VBrick Systems VOD-W Server VBrick User Manual v4.2.1

VBrick v4.2.1 VOD-WM Server

Ethernet TV VOD-WM
Video on Demand Server

Admin Guide

April 15, 2008

4410-0179-0003

Copyright

© 2008 VBrick Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.
12 Beaumont Road
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
VBrick products. This freely available source code is posted at http://www.vbrick.com/opensource

in some

.

FCC Notice

This equipment carries the CE mark and is UL listed in the U.S. and Canada. This equipment also complies with
the limits for Class B digital devices pursuant to FCC Part 15 testing standards for most electronic equipment.
These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is
operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy
and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which
case the user will be required to correct the interference at their own expense. This Class B digital apparatus meets
all requirements of the Canadian Interference-Causing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numerique de la
Classe B respecte toutes les exigences do reglement dur le materiel brouilleur du Canada.

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.

VOD-WM v4.2.1 Admin Guide

Organization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Font Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Related Publications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .v

Printer-Friendly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

1. Server Overview

Feature Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Server Compatibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

External Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

VOD-WM Server Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

VOD-WM Server Software CD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2. Getting Started

Installing the VOD-WM Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 1. Unpack the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 2. Connect the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Step 3. Login to the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Step 4. Configure the IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 5. Configure the ETV Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 6. Verify the Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Contents

3. Managing the Server

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Managing the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11

Server Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Performance Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Windows Event Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

4. Creating Publishing Points

Creating Publishing Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Creating Authenticated Push Publishing Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Creating Non-Authenticated Push Publishing Points . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Creating Pull Publishing Points. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5. Adding Content

Content Backup and Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

VBrick VOD-WM Server Admin Guide iii

6. Restoring Windows Media Services

Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Restoring Windows Media Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

7. Reinstalling the Software

Reinstalling the Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

Initializing the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Configuring the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Adding Content to the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Viewing and Verifying the Content. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

iv Contents

VOD-WM v4.2.1 Admin Guide

This VOD-WM Server Admin Guide is written for anyone who will be using or configuring a
VBrick EtherneTV VOD-WM Video on Demand Server. This includes system
administrators, network technicians, and others. This document explains how to set up and
configure the VOD-WM server and how to perform initial administration tasks. For most
common tasks like ingesting content, use the ETV Portal Server and refer to the ETV Portal
Server Admin Guide for details. You can perform most administration tasks using the Portal
Server. VOD-WM servers are a key component in VBrick's EtherneTV Media Distribution
System. They provide standard VOD features for Windows Media files.

Organization

Server Overview provides an overview of the WM server including compatibility

and system requirements.

Getting Started

Managing the Server

Creating Publishing
Points

Adding Content

Restoring Windows
Media Services

explains how to unpack and install the server. This includes
setting the IP address and configuration in ETV Portal Server.

explains how to use monitoring and performance resources on
the server to track bandwidth, usage, logging, etc.

explains how to create authenticated and non-authenticated
publishing points on the server.

explains how to ingest video content to the server.

explains how to restore Windows Media Services management
after you change the computer name.

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.

Italics are used to emphasize specific words or phrases.

Related Publications

Dell PowerEdge 1950 Documentation

Dell PowerEdge 2950 Documentation

VBrick VOD-WM Server Admin Guide v

Printer-Friendly

VOD-WM Server Release Notes

VOD-WM Server Admin Guide

vi Preface

Server Overview

VBrick's VOD-WM Server has been integrated with the EtherneTV family of products
including the Portal Server, the WM Network Video Appliance, the Scheduler, and the
Network Video Recorder (NVR). The VOD-WM delivers stored Windows Media assets as
unicast/multicast streams across an Ethernet network and is built on a Dell hardware
platform. Other features include the ability to schedule asset playback, asset searching, user
and system statistics, and more. The Portal Server is required to gain the full benefits of the
VOD-WM server and is sold separately. In order to set up the Portal Server, follow the
directions in the EtherneTV Portal Server Admin Guide. Once the Portal Server is setup, you
can access video on the VOD-WM server through the Portal Server web interface.

Topics in this chapter

Feature Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

VOD-WM Server Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Chapter 1

Feature Overview

VBrick VOD-WM servers provide interactive, on-demand playback of Windows Media video
that is stored on the server with a variety of methods. The VOD-WM servers are a basic
component in the VBrick's EtherneTV solution and work seamlessly with the EtherneTV
Portal Server. They ingest and deliver unicast (or multicast) streams in Windows Media
format. The VOD-WM Server supports Fast Forward and Rewind. The general
specifications for the VOD-WM servers are shown below. See the Dell documents listed in
Related Publications

Tab l e 1 . VOD-WM Server Specifications

Model Hardware † Software †† Content Drives

Basic Dell 1950 Standard Edition 1–2 (300GB) 5 drives per 1.5TB (27TB

Basic Dell 1950 Enterprise Edition 1–2 (300GB)

Advanced Dell 2950 Standard Edition 4 (146GB)

Advanced Dell 2950 Enterprise Edition

on page v for more information.

