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Through the Content Distribution Manager (CDM) user interface, you have complete control over media distribution on your CDN. This chapter provides information on the basic procedures that apply to working with the CDN, including how to import media, how to preview and edit media, how to replicate and manage media, and how to play video directly to a TV monitor.
This chapter contains the following sections:
Channels allow content to be organized into logical content groups. The content groups or channels can be individually assigned to Content Engines (CEs).
The Channel Console dialog box appears.
Step 2 Click Add Channel.
A new channel, with the default name "Channel#," is added to the Channel Console list.
The Channel Console dialog box appears.
Step 2 Select the Remove check box next to the channel that you want to remove.
Step 3 Click Remove Channel.
If you are unclear about the meaning of a channel setting, see Table 3-1.
To edit a channel, follow these steps:
The Channel Console dialog box appears.
Step 2 Click Edit next to the channel that you want to edit.
The Channel Settings dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-1.)
Step 3 Enter or modify the channel settings as required. See Table 3-1 for descriptions of the channel settings.
Step 4 Click Save Changes.
| Channel Property | Description | ||
Name of the channel. | |||
Channel description. | |||
Hypercast | Hypercast status. Indicates that one or more of the CEs subscribed to this channel are acting as Hypercast Repeaters. Hypercast Repeaters, when present, influence the routing hierarchy used by CEs within the CDN and affect how media files are routed between CEs.
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Maximum amount of media a channel can hold in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). | |||
CEs added after this option is selected will be automatically subscribed to the current channel.
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Future content imported into the channel will automatically be replicated to subscribed CEs.
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Assign a user to the channel by selecting the username from the user list. | |||
Require Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption when transferring media from the CDM to CEs. | |||
Is License | When selected, turns the selected channel into a license distribution channel. Refer to the "Updating Software Licenses" section for more information. | ||
Path and filenames for the image are displayed in the CDN Channel Previewer. |
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 3 Under the heading Unsubscribed CEs, select the check box next to each available CE that you want to subscribe, or click All to select all of the available CEs, or click None to clear your selections.
Step 4 Click Subscribe to add the selected CEs to the list of those subscribed to the channel displayed in the Channel Selector. Your selection is displayed in the list of subscribed CEs.
To remove a CE from the subscribed list:
The Subscriber dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-2.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field.
If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 3 Under the heading Subscribed CEs, select the check box next to each CE that you want to remove, or click All to choose all CEs on the list; click None to clear your selections.
Step 4 Click Unsubscribe.
The CE is removed from the list of CEs subscribed to the selected channel and moved back to the Unsubscribed CEs list.
The process of importing new media to your CDN is simple. New media files and folders are copied to a predetermined channel directory. Channel directories are named to correspond to the channel they represent, and are located within the Import directory on your CDM machine. (See Figure 3-3.)
Periodically, the CDM browses the Import directory. Media files placed in channel directories since the CDM's last examination are marked for import to the appropriate CDM channel. Once they are marked for import, the status of these media files can be viewed using the Import Progress feature accessible from the Channels menu.
Once you have imported a file, you can preview the transferred file using the Previewer feature.
There are a number of ways to transfer media to your CDM for import to the CDN. Among the approved methods for transferring media files and folders are:
When preparing your CDM to import media files that rely on nested directories of supporting files, all directory structures and supporting files must be copied to, or re-created in, the appropriate channel directory on the CDM. This ensures that during import, the CDM properly imports and stores both the media file and any supporting files required for proper playback.
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Note Following import, all directories you created remain in the channel directory. These can either be left in place or deleted without affecting playback of the imported media. |
For example, if you are importing a Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language (SMIL) media file called myfile.smi, the home directory of the files might contain the media file (myfile.smi) at the root level as well as one or more nested folders containing sound, text, and video. Your channel directory must re-create this structure exactly.
You can use FTP to copy or move files and file directories to the designated channel directory within your CDM's Import directory.
Before you transfer files and directories for import using FTP, you need to know the following:
To move or copy files using FTP:
Step 2 Connect to your CDM device.
