VBrick Systems ETV v4.2, Portal Server ETV v4.2 User Manual

3.63 Mb

VBrick

EtherneTV Portal Server

ETV v4.2 Portal Server

Admin Guide

December 14, 2007

4410-0118-0007

Wallingford, Connecticut 06492, USA www.VBrick.com

This publication contains confidential, proprietary, and trade secret information. No part of this document may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or reduced to any machine-readable or electronic format without prior written permission from VBrick. Information in this document is subject to change without notice and VBrick Systems assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies. VBrick, VBrick Systems, the VBrick logo, StreamPlayer, and StreamPlayer Plus are trademarks or registered trademarks in the United States and other countries. Windows Media is a trademarked name of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other products or services mentioned in this document are identified by the trademarks, service marks, or product names as designated by the companies who market those products. Inquiries should be made directly to those companies. This document may also have links to third-party web pages that are beyond the control of VBrick. The presence of such links does not imply that VBrick endorses or recommends the content of any third-party web pages. VBrick acknowledges the use of third-party open source software and licenses in some VBrick products. This freely available source code is posted at http://www.vbrick.com/opensource.

About VBrick Systems

Founded in 1997, VBrick Systems, an ISO 9001 certified vendor, is a privately held company that has enjoyed rapid growth by helping our customers successfully introduce mission critical video applications across their enterprise networks. Since our founding, VBrick has been setting the standard for quality, performance and innovation in the delivery of live and stored video over IP networks—LANs, WANs and the Internet. With thousands of video appliances installed world-wide, VBrick is the recognized leader in reliable, high-performance, easy-to-use networked video solutions.

VBrick is an active participant in the development of industry standards and continues to play an influential role in the Internet Streaming Media Alliance (ISMA), the MPEG Industry Forum, and Internet2. In 1998 VBrick invented and shipped the world's first MPEG Video Network Appliance designed to provide affordable DVDquality video across the network. Since then, VBrick's video solutions have grown to include Video on Demand, Management, Security and Access Control, Scheduling, and Rich Media Integration. VBrick solutions are successfully supporting a broad variety of applications including distance learning and training, conferencing and remote office communications, security, process monitoring, traffic monitoring, business and news feeds to the desktop, webcasting, corporate communications, collaboration, command and control, and telemedicine. VBrick serves customers in education, government, healthcare, and financial services markets among others.

Contents

Portal Server v4.2 Admin Guide

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Getting Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Font Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . x Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi Printer-Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi

1. Introduction

Portal Server Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Server Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Desktop Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Copyright Protection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

MySQL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Portal Server Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

End User Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Administrative Features. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Portal Server Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

VBrick Encoders/Decoders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ETV Video-on-Demand Servers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

ETV Set Top Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

ETV Network Video Recorder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

VB-PC Remote Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Amino Set Top Box. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

WM IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Portal Server Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Download Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Port Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Portal Server License Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Admin Console Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Admin Console Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Internet Explorer 7.0 Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

2. Global Settings

Global Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Custom Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Stream Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Using Secure FTP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Add/Modify VOD/FTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Add/Modify Video On Demand Content Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

VBricks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

iii

Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Adding Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Adding User-Defined VBIRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Connecting Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring Control Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Control Device VBIRs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Set Top Boxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Recorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Synchronizing the Portal Server and the NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Script Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Scripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Creating a Script . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Finding VBrick Parameters and Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

URLs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Add/Modify a URL for a Live Video Stream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Add VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Add Non-VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Emergency Broadcast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Program Names . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Manage Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Access Logging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Extended Logging Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Viewing the Access Logs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

3. Server Administration

Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Channel Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 Stations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 Custom Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Modify VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Diagnostics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Expired Content Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Access Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Using LDAP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Using Single Sign-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Using LDAP Servers with SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Live Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 User Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Resource Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Logout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

4. Users and User Groups

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Contents

Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Configuring Users and User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 1. Setup and Configure ETV Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 2. Choose an Authentication Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 3. Create User Groups on the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 4. Create Resource Groups on the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 5. Create Users on the ETV Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 6. Assign Resources to Users or User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

Configuring Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Add/Modify User Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Add/Modify User's Group Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Add/Modify User's Resource Group Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Add/Modify Live Channel Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Allow Access to Specific FTP Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Allow Access to Specific Recorder Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Allow Access to Specific VOD Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Allow Access to Specific VOD Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Allow Viewing by Content Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Allow Content Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Allow Content Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Default Content Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Allow VBrick Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 STB Access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Schedule Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Emergency Broadcast Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Copyright Restrictions & Expiration Privileges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Configuring User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Add/Modify Group Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Add/Modify Group's User Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Add/Modify Group's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Resource Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Add/Modify Resource Group Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Add/Modify User's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Add/Modify Group's Resource Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 STB Authentication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Authentication by PIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 Authentication by Host Name or IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

5. Configuring for SSL

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 1. Generate a Certificate Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 2. Submit a Certificate Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 3. Install the Certificate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 4. Configure ETV Resources for SSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

6. Network Video Recording

NVR Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

NVR Hardware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

NVR Performance Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

NVR Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Standard NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Standalone NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

NVR Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Synchronizing the Portal Server and the NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

NVR Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Configuring a Standard NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Configuring a Standalone NVR. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using an NVR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

