam
requires a media drive. You can configure two or more ICS servers as a cluster to obtain highavailability and load balancing.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Interplay Central – iNEWS and Interplay Production
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and play video assets
• RAID 1 required
• Media cache volume required
o RAID 5, or
o RAID 1, or
o Single HD
• Clustering yields high-availability and load-balancing
ICS for Interplay Central with iNEWS and Interplay Production has both iNEWS connectivity and
Interplay Production connectivity. Similarly to the iNEWS-only deployment, this provides the
ability to browse and edit iNEWS content (queues, stories) from a remote web client. Interplay
Production connectivity provides the ability to browse, play and edit associated video.
In this deployment ICS serves layouts for applications, provides user authentication, manages
system configuration settings, and provides proxy-based playback of video assets over the
network to web-based and mobile clients. ICS decodes ISIS source formats and streams images
and sound to the remote web-based Interplay Central client.
Interplay Central with iNEWS and Interplay Pr oduction:
This deployment typically requires two HDs configured as a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the Linux
operating system. In a configuration where the iOS application is used, the ICS server should also
have a media cache volume. Multicam also requires a media cache volume. You can configure
two or more ICS servers as a cluster to obtain high-availability and load balancing.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Interplay Sphere Only
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and edit iNEWS content
• Browse and play the associated video assets
• RAID 1 required
• Media cache volume required
o RAID 5, or
o RAID 1, or
o Single HD
• Clustering yields high-availability and load-balancing
ICS for Interplay Sphere provides playback of different format video assets registered by
Interplay Production and residing on an ISIS
images and sound to the remote Interp
.
ICS decodes the source format and streams
l
ay Sphere enabled Media Composer or NewsCutter.
Interplay Sphere:
This deployment ty pically req uires two HDs configured as a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the
Linux operating system. A media cache is also required. In its most basic form, the Interplay
Sphere deploym e nt is a si ngle ICS serve r. You can configure two or more ICS servers as a cluster
to obtain high-availability and load balancing.
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and play th e v ideo assets for Sphere enabled Media Composer and/or
NewsCutter
• RAID 1 required
• Media cache volume required
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Both Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere (Shared ICS)
o RAID 5, or
o RAID 1, or
o Single HD
• Clustering yields high-availability and load-balancing
Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere can easily share the same ICS server(s). In this
deployment, ICS serves layouts for applications, provides user authentication, and manages
system configuration settings. ICS also provides proxy-base playback over the network of
different format v
decodes the source format and streams images and sound to the remote web-based Interplay
Central and/or Interp
This is the most sophisticated deployment model, since other elements can also be present,
such as iNEWS with corresponding iOS device applications.
Interplay Central and Interplay Sphere (Shared ICS):
i
deo assets registered by Interplay Production and residing on an ISIS. ICS
l
ay Sphere clients
.
This deployment typically requires a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the Linux operating system. In a
configuration with iO S devices (as with iNEWS), the ICS server should also have a media cache
volume. If iOS devices are not deployed, it has no media cache volume requirements; however,
multicam requires a media cache volume. You can configure two or more ICS servers as a cluster
to obtain high-availability and load balancing.
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and play video assets
• Browse and play video assets
for Sphere enabled Media Composer and/or NewsCutter
• RAID 1 required
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Interplay MAM
• Media cache volume required
o RAID 5, or
o RAID 1, or
o Single HD
• Clustering yields high-availability and load-balancing
In an Interplay MAM deployment, ICS provides playback of video assets registered as a browse
proxies by Interplay MAM. The registered browse proxies can reside on standard filesystem
storage, or proprietary storage that provides a standard system gateway. The Interplay MAM
deployment presents two main options – setting up a media cache volume, and port bonding to
improve throughput.
Interplay MAM:
This deployment typically requires a RAID 1 (mirrored RAID) for the Linux operating system.
Under some circumstances – see “Caching in IC S ” on page 22
– the ICS server should also have a
media cache volume. You can configure two or more ICS servers as a cluster to obtain highavailability and load balancing.
Deployment Summary:
• Browse and play video assets
• RAID 1 required
• Media cache volume might be required
o RAID 5, or
o RAID 1, or
o Single HD
• Clustering yields high-availability and load-balancing
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Port Bonding in In terp lay MAM
Port Requirements
Interplay Central
80
TCP inbound
Interplay Central Playback Service (ICPS)
443
Secure TCP
IPC HTTPS calls
843
TCP Inbound
Serving Flash Player socket policy files
5000
TCP Inbound
Playback service (loading assets, serving
Interplay Central
80
TCP Inbound
ICPS HTTP calls
443
Secure TCP
ICPS HTTPS calls
Port bonding (also called link aggregation) is an OS-level technique for combining multiple
Ethernet ports into a group, making them appear and behave as a single port. Ethernet ports
correspond to the physical con nectors in a NIC card where network cables are plugged in.