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Note If you are using a dedicated FTP application, create a new profile and fill in the CDM connection information, including the IP address, administrative user name, and password. If your FTP application allows you to, enter /import as the initial directory. |
For example:
ftp://ftp.mycompany.com
%ftp 255.255.255.255
Step 3 When prompted, log on to your CDM using your administrative username and password.
Step 4 Navigate to the Import directory on your CDM and then to the channel directory for the channel into which you will be importing your media files. For example:
ftp> cd import ftp> cd channel_directory
Step 5 If you are importing media that relies on nested directories for playback (such as SMIL files or Macromedia Director files), re-create the directory structure used by the files within your channel directory. You can accomplish this using your FTP client's "new folder" feature or you can create a folder manually, for example:
%mkd /import/channel_folder_name/new_folder_name
Step 6 Before transferring media files to your channel directory, verify that you are in "binary transfer" mode rather than ASCII. Many FTP applications use an "auto-detect" feature to determine how to send files. However, if you are provided with transfer options, make sure the "binary" option is selected, or manually type the command:
ftp> binary
Step 7 Copy media files from their original location to the channel-specific import directory on your CDM machine. If the media files you copied rely on nested directories, make sure that you have accurately re-created the nested directory structure in your channel import directory and that all dependent files are also copied to the appropriate subdirectory in your channel's import directory.
Once you have copied media to your channel directory, wait for the CDM to detect the files and then begin the import process. You can view the progress of file imports by launching the CDM and clicking Import Progress on the Channels menu.
If your workstation is running Microsoft Windows and you can see the CDM device in the Windows Network Neighborhood, you can transfer files to the appropriate channel directory for import simply by dragging and dropping them using Windows Explorer. Files placed in a channel directory in this manner will automatically be imported to the appropriate CDM channel.
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Note You must be using Microsoft Windows to drag and drop a file with Windows Explorer, and you must log on to the CDM using a CDN administrator account with the same login name as the account used to access your corporate LAN. This will enable you to access the import directory when prompted. |
To drag and drop media files to your import folder:
The instructions for importing media appear.
Under the heading "Using PC Folders for Importing," locate the name of the CDM machine on your network. The name appears in the format CISCO-[xxxx], where [xxxx] refers to the last four characters of the MAC address of the machine.
Step 2 Use Windows Explorer to navigate to the local or network directory containing the media files and directories that you wish to import.
Step 3 Choose the media files and any nested directories that you wish to import.
Step 4 Copy or cut the files you wish to import from their current location.
Step 5 Use Windows Explorer to locate the CDM machine on your LAN and navigate to the \import\channel_name directory, where channel_name is the name of the channel to which you will be importing your media files. If you are prompted to log in, enter the user name and password for the CDN administrator account. Remember, the administrative user name must match your network login in order to gain access to the import directory.
Step 6 Paste the files you cut or copied into the channel-specific import directory. Verify that all files you wish to import were copied. If you are importing directories, make sure that the full directory structure was copied along with its content.
Step 7 Log on to the CDM and click Import Progress from the Channels menu to view the status of the files that you are importing.
Once you have copied media to your channel's import directory, wait for the CDM to detect the files and then begin the import process. You can view the progress of file imports by launching the CDM and clicking Import Progress on the Channels menu.
From the Media Importer dialog box, you can copy media files from a Web server on the Internet. You must be able to browse and get a directory listing of the media files through the Web server.
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Note It is not possible to import directories to the CDM using the CDM "Importing from a Web Server" method outlined in the Media Importer feature. |
To access the Media Importer and initiate a Web server transfer:
The Media Importer dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-2.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list. Some general information about the selected channel is displayed.
Step 3 In the URL field, enter the URL containing the path to the media files.
Step 4 In the Files field, specify the name or type of files you want to import. What you enter here is used to build a list of files from which you select files to import.
Choose all media files by using the asterisk (*) in the Files field, or enter a filter for file types. For example: *.mpg will return all MPEG files in the directory you specified.