7. VBPresenter

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Working with Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Configuring MCS for VBPresenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Configuring an FTP User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Configuring a Presentation User . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Configuring for Live Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 Configuring for Stored Presentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

8. Auto Content Ingestion

AutoIngest Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 AutoIngest Content via XML . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 AutoIngestXML Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Using the XML Template . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 Removing MPEG-4 Closed Captions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

9. Database Backup

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Database Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Database Restore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

10. Amino Set Top Box

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Connecting the Amino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 Configuring the Amino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 Changing the IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Configuring a Direct Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Configuring the Remote Control for a TV . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Configuring the Amino for a Widescreen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Setting the TV Display Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Contents

11. ACNS Configuration

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

ACNS Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

VOD-W Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Portal Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

ACNS Server Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Verify Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

12. Rebranding the User Interface

Customizing the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Changing the Title and Header Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Rebranding the Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

Rebranding Other ETV Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

VBrick Set Top Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

Amino Set Top Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

VBrick IP Receiver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

13. NXG-to-VOD-W Content Migration

Creating an Asset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Sample Asset List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Using the Migration Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Increasing the Ingestion Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Running the Migration Tool . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Recovering from Migration Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Verifying the Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Index

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

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Contents

Portal Server v4.2 Admin Guide

This Portal Server Admin Guide is written for anyone who will be using or evaluating the VBrick EtherneTV Portal Server. This includes system administrators, software developers, network technicians, and others. The ETV Portal Server is a web-based portal for accessing and managing video assets including both live or stored audio and video files. The ETV Portal Server is a key component in VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System. The ETV Portal Server provides a simple, intuitive interface that auto-discovers available media assets in your network. Key components in VBrick's EtherneTV solution include:

•EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand Server – Provides all standard Video-on-Demand (VOD) features including support for MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media for maximum flexibility.

•EtherneTV Digital IP Receivers – Leading edge digital set top boxes that provide a lowcost standalone decoder for DVD-quality MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media video assets.

•VBrick Hardware Encoders/Decoders – Rugged, reliable video appliances that can reside anywhere on your network to provide either distributed or high-density centralized encoding/decoding of MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and WM (Windows Media) video.

Note The Amino STB is a compact set top box that plays MPEG-2 streams only. It is fully integrated with the Portal Server and provides access to most Portal Server viewer functionality. It does not, however, support Access Logging, Scheduling, Device Control, Emergency Broadcast, or Copyright Restrictions.

Organization

Introduction	provides an overview of the application including server and
	desktop requirements and an overview of features and
	functionality.

Global Settings	explains high-level configuration settings and parameters that apply
	to the entire system.

Server Administration	provides detailed explanations of all ETV Portal Server global
	settings and configuration options, as well as diagnostics and status
	windows.

Users and User	explains how to configure the system for access control. It explains
Groups	how to create users and groups with specific permissions and
	access to resources.

Configuring for SSL	explains how to securely configure the system using the Secure
	Sockets Layer.

Network Video	explains how to configure and use an NVR to offload recording
Recording	tasks from the Portal Server to a separate "recorder server"
	machine.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

VBPresenter	explains how to configure and launch rich media presentation from
	the Portal Server including those created with VBPresenter.

Auto Content	explains auto content ingestion. This is the process whereby video
Ingestion	content is automatically populated on the portal server.

Database Backup	explains how to backup the MySQL database when you transfer or
	remove VOD servers. Note that procedure backs up the
	database—not video content.

Amino Set Top Box	explains how to connect and use the Amino set top box to view
	MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams.

ACNS Configuration	explains how to configure the Portal Server and Cisco's Application
	and Content Networking System (ACNS) to work together.

Rebranding the User	explains how to modify the Portal Server "user" interface. You can
Interface	simply replace images or you can modify the .css stylesheets and
	thoroughly rebrand the look-and-feel of the application.

NXG-to-VOD-	explains how to migrate MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 video files from a
W Content Migration	VBrick NXG (Linux) VOD server to a VBrick VOD-W (Windows)
	VOD server.

Getting Help

If you need help, or more information about any topic, use the online help system. The online help is cross-referenced and searchable and can usually find the information in a few seconds. Use the tree controls in the left pane to open documents and the up and down arrows to page through them. Use the Search box to find specific information. Simply enter one or more words in the box and press Enter. The search results will return pages that have all of the words you entered—highlighted in yellow (Internet Explorer only). The Search box is not case-sensitive and does not recognize articles (a, an, the), operators (+ and – ), or quotation marks. You can narrow the search by adding words.

If you can't find the information you need from the online help, or from your certified VBrick reseller, you can contact VBrick Support Services on the web. Support Services can usually answer your technical questions in 24 business hours or less. Also note that our publications team is committed to accurate and reliable documentation and we appreciate your feedback. If you find errors or omissions in any of our documents, please send e-mail to documentation@vbrick.com and let us know. For more information about any VBrick products, all of our product documentation is available on the web. Go to www.vbrick.com/ documentation to search or download VBrick product documentation.

Font Conventions

Arial bold is used to describe dialog boxes and menu choices, for example: Start > All

Programs > VBrick

Courier fixed-width font is used for code elements (C++, HTML) as well as filenames, directories, etc.