Bonded ports retain their individual cable connections to the network router or switch.
However, they are seen by the network as a single port.
Port bonding must be configured in “round-robin” mode. In this mode, Ethernet packets are
automatically sent, in tu r n , to each of the bonded ports, reducing bottlenecks and increasing the
available bandwidth. For example, bonding two ports together in round-robin increases
bandwidth by approximately 50% (some efficiency is lost due to overhead).
In MAM deployments of ICS, port bonding improves playback performance when multiple
clients are making requests of the ICS server simultaneously. With port bonding, more
concurrent playback requests can be sustained by a single server, especially for file-based
playback. File-based playback is a playback method for which a single port-bonded ICS server
can support thousands of requests.
For instructions on port bonding see “
(Optional)“ on page 152.
The following table lists the ICS port requirements for the client-side applications (the browserbased Interplay Central application and mobile applications). Ports 80 and 443 are required for
the HTTP(S) traffic. In addition, the Adobe Flash Player (running inside the browser) requires
ports 843 and 5000.
For more information see the ICS Security Archi tect ure and Analysis document.
Component Port Protocol and
Web application
Appendix C: Configuring Port Bonding for Interplay MAM
Usage
Direction
HTTP calls
Inbound
mobile applications
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JPEG images, and audio, etc.). Ou tput flow
to client serving inbound request.
Inbound
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Interplay Central
80, 443
ICPS
843 (Flash), 80, 5000, 26000
ICS
8000 (optional Admin UI), 8183 (bus cluster info)
ISIS
5000 – 5399 (UPD and TCP)
RabbitMQ
5672 (AMQP), 15672 (Management UI/API)
MongoDB
27017
PostgreSQL
53087
System
22, ICMP, 111, 2400 7, 24008, 24009-(24009 + number of bricks
Caching in ICS
The Dedicated Caching Volume
The following table lists the server-side port requirements. For more information see the ICS
Security Architecture and Analysis document.
Service Name Port
across all volumes for gluster). If you will be using NFS, open
additional ports 38465-(38465 + number of Gluster servers). Some
MAM configuration might require additional NFS ports (111, 2049
tcp & udp) or CIFS (137,138 udp and 137 ,139 tcp). Other filesystems
will have to be checked individually (Isilon, Harmonic Omneon,
etc.).
In its work to provide proxy-based playback of video assets over a network, ICS generates
temporary files in certain workflows. For example, ICS deployed for Interplay MAM typically
generates a multitude of temporary files as it converts proxies from their native MAM formats
into formats compatible with the player. The ICS multicam feature introduced in ICS 1.5
produces numerous temporary files. By default, ICS caches temporary files on the system drive.
Better performance is achieved by allocating a dedicated media cache volume (separate from
the system drive) for the temporary files. In a cluster setup, an open-source software solution
called Gluster is also used.
Note: All
for media caching. Gluster is also required, for file replication between clustered caches.
Note: This document provides instructions f or creat i ng a media cache volume as a RAID
5 using multiple disks in the server enclosure. However, other configurations are
possible, including two drives in a RAID 1 configuration, or a single drive. For details, see
the “How to Buy Hardware for Interplay Central Services” guide.
Interplay Central deployments making use of multicam require a dedicated volume
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All ICS servers require a RAID 1 that mirrors the operating system across two HD drives. Some
deployments also require a media cache volume consisting of the remaining disks in the
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Caching for Interplay MAM
Caching for iOS Devices in Interplay Central
Caching for Sphere
enclosure, used exclusively for ICS file caching. In a RAID 5 volume (recommended), the disk
controller automatically distributes (stripes) data across all the disks in the RAID 5, yielding
increased performance and redundancy.
In an ICS server cluster the media cache volume is taken one step further. An open source
software solution called Gluster is used to replicate the contents of the media cache volumes
across each server in the cluster. In this way, each ICS server in the cluster can make use of file
data already transcoded and cached by the others.
Note: All
cache volume for caching. Gluster is also required, for file replication between clustered caches.