(supports
multicast)

(Internal)

Hardware RAID5

4 (146GB)
Hardware RAID5

Content Drives
(External) †††

max) Hardware RAID5

† Dell PowerEdge Server (rack-mounted)
†† Microsoft Windows Server 2003
††† Dell MD1000 SAS with 1.5TB – 27TB (6 x 4.5TB).

VBrick VOD-WM Server Admin Guide 1

Table 2. VOD-WM Server Throughput

VOD-WM Server Max Throughput †

VOD-WM Basic (Standard) 125 Mbps

VOD-WM Basic (Enterprise) 125 Mbps

VOD-WM Advanced (Standard) 300 Mbps

VOD-WM Advanced (Enterprise) 300 Mbps

† These are qualified throughput measurements. Actual throughput depends on bitrate,

number of connections, disk fragmentation, and other factors, and may be higher.

Figure 1. EtherneTV Media Distribution System

Server Compatibility

The VOD-WM servers are compatible with the following VBrick devices:

• VB6000 WM Network Video Appliances with VBDNA 1.0 or higher.

• EtherneTV Portal Server v3.2 or higher.

• EtherneTV Scheduler v3.2 or higher

• Network Video Recorder v3.2 or higher.

• StreamPlayer 4.3 or higher.

System Requirements

The VOD-WM server has been tested to provide the specified performance with no
additional software installed. Be aware that the installation of virus scanners or security software
that consume system I/O resources may have an adverse impact on streaming performance. These
components are not tested by VBrick and you should test the VOD-WM for performance
and reliability after installing them.

2 © 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.

External Storage

VBrick's SAS (serial attached SCSI) ES5, ES10, and ES15 external storage arrays are fully
compatible with all VOD-WM servers.

VOD-WM Server Software

All server software is pre-installed by VBrick. If, for some reason, you ever need to reinstall
the software, use the Dell recovery CDs to reinstall the Windows Server 2003 (Standard or
Enterprise) operating system. Contact VBrick Support Services
WM server has the following software pre-installed.

• Windows Server 2003 (Standard or Enterprise Edition).

• Internet Information Services (IIS).

•ASP.NET.

Note Windows Media Services are installed and a publishing point is configured on the

server prior to shipment. The Computer Name of the VOD-WM Server is
If you subsequently change this name, you will temporarily be unable to manage
Windows Media Services. See Restoring Windows Media Services
or contact VBrick Support Services for more information.

Server Overview

if you need help. Each VOD-

VODWM.

on page 21 and/

VOD-WM Server Software CD

The VOD-W Server Software CD has all server documentation including this VOD-WM
Server Admin Guide in searchable HTML format.

Figure 2. VOD-WM Server Product CD

VBrick VOD-WM Server Admin Guide 3

Technical Support

If you can’t find the information you need from the documentation or from your reseller, you
can contact VBrick Support Services on the web at www.VBrick.com/support The Support
Services website has downloads, FAQs, documentation, support guidelines, and an on-line
for m you can use to submit questions. VBrick will make every effort to answer your technical
questions in 24 business hours or less.

4 © 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.

Getting Started

Installing the VOD-WM Server

The hardware installation of the VOD-WM server is straightforward. Unpack the server and
connect the cables as described below. Note that all server software is pre-installed before
being shipped.

T To install the server onsite at your location

Step 1. Unpack the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Step 2. Connect the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Step 3. Login to the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Step 4. Configure the IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Step 5. Configure the ETV Portal Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 6. Verify the Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Step 1. Unpack the Server

Chapter 2

Each shipment comes with:

• A Dell PowerEdge 1950 or 2950 server configured with a Microsoft Windows Media
streaming server.

• All power cords and cables.

• Rack mount kit.

•This EtherneTV-VOD-WM Server Admin Guide.

• VBrick VOD-WM Server Product CD.

Step 2. Connect the Server

Note The following steps explain how to connect Dell PowerEdge 1950/2950 servers. To

connect 1850/2850 servers, refer to the previous version of this manual that was
shipped with those servers. To view all VBrick product documentation, go to
www.vbrick.com/support/documentation

T To set up the VOD-WM server:

1. Connect the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and network cables as described below.

VBrick VOD-WM Server Admin Guide 5

Figure 3. VOD-WM (Dell 1950 – Rear View)

Figure 4. VOD-WM (Dell 2950 – Rear View)

2. If rack mounting the unit, mount the VOD-WM server in the rack, using the rack mount

kit provided.

3. Connect the VOD-WM server to the network by plugging the 10/100/1000 BaseT

Ethernet cable into the Ethernet port 1 on the rear of the unit.

4. Connect the monitor cable to the blue video port (front or rear) on the VOD-WM server.

Turn the monitor on.

5. Connect a mouse and keyboard to any available USB ports (front or rear) on the

VOD-WM server.

6. Plug the VOD-WM server into a power source, using the power cords provided. (All

VOD servers have redundant power supplies, each with its own cord.)

6 © 2007 VBrick Systems, Inc.