Black Courier fixed-width font is used to indicate user input in keyboard commands, scripts, etc.

Folder names and user examples are displayed in this sans serif font.

Folder names and user input are displayed in this bold sans serif font.

Preface

Italics are used to emphasize specific words or phrases.

Related Documents

ETV Portal Server User Guide

ETV IPR Receiver Admin Guide

ETV STB Admin Guide

ETV STB Quick Start Guide

ETV NXG Server Quick Start Guide

ETV VOD W Server Quick Start Guide

ETV VOD WM Server Admin Guide

VBPresenter User Guide

Printer-Friendly

Click on the following link to print a hard copy of the document.

ETV Portal Server User Guide

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

ETV Portal Server Release Notes

TTo save or print a PDF document:

1.Click once to open the PDF document in Acrobat Reader.

2.To save or print a PDF document, right-click and select Save Target As or Print Target.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

xii

Preface

Chapter 1F

Introduction

Topics in this chapter

Portal Server Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Portal Server Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Portal Server Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Portal Server Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Admin Console Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Portal Server Overview

VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System consists of a group of products that includes the EtherneTV Portal (ETV Portal Server), EtherneTV Encoders, the EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand Server, EtherneTV Set-Top Boxes and StreamPlayer software. This integrated system delivers both live and on-demand audio and video over an IP-based infrastructure. The ETV Portal Server functions as a video portal, permitting end users to view live and on-demand MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 and WM (Windows Media) streams on a Window PC, a Macintosh, a Linux PC (or a set top box). The ETV Portal Server comes as software-only solution that can be installed on a Windows Server or as a pre-configured hardware/software combination.

Figure 1. EtherneTV Media Control Server Suite

The VBrick EtherneTV (ETV) Portal Server is a web-based portal for accessing Live and On-Demand audio and video files. A key component of VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System, the ETV Portal Server provides a simple interface to easily locate

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

available media assets on your network. Upon accessing the main portal page, users can navigate or search for specific videos, select the video, and immediately begin viewing DVD quality video. For on-demand videos, users can Fast Forward/Rewind and Seek to specific points in the video. Standard access control functionality provides restriction of certain content to particular users, user groups, or set top boxes. An optional scheduling module allows users to schedule devices to send video, receive video, record video, or to initiate a two-way conference.

Server Requirements

The minimum server requirements include:

•Windows Server 2003 (Web Edition or Standard Edition with Service Pack 2).

•Pentium IV or Xeon Processor 1.26 GHz Minimum (2 GHz or higher recommended).

•RAM 512 MB Minimum (1 GB or more recommended).

•Hard Drive 36 GB Minimum (larger for frequent recording).

Note VBrick has tested the ETV Portal Server on Windows 2000 Web Server and on Windows 2003 Server Web Edition and Standard Edition. Note also that ETV Portal Server also will not operate correctly on a server that is configured as a primary domain controller or with other network-related services and software.

Desktop Requirements

Windows-based PC and Macintosh users access the ETV Portal Server through a web browser. For Windows-based PCs, on the first access to the server, VBrick StreamPlayer software is automatically downloaded to the PC. StreamPlayer software lets end users select a stream and view TV-quality video directly on a PC. Macintosh users view MPEG-4 video through the QuickTime player.

Table 1. Desktop Requirements

PC Type	Requirements

Windows PCs	• Windows 2000, XP (Service Pack 2), or Vista.

•300 MHz Pentium II processor for MPEG-1 streams.

•500 MHz Pentium III processor for MPEG-2 streams.

•500 MHz (minimum), 750 MHz Pentium III processor (recommended) for MPEG-4 streams.

•128 MB RAM.

•SVGA video card 640x480, 256 colors, video card acceleration recommended.

•Minimum 10 MB hard disk space for installation.

•Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher.

•Microsoft Windows Media Player 9.0 or higher.

•Firefox 1.0 or higher.

•DirectX Media Version 8.1 and higher.

2	© 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.

Introduction

PC Type	Requirements

Macintosh PCs	•	Mac OS X with Safari 1.0 or higher.
	• Firefox for Macintosh 1.0.4 or higher.
	• QuickTime Player 6.0 or higher.
	• Internet Explorer on a Macintosh is not supported.

Linux PCs	•	Red Hat Fedora Core 3.
	•	FireFox 1.0.
	•	512 MB RAM.

The Portal Server uses copyright restrictions and content expiration to protect the rights of content owners and to enforce rules against unauthorized usage or distribution. Copyright restrictions are specifically used to enforce license requirements. Content is often restricted to a limited number of viewers and you may need a license, for example, to view MPEG-2 content. In the Portal Server, Max. Concurrent Viewers is used to enforce copyright restrictions for any live, stored, or recorded video. If the number of concurrent viewers exceeds the configured value, the content will not play. (The Max. Concurrent Users restriction does not apply to viewers who tune in to a scheduled broadcast.)

Content expiration controls the length of time that specific content can be viewed. Content expiration is used for time-sensitive, copyrighted, or otherwise protected content that cannot be legally displayed after a specified date or a period of time. Users with appropriate permissions (see Copyright Restrictions & Expiration Privileges on page 97) can assign expiration dates or a viewing period when they use the Add Video feature. The viewing period starts at the time the content is added to the server. If desired, administrators can restrict expiration privileges to particular users or groups in which case only those specified users or groups (and administrators) can set content to expire.