Interplay Central deployments making use of multicam require a dedicated media
For caching, it is important to understand how MAM browse proxies get from proxy storage to
the MAM desktop. For each playback request, ICS does one of the following:
• File-based playback (native): When MAM proxies are in a format that an Adobe Flash-
based player can play natively, ICS serves the proxy file as-is to the r emot e web -based
client. Adobe Flash-based players natively play MP4-wrapped h.264/aac or FLV. This is
the least CPU-intensive playback mode.
• File-based playback (alternate): When file-based playback requests are made of proxy
formats that cannot be played natively by an Adobe Flash-based player, ICS transcodes
the proxy into FLV, which is stored in the ICS file cache on the media cache volume. This
is then served to the remote web-based client. ICS regularly scans the media cache, and,
when necessary, the least-requested files are purged.
The above playback method has a one-time CPU hit on initial playback request for each
asset, but is subsequently very light because the same cached file is served.
• Frame-based play back: This playback mode is the same one used by Interplay Central,
and is required in MAM for “growing file” workflows and variable-speed playback. In
this case ICS decodes the proxy and streams images and audio to the remote web-based
client frame-by-frame. This is the most CPU-intensive playback mode.
ICS for Interplay MAM requires a dedicated media cache volume when registered browse
proxies include formats that cannot be natively loaded in the Adobe Flash player. For example, if
MAM registered browse proxies are MPEG-1, Sony XD C A M, MXF or WMV, a media cache
volume are needed in ICS. This guide includes inst ructions for setting up a RAID level 5 cache.
In an Interplay Central deployment where an iOS application is used, the I CS server should have
a dedicated media cache volume.
Interplay Sphere caches the video and audio it receives locally on the editor (M edia Com poser
and/or NewsCutter). With the introduction of multic am support for Sp here (i n ICS 1.5) there
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Working with Linux
Installing Linux
Linux Concepts
is also a dedicated media cache volum e requirement for Sphere. This is a resu l t of se rver-side
caching of the multicam “grid” of proxy im ages. Sphere conti nues t o cac he v id eo and a ud io
locally.
As noted, RHEL is a commercially supported, open source version of the Linux operating system.
If you have run DOS commands in Windows or have used the Mac terminal window, the Linux
environment will be familiar to you. While many aspects of the ICS installation are automated,
much of it requires entering commands and editing files using the Linux command-line.
Note: RHEL is not free, and Avid does not redistribute it or i ncl ude it as part of the ICS
installation. RHEL licensing and support opti ons are covered in the “How to Buy
Hardware for Inte rplay Central Services” guide.
Installations on qualified HP servers can use an express process involving a USB key and the
supplied RHEL kickstart (ks.cfg) file. Kickstart files are commonly used in Linux installs to
automate the OS installation. A kickstart file automatically answers questions posed by the Linux
installer, for hardware known in advance.
Since RHEL is a licensable product, redistribution by Avid is not possible. However, the ICS
installation package includes a Windows executable (ISO2USB) for creating a bootable USB drive
from a RHEL installation DVD or image (.iso) file. We use ISO2USB to prepare the USB drive to
install the ICS components too.
Note: The USB key and kickstart file shortcuts apply only to ICS installations performed
on qualified HP hardware. For non-HP hardware, see “
HP Hard ware
” on page 148.
Appendix A: Installing ICS on Non-
Once RHEL is installed you can begin the work of setting up the server for ICS. This involves
simple actions such as verifying the system time. It also involves more complex actions, such as
verifying and modifying hardware settings related to networking, and editing files. Depending
on the deployment, you may also b e required to create logical volumes, configure port bonding,
and perform other advanced actions.
Advance knowledge of the following Linux concepts will be helpful:
• root user: The root user (sometimes called the “super” user) is the Linux user with
highest privileges. All steps in the installation are performed as root.
• mounting: Li nu x does not recognize HDs or removable devices such as USB keys unless
they are formally mounted.
• files and direct ories: In Linux, everything is a file or a directory.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Key Linux Directories
/
The root of the filesystem.
/dev
Contains device files, including those identifying HD partitions,
/etc
Contains Linux system configuration files, including the
/etc/udev/rules.d
Contains rules used by the Linux device manager, including
/etc/sysconfig/network-
Contains, amongst other things, files providing Linux with boot-
/media
Contains the mount points for detachable storage, such as USB
/opt
Contains add-on application packages that are not a native part
/usr
Contains user binaries, including some ICS components.
/tmp
The directory for temporary files.
