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This chapter describes how to configure the Cisco FTP Server, and how to use the IP/TV Content Manager to schedule file transfers.
Two IP/TV components cooperate to accomplish file transfers:
File transfers are used to move IP/TV programs between IP/TV Servers, possibly at off-peak hours to avoid overloading the network. File transfers also replicate on-demand content, allowing the IP/TV Content Manager to balance the load among a cluster of servers. See the "How IP/TV Components Interact" section in the "Introduction" chapter in this publication for an overview of server clusters, and to the "Setting Up IP/TV Content Manager" chapter for information about defining clusters.
Two different logs of FTP-related activities are available:
In addition, the IP/TV Content Manager provides an easy-to-read summary for each file transfer that it manages (see the "Displaying the Results of a File Transfer" section later in this chapter). In most cases, this is the only file transfer history that you need to view.
Most file transfer functions are accomplished using the IP/TV Content Manager. However, you access the Cisco FTP Server application directly to perform the following functions:
The Cisco FTP Server is an installation option.
If you installed the Cisco FTP Server and selected autostart at launch, the Cisco FTP Server appears as an icon on your system tray. Double-click the icon to open the Cisco FTP Server window.
If you did not select autostart at launch, you can start the Cisco FTP Server and open the Cisco FTP Server window by clicking Start>Programs>Cisco FTP Server>Cisco FTP Server.
The Cisco FTP Server window has two tabs, labeled General and Security. Both tabs are shown in Figure 10-1.
If the Cisco FTP Server is currently running, you can stop the server by clicking the Stop Server button located in the Server section of the General tab in the Cisco FTP Server window.
In addition, you can enable or disable the autostart function by selecting or clearing the Automatically Start FTP Server box.
If the Cisco FTP Server is currently stopped, you can restart it by clicking Start>Programs>Cisco FTP Server>Cisco FTP Server.
The path to the Cisco FTP Server's root directory is set when you install the Cisco FTP Server.
If you want to override the path after installation, first create the new directory, then enter the directory path in the text box in the File Access section of the Cisco FTP Server window.
The new path does not take effect until you click the OK button at the bottom of the window.
In addition, if the Cisco FTP Server is running on the same machine as the IP/TV Server, you can instruct the Cisco FTP Server to use the IP/TV Server's media root directory as the FTP Server Root directory by selecting the Automatically Match IP/TV Server Media Root Directory box.
In the Files section of the General tab on the FTP Server window (see Figure 10-1), you can choose one of the following options for handling partially received files:
In the Logging section of the General tab on the Cisco FTP Server window, there are three options:
On the Security tab of the Cisco FTP Server window, you can specify the hosts or subnets from which FTP access is allowed.
By default, the Cisco FTP Server is configured to accept access from all subnets. For better security, you should disable "all subnets" and specify a list of hosts or subnets from which access is allowed. Follow these steps to configure host access privileges:
Step 1 In the list box in the Allowed Hosts section, select the entry "0.0.0.0/0" and click the Remove button.
Step 2 Click the Add button.
Step 3 In the FTP Allowed Hosts dialog box, click the Host button and enter the IP address or name of a host, or click the Subnet button and enter the IP address and significant bits of a subnet mask.
Step 4 Click OK.
The hosts or subnets you add are allowed to access the Cisco FTP Server. No other hosts or subnets can connect to the Cisco FTP Server.
On the Security tab of the Cisco FTP Server window, you can add, change, or delete the login names allowed to access the server.
The default FTP login name and password are set when you install the Cisco FTP Server.
To add a new FTP login name, click the Add button in the Allowed Logins section of the window. The FTP Login dialog box prompts you to enter the new login name and password.
To edit an existing FTP login name, click the login entry in the Allowed Logins list box and click the Edit button. A dialog box prompts you to make the required changes.
To remove an existing FTP login name, click the login entry in the Allowed Logins list box and click the Remove button.
The IP/TV Content Manager allows you to schedule file transfers and to automatically transfer files among IP/TV Servers, IP/TV Content Managers, and other file servers using the Cisco FTP Service. This service is designed to work with IP/TV and is not intended to be used as a general-purpose FTP service.
In order to transfer files among servers, you must install the Cisco FTP Service software on each server, or have an FTP Server that supports third-party transfers. Microsoft IIS includes an FTP Server, but it does not support third-party transfers.