Administrators can also assign an Expiration Date or Viewing Period for any stored video using the Modify VOD Content page. By default, recordings from live streams have no expiration date. However administrators can set default viewing periods for content recorded from specific live streams (see "Viewing Periods" in Stream Restrictions on page 26).

The ETV Portal Server enforces content expiration by preventing the streaming or scheduling of content that is expired or will expire before the scheduled event. Once content has expired, administrators can set a new expiration date or viewing period. By default, expired content will remain in storage indefinitely unless you choose to delete it automatically

using the Set Expired VOD Content Treatment option in Global Assignments.

The Portal Server writes to a log that tracks content expirations; administrators can view or purge this log as necessary (see Expired Content Log on page 76). In many installation an administrator is assigned to monitor and/or renew content that is about to expire. To facilitate this process, the Portal Server can be configured to automatically generate e-mail that notifies the designated administrator when content is about to expire by using the option in Global Assignments.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

MySQL

EtherneTV Portal Server is shipped with MySQL as the database. The MySQL database is installed as part of the Portal Server installation package. If the hardware/software combination was purchased from VBrick, MySQL will already be installed on your machine; the default user name is root. To protect the integrity of the database, you should change the default password (vbrick_18) after initial installation and periodically thereafter as explained below. To backup the MySQL database, see Database Backup on page 125.

Note MySQL Query Browser is an Open Source front-end that provides a graphical interface to the MySQL database. MySQL Query Browser is available with the free software/open source GNU General Public License at to http://www.mysql.com.

TTo change the MySQL password:

1.Open a Command Prompt window.

2.At the C: prompt type cd program files\mysql\mysql server 4.1\bin and press Enter.

3.Type mysql -uroot -pvbrick_18 and press Enter.

4.Type set password for 'root'@'localhost'=password ('new_password'); (where

'new_password' in single quotes is the new password) and press Enter.

5.Type exit.

Portal Server Features

End User Features

•Windows-based PCs, Macintoshes, or STBs (connected to televisions or display monitors) can all access the Portal Server.

•Users can view video at Full Screen for a television-like user experience.

•Users can view Video-On-Demand assets with full VCR/DVD control, including Play,

Pause, Stop, Fast Forward, Rewind, and Seek.

•Video can be viewed in a preview window or launched in multiple external, re-sizeable player windows (PC and Macintosh).

4	© 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.

Introduction

•Set Top Box users can use familiar Channel Up/Down keys and other hot keys on the IR remote control to navigate through video listings.

•Users can search through the list of Live or On-Demand videos by Title, Keyword, Description, or other custom fields defined by an ETV Portal Server administrator.

•Users can record and store videos on the EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand server via ETV Portal Server.

•Users can publish pre-recorded content and thumbnails directly to the VOD server.

•Users can view closed caption text (Windows-based PCs and set-top boxes only).

•Users can launch pre-configured emergency broadcasts. (Optional. Requires Scheduling module.)

•Users can schedule recordings or broadcasts. (Optional. Requires Scheduling module.)

Figure 2. ETV Portal Server Live Broadcasts

Administrative Features

•Access Control - allows administrators to allow/deny access to specific functions of the ETV Portal Server server. Access control functionality can use the local ETV Portal Server database or authenticate to an LDAP directory server.

•Clustering support – multiple EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand servers can be clustered to increase total throughput. The ETV Portal Server will automatically load balance all servers defined in ETV Portal Server; no additional configuration is necessary. See Servers on page 27 for more.

•SSL/TLS security – the ETV Portal Server can be set up to provide encrypted access to the Login pages and/or the Admin pages. See Configuring for SSL on page 103.

•Customer defined URLs – can be entered into the system and displayed in the ETV Portal Server interface. The URLs can point to video assets or other assets such as PDFs or PowerPoint documents.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

•Autoingestion to the EtherneTV-VOD server – content placed in autoingestion folders on the ETV Portal Server will be automatically transferred and ingested into the EtherneTV-VOD server.

•Customized global messages can display on the ETV Portal Server interface.

•Channel numbers can be assigned to live streams.

•Define a startup channel for STBs – the STB will automatically tune into this channel when users select the Live TV option.

•Emergency broadcasts – can define pre-configured emergency broadcast templates that can be launched instantaneously. See Emergency Broadcast on page 55 for more.

•Status window – shows the status of videos being added, recorded, or ingested.

•Diagnostics window – displays a complete log of system events by source, time, and IP address.

•Custom fields and streams – the ability to add customized information and search parameters to live and stored streams.

•A Channel Guide Server can be configured to automatically provide third-party programming data for configured TV Stations.