/var
Contains data files that change in size (variable data), including
Linux Command Line
/bin
/boot
/dev
/etc
/lib
/media
/mnt
/opt
/sbin
/srv
/tmp
/usr
Like other file systems, the Linux filesystem is represented as a hierarchical tree. In Linux
directories are reserved for particular purposes. The following table presents some of the key
Linux directories encountered during the ICS installation and configuration:
Directory Description
USB and CD drives, and so on. For example, sda1 represents the
first partition (1) of the first hard disk (a).
filesystem table, fstab, which tells the operating system what
volumes to mount at mount at boot-time.
network script files where persistent names are assigned to
network interfaces.
In Linux, every network interface has a unique name. If a NIC
card has four connection “po rts”, for example, they might be
named eth0 through eth3.
scripts
time network configuration information, including which NIC
interfaces to bring up.
keys. In Linux, volumes and removable storage must be
mounted before they can be accessed.
of Linux, including the ICS components.
the ICS server log files.
The Linux command line is a powerful tool that lets you perform simple and powerful actions
alike with equal speed and ease. For example, entering the Linux list command, ls, at the root
directory produces results similar to the following.
# ls
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
/var
ls
Lists directory contents. Use the –l option (hyphen lower-case
cd
Changes directories.
cat
Outputs the contents of the named file to the screen.
clear
Clears screen.
cp
Copies files and directories.
<tab>
Auto-completes the command based on contents of the
|
“Pipes” the output from one command to the input of another.
dmesg
Displays messages from the Linux kernel buffer. Useful to see if
find
Searches for files.
grep
Searches for the named regular expression. Often used in
lvdisplay
Displays information about logical volumes.
man
Presents help (the “manual page”) for the named command.
mkdir
Creates a new directory.
mount
Mounts and unmounts an external device to a directory. A
In the above command, the pound sign (#) indicates the presence of the Linux command
prompt. You do not type a dollar sign. Linux commands, paths, and file names are case-sensitive.
The following table presents a few of the more commonly used Linux commands.
Command Description
L) for a detailed listing.
command line and directory co ntents.
| more
For example, typing cd and the begin ning of a directory name,
then pressing the tab key fills in the remaining letters in the
name.
For example, to view the output of a command one screen at a
time, pipe into the more command, as i n :
ls | more
a device (such as USB key) mounted correctly.
For example, the following use of the find command searches
for <filename> on all local filesystems (avoiding network
mounts):
find / -mount -name <filename>
conjunction with the pipe command, as in:
ps | grep avid
umount
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device must be mounted before its contents can be accessed.
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
ps
Lists the running processes.
passwd
Changes the password for the logged-in user.
scp
Securely copies files between machines (across an ssh
service
Runs an initialization script.
tail
Shows you the last 10 (or n) lines in a file.
udevadm
Requests device events from the Linux kernel. Can be used to
vi
Starts a vi editing session.
Linux Text Editor (vi)
Command Mode
: Prefix to commands in command mode
:wq
Write file and quit vi (in command mode)
Command Description
connection).
e.g. service avid-all
e.g.
tail <filename>
tail -50 <filename>
tail –f <filename>
The “-f” option keeps the tail command outputting appended
data as the file grows. Useful for monitoring log files.
replay device events and create/u pd a te the
70-persistent-net.rules file.
e.g. udevadm trigger --action=add
Linux features a powerful text editor called vi. To invoke vi, type the vi command followed by
the target file at the command prompt.
$ vi <filename>
Vi operates in one of two modes, insert mode and command mode. Insert mode lets you
perform text edits – insertion, deletion, etc. Command mode acts upon the file as a whole – for
example, to save it or to quit without saving.
• Press the “i” (as in Indigo) key to switch to insert mode.
• Press the colon (“:”) k e y to sw it ch to c o m ma n d mode.
The following table presents a few of the more useful vi commands.
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Key Press Description
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
:q!
Quit without writing (in command mode)
Insert Mode
i Insert text before the cursor, until you press <Esc>
I Insert text at beginning of current line
a Insert text after the cursor
A Insert text at end of current line
<Esc>
Turn off Insert mode and switch to command mode.
w Next word
b Previous word
Shift-g
Move cursor to last line of the file
D Delete remainder of line
x Delete character under the cursor
dd
Delete current line
yy
“Yank” (copy) a whole line in command mode.
p Paste the yanked line in command mode.