The advantages of using the FTP Service rather than sending a program as a SmallCast transmission are as follows:
If an important event is taking place at corporate headquarters, for example, you can set up an IP/TV Server at headquarters to capture the event, save it to a file with the Record feature, then use the File Transfer feature to transmit the file to IP/TV Servers at all the corporation's worldwide offices. The event can then be multicast at times convenient to each location.
To display a list of all scheduled FTP activity, click the File Transfers button on the IP/TV Content Manager main page. The File Transfers page appears (see Figure 10-2). The page lists both file transfers and FTP delete jobs.
For each scheduled file transfer, the information displayed includes the source server(s), the source filename, the destination server(s), the destination filename (if it is different from the source filename), and the date and time of the transfer. See the "Scheduling a File Transfer" section later in this chapter for information about setting up a file transfer.
For each scheduled delete job, the information displayed includes the source server(s), the source filename, and the date and time of the delete job. See the "FTP Delete Jobs" section later in this chapter for information about how FTP delete jobs are initiated.
For each file transfer, the following links are available:
On the task bar on the File Transfers page are two FTP log links:
See the "File Transfer Log" section later in this chapter.
Follow these steps to schedule a file transfer:
Step 1 In the File Transfers page, click the New File Transfer link in the task bar. The New File Transfer page appears.
Step 2 Optionally, enter a description of the file to be transferred.
Step 3 In the Source Server section of the New File Transfer page (see Figure 10-3), select a server in the Server Name list box. This is the server on which the file currently exists.
Step 4 Use the Browse button to locate the file. The Browse function can locate any file that is stored under the source server's FTP root directory.
If the source server is an IP/TV Server, the FTP root directory should be set to the same directory as the IP/TV Server's media root directory. See the "Changing the Cisco FTP Server Root Directory" section earlier in this chapter for information on setting the FTP root directory to the same path as the media root directory.
Alternatively, you can enter the path name of the source file in the text box. Keep in mind that the file must be within the FTP root directory, and the path must be relative to the FTP root, not an absolute path name.
Step 5 In the Destination Servers section of the New File Transfer page, select a server in the Server Names list box. This is the server to which you want to transfer the file. If you want the file to be transferred from the source server to more than one destination server, press the Ctrl key while clicking to select multiple servers.
Step 6 Enter the destination filename. By default, the destination filename matches the source filename, relative to the destination server's FTP root directory.
Step 7 If you transfer multiple copies of the same file, you can specify whether the destination file is assigned a unique filename. A unique filename prevents the first file from being overwritten by a later file that has the same name. If the job is to be repeated at a specified interval, and you do not want the previous file to be overwritten, select Generate Unique File Name.
Step 8 In the Schedule section of the New File Transfer page (see Figure 10-4), enter the schedule for the file transfer.
The File Transfer Schedule options are similar to those in the New Program page. Table 10-1 describes the options.
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
Transfer File now | Sets the file transfer to begin within 5 minutes after the form is submitted to the IP/TV Content Manager. |
Transfer File once on | Sets the date and time of the first transfer of this file. |
Do not repeat it | Sets a single file transfer. |
Repeat it every | Sets a simple repeat schedule. |
Repeat it | Sets a more complex repeat schedule. |
Last repeat ends on | Sets the end of the repeat schedule. |
Step 9 Click the Schedule File Transfer button at the bottom of the New File Transfer page to send the form to the IP/TV Content Manager.
If the IP/TV Content Manager finds errors or omissions in the form, the Data Entry Errors page prompts you to return to the New File Transfer page to modify the information.
When you have finished correcting the errors, click the Schedule File Transfer button again to submit the corrections to the IP/TV Content Manager.
If the form is properly completed, you return automatically to the File Transfers page.
Follow these steps to review a file transfer:
Step 1 On the File Transfers page, click the Review link for the file transfer you want to review.
Step 2 Scroll through the Review File Transfer page to find the information you want to see.
Step 3 After you have reviewed the information, click the File Transfers button to return to the File Transfers page.
Follow these steps to delete a file transfer:
Step 1 On the File Transfers page, click the Delete link for the file transfer you want to delete. Or, on the Review File Transfer page, click the Delete File Transfer button.
Step 2 The IP/TV Content Manager displays the Delete File Transfer page and asks you to confirm that you want to delete the file transfer.