Portal Server Components

VBrick Encoders/Decoders

VBrick's VB4000-5000-6000 Series MPEG-2 network video appliances provide DVD quality video and CD quality audio at 1–15 Mbps of bandwidth. MPEG-2 is the world's most popular digital compression technology and is used to encode DVDs as well as Digital Cable and Digital Satellite broadcasts. VBrick's VB4000-5000-6000 Series MPEG-4 encoders and decoders are versatile and reliable video appliances for one or two-way interactive communications over low or medium bandwidth IP networks. The VBrick MPEG-4 encoder/decoder can be used for webcasting, multicasting, transcoding, and two-way interactive video. Designed for streaming over the Internet at lower bit rates (56K, 128K, 384K) and over a LAN at higher rates (1Mbps and above). VBrick's WM (Windows Media) video appliances provide scalable quality at webcasting rates up to 2 Mbps. It features built-in live streaming server, automatic multicasting, and state-of-the-art reliability. A key benefit of the WM appliance is its compatibility with the Windows Media Player, thus eliminating the need for desktop player installation.

ETV Video-on-Demand Servers

EtherneTV Video on Demand (VOD) servers provide the ETV Portal Server with a source of available video content organized in folders. The VOD content is displayed by name in the ETV Portal Server user interface, along with the duration of the video, and associated descriptions, key words, and other custom information entered by an administrator. You play content from the VOD server by selecting the program name from the application interface (see the Portal Server User Guide for details). The ETV Portal Server currently supports all of the VOD servers shown in Table 2. The configuration for each server is essentially the same (see Servers on page 27 for details) and there is little difference in functionality for end users.

ETV servers can be LAN-based or Internet-based depending on how the range of Internet addresses is defined (see "Assign LAN/Internet Address Range" in Global Assignments on page 19). VOD servers accessible to Internet users are called Internet-zone servers; VOD

6	© 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.

Introduction

servers assessable to LAN users only (within a secured corporate network and behind a firewall) are called LAN-zone servers.

Content added by users in the LAN zone will be ingested to all VOD servers for which they have permissions using the Add Video page. Users in the Internet zone have the Add Video page available only if they have permissions for at least one VOD server that is also in the Internet zone. Content added by LAN users is added to all configured servers that can handle the content (for example you cannot add MPEG content to a Windows Media server) and for which you have permission. The content available for viewing may also be limited by the server type. For example, Internet users will see only MPEG-4 and Windows Media content on VOD-D and VOD-WM servers respectively. LAN users however will see all content on all servers.

Table 2. Supported EtherneTV VOD Servers

Server Type	Description	Zone

NXG	Linux-based NXG1/2 VOD server.	LAN only

VOD-W	Windows-based VOD-W VOD server.	LAN only

VOD-D	Darwin Open Source server for Linux, Windows, Mac,	LAN or Internet
	etc. Ingests and plays MPEG-4 content only. Requires
	an FTP server.

VOD-WM-	Microsoft Windows Media Server (unicast only).	LAN or Internet
Standard	Requires an FTP server.

VOD-WM-	Microsoft Windows Media Server (unicast or multicast).	LAN or Internet
Enterprise	Requires an FTP server.

ETV Internet-Based Servers

ETV Portal Server supports the installation of LAN-based servers and Internet-based servers. As part of an ETV Server installation, you can configure a VOD-D or VOD-WM server (see Table 2) to run on your LAN or on the public Internet. Before server configuration, you assign a range of IP addresses that define the LAN domain, or vice versa, that define the Internet domain. Any IP address outside that range will assumed to be from an Internet source, or vice versa, from a LAN source. (See "Assign LAN/Internet Address Range" in Global Assignments on page 19.)

You can purchase an Internet-based Windows Media server from VBrick (in which case it is configured by VBrick) or you can purchase and configure it yourself using the Microsoft documentation (not recommended). You can also install a Darwin Open Source server which is fully-compatible with ETV Portal Server but is not sold or supported by VBrick. (For more about downloading, installing, and configuring a Darwin server, go to: http:// developer.apple.com/opensource/server/streaming/index.html) As noted, ETV users can be on the Internet or on a LAN; Internet users can only access MPEG-4 and Windows Media content stored on Internet-based servers. LAN users can access all content on all servers both inside and outside the firewall. To summarize, Internet-based servers and users are subject to the following limitations:

•Internet servers support MPEG-4 and Windows Media content only.

•Internet servers support unicast only (they do not support multicast).

•Internet ETV users can add video only to VOD servers in the Internet zone.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

•Internet users can only see MPEG-4 and Windows Media content stored on Internetbased servers.

•Internet servers do not support ETV scheduling features.

ETV Set Top Box

EtherneTV-STBs access the ETV Portal Server through a web browser within the Set Top Box. Using the Set-Top Box remote control, users can navigate and search for specific ondemand content or live video streams, select a stream, and begin viewing television-quality video. Set-Top Box users can also record video directly on the ETV Portal Server using the remote control or the wireless keyboard. See the Set Top Box documentation for more about how to configure and use an ETV Set Top Box.

ETV Network Video Recorder

The ETV Network Video Recorder and the ETV Live Portal Server are optional components that are purchased and installed separately. They have different license files that must be installed separately. See Portal Server License Files on page 14. The ETV Network Video Recorder lets you off-load all recording tasks from the ETV Portal Server machine to one or more separate "recorder server" machines. This optimizes recording performance and improves ETV Portal Server performance as well. The Network Video Recorder uses ETV Portal Server components and typically requires two machines: the ETV Portal Server is installed on one machine; the Network Video Recorder software is installed on a different machine. Once installed, the NVR machine is used for all ETV Portal Server recording tasks. See Network Video Recording on page 107 for more information.