Linux Usag e Tips
Getting Help
For help with Linux commands, the Linux System Manual (“man” pages)
Searching within
To search for a string within a Linux man page, type the forward slash (“/”)
“command not
A common experience for users new to the Linux command line is to
Key Press Description
For a series of short and helpful vi tutorials, see:
The following table presents tips that will make it easier to work in RHEL.
Tip Description
are easily available by typing the man command followed by the item of
interest.
For example, for help with the ls command, type:
man ls
a man page
followed by the string of interest. This can be helpful for finding a
parameter of interest in a long man entry.
found” error
receive a “command not found” after invoking a command or script that is
definitely in the current directory.
Linux has a PATH variable, but for reasons of security, the current directory
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— “.” in Linux — is not included in it by default.
ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Thus, to execute a command or scrip t in a directory that is unknown to the
current directory.
cat
Prints the contents of a file to the command line.
| more
Piping (“|”) the output of a comma nd through the more command brea ks
less
Similar to the cat command, but automatically breaks up th e output in to
less <filename>
Volumes in Linux
Clock Synchronization in Linux
Tip Description
PATH variable you must enter the full path to the script from the root
directory (“/”) or from the directory containing the script using dot-slash
(“./”) notation, which tells Linux the command you are looki n g fo r is in the
up the output into screen-sized chunks.
For example to view the contents of a large directory one screen at a time,
type the following:
ls | more
screen-sized chunks, with navigation. Useful for navigating large amounts
of text on screen at a time.
For example:
For those more familiar with Windows, the steps to creating usable volume in Linux are similar
to preparing a new HD for use in Windows.
In Windows, you initialize the disk, create a partition, and assign it a drive letter. You must then
format the disk, specify its file system, its allocation unit size, and assign it a volume label.
In Linux, you must also initialize the disk (this takes place during RHEL installation) and create a
partition. You also format the disk and specify its file system and sector size. Volume labels do
not apply, but have a parallel i n the Linux device names (for example /dev/hda or /dev/hdb in
the case of HDs).
Linux builds up to a usable volume in a series of “layers”, each building upon the previous. From
lowest to highest they are physical volumes, volume groups, logical volumes. The filesystem is
built on top of the logical volume.
The basic mechanism for clock synchronization under Linux is the Network Time Protocol (NTP)
daemon, ntpd, which can be used to automatically maintain synchronization of the system clock
with a specified time server. The time server might be a master clock within a firewall, or one of
the numerous time-servers based on an atomic clock and available via the internet. For reasons
of security, it ought to be a Linux NTP server (or compatible solution) within the corporate
firewall.
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ICS 1.8 Installation & Co nfiguration Guide
Time Zones in RHEL
RAIDs in ICS
It is particularly important when setting up a cluster of ICS nodes that each node should have
precisely the same time.
Clock synchronization is covered in “Synching the System Clock” on page 70
Like most operating systems, RHEL needs to know the time zone in which it is operating. In RHEL
this is set by assigning geographic information and/or a specific time zone. For example the
following are all valid time zone specifications in RHEL:
• America/EST
• America/Los_Angeles
• Australia/Sydney
• Brazil/East
• Europe/Amsterdam
The installation script automatically sets the time zone to Eastern Standard Time. You will have
the opportunity to set the time zone to something more appropriate when you boot RHEL for
the first time.
.
RAID stands for redundant array of inexpensive (or independent) disks. RAIDs are used in ICS to
provide data redundancy and for efficiency in caching large amounts of data across multiple
disks. On supported HP serve rs, you implement these RAIDs at the level of the HP disk
controller, using the HP RAID configuration BIOS utility.
ICS makes use of the following RAID types:
• RAID 1: All ICS implementations require a RAID 1 (mirror) for the system (OS) drive. This
RAID provides redundancy in the ev ent of HD failure.
• RAID 5: Certain deployments also require additional disks configured as a RAID 5 (data
striping with parity blocks) for caching file data. This RAID provides redundancy and
increased performance.
Note: This document provides instructions f or creat i ng a media cache volume as a
RAID
5 using multiple disks in the server enclosure. However, other configurations are
possible, including two drives in a RAID 1 configuration, or a single drive. For details, see
the “How to Buy Hardware for Interplay Central Services” guide.
The following deployments typically benefit from the configuration of a media cache volume:
• Interplay MAM: Interplay MAM deployments require a media cache volume when
registered browse proxies include formats that cannot be natively loaded by the Adobe
Flash-based player. That is, for non MP4 h.264 browse proxies (such MPEG-1, Sony
XDCAM, MXF, and WMV), media on proxy storage is transcoded to FLV and sto red.
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