Click the Delete File Transfer button to delete the recording.
Click the File Transfers button to return to the File Transfers page without deleting the file transfer.
Follow these steps to edit a file transfer:
Step 1 On the File Transfers page, click the Edit link for the file transfer you want to modify. Or, on the Review File Transfers page, click the Edit File Transfer button at the bottom of the page.
Step 2 Scroll through the Edit File Transfer page to find the information you want to change. The page allows you to change any field that was entered when the file transfer was scheduled.
Step 3 Click the Revise File Transfer button at the bottom of the page to send the changes to the IP/TV Content Manager.
If the IP/TV Content Manager finds errors or omissions in the page, the Data Entry Errors page prompts you to return to the Edit File Transfer page to modify the information.
When you have finished correcting the errors, click the Revise File Transfer button again to submit the corrections to the IP/TV Content Manager.
If the page is properly completed, you return automatically to the File Transfers page.
After a file transfer has completed, a Results link appears in the File Transfers page, next to the Edit link for the file transfer. Click the Results link to display the Results page, which provides a summary of the activity for the file transfer. Figure 10-5 shows an example of the Results page.
Table 10-2 describes the fields in the Results page.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
File Transfer Job ID | Indicates the FTP job identifier. |
Action | Indicates the FTP job type (transfer or delete). |
File(s) | Indicates the name of the file involved in the FTP job. |
Job Start Time | Indicates the date and time when the first transfer attempt began. |
Last Run Start Time | Indicates the date and time at which the last transfer attempt began. |
Last Run End Time | Indicates the date and time when the last transfer attempted completed or was aborted. |
Summary | Summarizes the status of the transfer. |
The Detailed Status section of the File Transfer Results page contains one or more tables:
If the transfer succeeded, only the Destination Server table appears. If the transfer failed, either one or both of these tables may appear, depending upon where the error occurred.
When setting up a new on-demand program, you may choose to autodistribute the file to one or more additional servers (see the "Creating an OnDemand Program" section in the IP/TV Content Manager User Guide). If you select an additional server, and the Autodistribute option is selected, a file transfer job is automatically created to transfer the file to the new server(s) using FTP.
Autodistribute file transfers have Results pages (see the "Displaying the Results of a File Transfer" section earlier in this chapter).
Alternatively, you can identify these autodistribute jobs in the file transfer log by their job description:
Autodistribute: <on-demand program name>
Two IP/TV Content Manager functions can initiate an FTP delete job:
FTP delete jobs initiated by these mechanisms are listed on the File Transfers page, and can be reviewed, deleted, or edited in the same way as file transfer jobs.
At the top of the File Transfers page are two FTP log links:
The file transfer log is a detailed record of the history of each file transfer managed by this IP/TV Content Manager.
The log contains entries describing all file transfer activities. As new file transfers take place, entries are added at the bottom of the log file.
Follow these steps to view the log entries for a particular file transfer:
Step 1 On the File Transfers page, click the Review link for the file transfer whose entries you want to see. The first entry on the Review File Transfer page includes a five-digit file transfer job ID number. Make a note of the number.
Step 2 Click the File Transfers button to return to the File Transfers page.
Step 3 Click the View File Transfer Log link to display the contents of the log. Every entry in the log that relates to a particular file transfer contains the file transfer job ID number.
Step 4 Use the browser's search tools to search for the file transfer job ID number. For example, in Netscape Navigator, click Edit>Find in Page... to open the search dialog box.
Step 5 In the search dialog box, enter the job ID number and press the Enter key. Each time you press the Enter key, the search tool displays the next line that contains the specified job ID.
Entries in the log have the following format:
<host process id>: Status: <status/activity>
where <host process id> is a host process identifier created by the source server, and <status/activity> describes the activity being performed or the result of the activity (such as success or failure). The process identifier is not the IP/TV Content Manager file transfer job ID number. The file transfer job ID number is contained in the <status/activity> portion of the entry.
If the file transfer in question transferred a file to multiple destination servers, each of those individual transfers is assigned a unique host process identifier by the source server. You can use that identifier to distinguish among multiple transfers.
The log is not cleared automatically, so file transfer activity entries continue to accumulate. The file can eventually become very large. You should clear the log periodically.
There are two ways to clear the log:
Posted: Thu Oct 28 15:58:42 PDT 1999
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