Note A standard ETV Portal Server permits two concurrent recording operations. If you purchase a Network Video Recorder, the number of concurrent recording operations (10 or 40) is fixed by the terms of your licensing agreement with VBrick.

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Introduction

Figure 3. Live Portal Server User Interface

VB-PC Remote Controller

The VB-PC Remote is a handheld infrared device you can use to control (stop/start/pause, etc.) any stream running on the Portal Server. The VB-PC Remote is compatible with Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher; it is not compatible with Firefox. The VB-PC Remote can be used for all Portal Server streams (MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and WM) and has a line-of-sight range of approximately 40 feet.

After you manually start a stream using the Portal Server interface, you can use the VB-PC Remote to control it. When

using the remote controller, the computer running the Portal Server basically acts like a set top box that you can control with the remote control. The VB-PC Remote includes an IR Remote Control and an IR Remote Receiver. The computer to which it's attached must have an available (1.1 or 2.0) USB port. Note that the VB-PC Remote is installed on client machines connected to the Portal Server. It is not part of the Portal Server installation and must be installed separately on each client machine. See the VB-PC Remote Product CD for details and installation instructions.

Amino Set Top Box

The AmiNet110 is a compact set top box for the Portal Server manufactured by Amino Systems. It connects to a standard TV and only plays MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 streams; no other streams are selectable for viewing on the Portal Server interface. There is no software installation required. Simply connect and configure the device as explained in Amino Set Top Box on page 127. The Portal Server User Guide explains how to use the Amino infrared remote control unit that comes with the device.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

WM IP Receiver

VBrick's WM IP Receiver is similar to a conventional set top box but is significantly more stable, rugged, and reliable. It is designed for 24x7 operation, and built for enterprise networks that require a high degree of stability, security, and scalability. The WM IP Receiver is a robust, state-of-art device that meets the demanding requirements of VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution System. The WM IPR plays Windows Media streams from VBrick WM appliances and Windows Media servers. The WM IPR is also a fully-featured VBrick EtherneTV client. This means that in addition to the ability to deliver video, subsequent WM IPR releases will provide scheduling, access logging, and device control from the Portal Server. For more information about the WM IPR, see the IPR Admin Guide in the Portal Server online help.

Portal Server Installation

Complete installation instructions for the Portal Server are provided in the ETV Portal Server Release Notes. Once the Portal Server is installed, end users on Windows, Macintosh, and Linux machines may be prompted for additional download components as explained below. This only happens the first time they access the Portal Server. The Portal Server supports a wide variety of clients and video formats. See Supported VBrick Clients and Video Formats for a complete list.

Download Components

Windows PCs

If configured with the appropriate components, Windows PCs (with Internet Explorer or Firefox) can play all stream types including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media. For Windows-based PC users, the Portal Server uses VBrick StreamPlayer softwarebased components to decode video streams on user desktops. The Portal Server downloads these components to each client machine the first time you access the Portal Server

(depending on the Specify Components to Download to Clients setting in Global

Assignments). No download is necessary for subsequent access. If this is a new installation, end users must answer Yes to security requests to download these components. After a download, you don’t have to restart your computer but must you must close the browser. These components are downloaded using .cab files.

In certain circumstances however, the use of .cabs is either not allowed or not feasible. In these cases, VBrick provides an .msi installer called VBrickComponents.msi. This installer installs the same components and allows end-users who cannot download .cabs to have full Portal Server functionality. This installer is located in the Program Files\VBrick\MCS\utils folder.

Note The component download setting will not affect previously-installed components. For example if you have StreamPlayer installed, you will be able to play MPEG-2 streams regardless of what components you specify for download.

With Firefox, users will also be prompted to install additional components the first time they launch a stream—if they are configured to receive these download components. Links for the appropriate stream types (MPEG-1/2/4 and/or WM) will be displayed in the area where the embedded player is normally displayed. These additional plugins must be installed. Firefox

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Introduction

users will also be required to install an additional plugin when they use Add Video for the first time (again, if they are configured with this privilege).

Table 3. Supported Operating Systems and Browsers – Windows

Operating System	Browser

Windows 2000	Internet Explorer 6.0†, Firefox 1.0†

Windows XP	Internet Explorer 6.0†, Firefox 1.0†

Windows Vista	Internet Explorer 6.0†, Firefox 1.0†

† or higher

Locked-Down Windows PCs

As described above, the Portal Server automatically downloads components to client PCs depending on the Global Assignment setting. This download can be an issue in environments that have restrictions on client software installation. For playback of WM files, Portal Server uses the existing Windows Media Player components on the client PC and there is no need for the extra components to be downloaded. This means that Portal Server and WM can be used in some but not all restrictive or "locked-down" environments.

Even if downloads are configured, a client PC will still refuse to accept the component download if the Internet Explorer security feature Download signed ActiveX controls is disabled. When using Portal Server 4.0 exclusively with WM streams and a WM VOD, the client PC can refuse to accept the downloaded components and all Portal Server features except Add Video will work. In this case you should uncheck the Add Video Utility in Global Assignments.

Some sites also require that their PCs be configured with certain Internet Explorer security settings. The Portal Server will not work on clients with Internet Explorer security set to High. The Portal Server will work at any level at or below Medium. If you start at High, the client will still work with Portal Server if you enable Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins, Script

ActiveX controls marked safe for scripting, and Active scripting.

Since firewalls on LAN client PCs can also cause problems with Portal Server, it is recommended that firewalls be disabled on LAN clients. (In Windows XP with Service Pack 2, the firewall is enabled by default.) Portal Server's support for Internet clients is designed to work through firewalls. If you have Internet clients with firewalls see the description of LAN/Internet address ranges in Global Assignments on page 19.

Macintosh PCs

If configured with the appropriate components, Macintosh PCs (with Safari or Firefox) can play all stream types including MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and Windows Media. In a Macintosh environment, if downloads are configured in Global Assignments, when you launch the ETV Portal Server for the first time, the Home page (see Figure 2) displays a link prompting you to download components that are appropriate for your computer. If you agree, these components are automatically installed and no additional download is necessary for subsequent access. On Macintosh PCs, Portal Server functionality is the same as in Windows except that the Add Video feature is not available. Table 4 shows the stream types supported for each environment; Table 5 shows the operating systems that are tested and supported. Note that there are certain performance limitations in Macintosh environments; see the ETV Portal Server Release Notes for information and recommendations.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

Linux PCs

If configured with the appropriate components, Linux PCs running Fedora or Red Hat (on Firefox) can play MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and WM streams. However, the Portal Server must download Linux components to each-end user desktop before any streams will play. This should only be performed by a system administrator. When you access the Portal Server for the first time, you will see a message in the embedded player window indicating that the appropriate plugins are not installed. See "Installing Linux Components" in the Portal Server Release Notes for detailed instructions. On Linux PCs, Portal Server functionality is the same as in Windows except that the Add Video feature is not available. Table 4 shows the stream types supported for each environment; Table 5 shows the operating systems that are tested and supported. Note that there are certain performance limitations in Linux environments; see the ETV Portal Server Release Notes for information and recommendations.

Table 4. Supported Stream Types – Macintosh and Linux

Environment	Supported Streams		Closed Captions

Macintosh	Safari – MPEG-1,		Supported for MPEG-1/MPEG-2 streams, and
	MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WM.		for MPEG-4 and WM with VBrick plugin.

	Firefox – MPEG-1,		Supported for MPEG-1/MPEG-2 streams, and
	MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WM.		for MPEG-4 and WM with VBrick plugin.

Linux	Firefox – MPEG-1,		Supported for MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4,
	MPEG-2, MPEG-4, WM.		and WM streams.

Table 5. Supported Operating Systems and Browsers – Macintosh and Linux

Operating System		Browser †

Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther)		Safari 1.2, Firefox 1.0

Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)		Safari 2.0, Firefox 1.0

Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)		Safari 3.0, Firefox 1.0

Linux Red Hat 9.0		Firefox 1.0

Linux Fedora Core 3		Firefox 1.0

Linux Fedora Core 4		Firefox 1.0

†Use version shown or higher.

Port Requirements

The drawing below, and the table that follows, show the required port configuration for various Portal Server devices. All ports in the drawing are TCP except as noted.

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Introduction

Table 6. Port Requirements†

Zone	Port(s)	Protocol	Description

Internet > DMZ	80	TCP	Web request from client to MCS.

Internet > DMZ	9876/9878	UDP	Management/RTSP SAP announce from VBrick to MCS.

DMZ > Internet	21	TCP	FTP from MCS to VOD Server (Darwin/Windows Media/
			FTP).

LAN > DMZ	80	TCP	Web request from client to MCS.

LAN > DMZ	9875/9876/	UDP	Multicast/Management/RTSP SAP announce from VBrick to
	9878		MCS.

LAN > DMZ	21	TCP	FTP from VBStar to MCS (auto-FTP to MCS autoingest
			directory).

DMZ > LAN	21	TCP	FTP from MCS to VBStar (content discovery).

DMZ > LAN	80	TCP	Management command from MCS to VBrick/STB.

DMZ > LAN	80/8080	TCP	Web service request from MCS to VOD Server (VOD-W/
			NXG).

DMZ > LAN	21	TCP	FTP from MCS to VOD Server (Darwin/Windows Media/
			FTP).

LAN > DMZ	21	TCP	FTP from VOD Server (NXG/VOD-W) to MCS.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

Zone	Port(s)	Protocol	Description

DMZ > LAN	135	TCP	Management command from MCS to Windows Media
			(DCOM).

DMZ > LAN	80	TCP	Web service request from MCS to Network Video Recorder.

DMZ > LAN	80	TCP	Web service request from Network Video Recorder to MCS.

DMZ > LAN	389	TCP	LDAP lookup from MCS to LDAP Server (e.g. Active
			Directory).

† All ports are TCP except as noted.

Portal Server License Files

You are prompted to install a license (.lic) file as part of the ETV Portal Server installation process. Different Portal Server functionality is available depending on the type of license you purchase and install. (For example if you do not install a Scheduler license, you will not see a Scheduled Programs, as shown above, option in the Portal Server client application.) After initial installation you can install a different license as necessary by using Add or

Remove Programs.

TTo install or modify a Portal Server license file:

1.Go to Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs > VBrick Media Control Server

Suite.

2.Click Change/Remove and select the appropriate license file type (see below).

3.Click Next, then browse to the file and click Open.

4.When done, manually close the window and launch the application. There is no need to restart the host machine.

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		Introduction

Table 7. Portal Server License Files

License File	Description	License Errors

Player	The embedded Windows Media Player has	If not installed, popup
	restrictions on the number of licensed users. Use	message displayed when
	this option to select a license file that modifies the	you try to launch a stream.
	number of allowed users for various MPEG-1,
	MPEG-2, and MPEG-4 streams.

Scheduler	Enables the broadcast or recording of future	If not installed, the Add
	events. See the ETV Portal Server User Guide for	option will not be shown
	more information.	on Scheduler page.

Network Video	A Network Video Recorder is a standalone	If not installed, there will
Recorder	recorder option that can speed up recording	be a "record" failure for
	operations and/or enhance Portal Server	more than two concurrent
	performance. (See ETV Network Video Recorder	record requests.
	on page 8.)

Channel Guide	Enables access to the Channel Guide Server for	If not installed, there will
Server	TV Stations that are typically provided by a third-	be no TV Stations or
	part content provider.	access to the Channel
		Guide server.

Modify Host Name	Lets you auto-detect or manually change the	Not applicable.
or IP Address	Portal Server Host Name. This name must match
	the machine name on which ETV Portal Server is
	installed. If you change the host machine name,
	use this option to change the Portal Server Host
	Name.

Uninstall Media	Remove all ETV Portal Server components. You	Not applicable.
Control Server Suite	are prompted to save the database as desired.

Admin Console Login

The ETV Portal Server can be administered from Windows-based PCs using Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher only. The Admin Console pages are best viewed at 1024x768 resolution. The Admin Console is not supported on Macintoshes or Set Top Boxes, or with Firefox or other browsers. In order to access the administrative functions enter the following address in the Internet Explorer browser of the PC where myserveraddress is the host name or IP address of the ETV Portal Server. The session will timeout after 20 minutes of inactivity. admin is both the default user name and password.

http://myserveraddress/admin/

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

Global Settings > Global Assignments

Note As a standard best practice, VBrick recommends changing the default administrator User Name and Password. Go to on the Admin Console.

Admin Console Options

Login to the ETV Portal Server Admin pages with a valid user name and password to display the following window. This window provides access to all admin configuration options.

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Introduction

Table 8. Admin Options

Option	Description

Getting Started	The ETV Portal Server splash page shown above.

Global Settings	Provides system-wide configuration parameters to connect to
	VBrick encoders and VOD servers as well as to customize the look
	of the ETV Portal Server pages.

Channels	Lets you define TV stations and custom stations that obtain
	programming data from a third-party provider.

Modify VOD Content	Provides the ability to Move, Rename, or Delete assets on the
	EtherneTV-VOD Video-on-Demand server. (Not supported on
	some legacy NXG servers.)

Diagnostics	Displays system log messages by source, time, and (generally) IP
	address.

Status	Shows the status of events in progress including recordings, Add
	Video commands, ingestion to the VOD server, and FTP
	downloads.

Expired Content Log	Shows all expired content still present on the Portal Server. Use
	Purge All to delete unwanted content.

ETV Portal Server Admin Guide

Option	Description

Access Control	Provides the ability to limit access to the ETV Portal Server system
	to different users or groups of users.

Live Presentations	Provides the ability to view and remove current live presentations
	from the Live Broadcasts page.

Users†	Used in conjunction with Access Control to limit access to the ETV
	Portal Server system to different users.

User Groups†	Used in conjunction with Access Control to limit access to the ETV
	Portal Server system to different groups of users.

Resource Groups†	Used in conjunction with Access Control to group resources which
	can then be provided to users or user groups.

Help	Displays the ETV Portal Server online help system in a new
	window.

Logout	Logs out the user who is currently logged in.

†Users, User Groups, and Resource Groups are only displayed if Access Control is enabled. See Users and User Groups on page 87 for a description of these functions.

Internet Explorer 7.0 Configuration

The Admin Console and the Portal Server user interface support the browsers shown in Table 3 and in Table 5. When using Internet Explorer 7.0, there are additional security settings required for compatibility with the Portal Server.

TTo configure the Portal Server for Internet Explorer 7.0:

1.Go to Tools > Internet Options > Security and select Custom level.

2.Under Active X controls and plugins set the following parameters:

•Allow previously unused ActiveX controls to run without prompt – Enable

•Automatic prompting for ActiveX controls – Disable

•Display video and animation on a webpage that does not use external media player –

Enable

•Download signed ActiveX controls – Prompt

•Run ActiveX controls and plug-ins – Enable

•Script ActiveX controls marked as safe for scripting – Enable

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Chapter 2

Global Settings

Global Settings include configuration settings and parameters that apply to the entire system. Global Settings include all of the following.