Step 5 Click Get List of Files.
A list of files matching the criteria you entered in the Files field appears.
Step 6 Choose the files you want to import, and then click Import Files.
Step 7 From the Channels menu, choose Import Progress to follow the file transfer progress. See the "Monitoring Progress" section for more detailed information.
In addition to the methods for importing media files outlined above, it is possible to edit channel content programmatically using simple scripts and HTML commands passed to a Common Gateway Interface (CGI) program named remoteCmd.
In order to take advantage of this feature, you must have the remoteCmd program installed in the /cgi-bin directory on the machine serving as your CDM, and observe the syntax guidelines explained in the following sections when sending requests to the program.
When requests are received by the remoteCmd program, the program calls the Web-based CDN import mechanism to handle the media.
Use the following syntax when creating an add-new-media request to programmatically place content in a channel import directory for upload to your CDM.
http://Content_Distribution_Manager/cgi-bin/remoteCmd?OP=CONTENT&CMD=IMPORT&CHANNEL-NAME=
mychannel&URL=media_file_URL
http://www.anywho.com/training/intro.mpg.
The procedure for removing content from a channel using the remoteCmd program is similar to that for adding new media to a channel.
Use the following syntax when creating a remove-media request:
http://Content_Distribution_Manager/cgi-bin/remoteCmd?OP=CONTENT&CMD=REMOVE&CHANNEL-NAME=
mychannel&FILENAME=media_file_name
&FILENAME=/foo/bar/intro.mpg
User requests to add media to a channel or remove media from a channel will result in either a success or an error message. The result of each request you make is captured in a STATUS field and can be displayed in one of three formats:
To display the status of your request, add the following statement onto the end of your request URL, where format is replaced by one of the three format abbreviations outlined above:
&DISPLAY=format
For example, a sample delete request asking for results displayed using JavaScript might read:
http://CDM_Address/cgi-bin/remoteCmd?OP=CONTENT&CMD=
REMOVE&CHANNEL-NAME=mychannel&FILENAME=media_file_name &DISPLAY=JS
The following message is returned if the request has been posted without error:
Status_Success
If an error is encountered, the error condition is returned in the STATUS field, along with other error message text.
To monitor the progress of a file transfer:
The Import Progress screen appears. (See Figure 3-4.)
Step 2 Files are automatically updated every ten seconds. Clicking Cancel Import cancels imports currently in progress.
You use the CDM Channel Previewer to preview your imported media before distributing these files throughout the CDN.
By clicking the thumbnail image representing a media file, you can play the file from your CDM to verify correct media content and quality before replicating the media file.
After replicating a media file, you can also play the file from a CE. By clicking on a thumbnail image or the CE Play link, media is streamed directly from the CE.
For RealServer playback, a RealServer G2 on the CE streams the media. The RealServer G2 combined with the RealPlayer client on the desktop for playback provides the additional ability to fast-forward and rewind the file while viewing.
To access the Cisco Systems Channel Previewer and preview media directly from the CDM:
The Cisco Systems Channel Previewer window appears, listing your CDN channels.
Step 2 Click a channel icon to view the selected channel's media files. The Cisco Systems Channel Previewer appears. (See Figure 3-5.)
Step 3 Locate the media file you wish to preview and click the CDM Preview link beneath the media thumbnail image.
You are prompted for your username and password.
Step 4 Enter this information and click OK.
Media begins to play on your workstation's designated media player.
If an error message appears, see "Error Messages."
To view a media file after replication:
The Cisco Systems Channel Previewer window listing channel icons appears.
Step 2 Click a channel icon to view the list of media file thumbnail images for the selected channel.
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Note You must have a CE in the coverage zone for CE and RealServer playback. A coverage zone is the area that a CE is authorized to serve based upon IP address, typically the local portion of your intranet or subnet. |
Step 3 A new window opens displaying the media files in the selected channel. (See Figure 3-5.). Choose one of the three options for viewing media files:
If an error message appears, see "Error Messages."
From the Media Editor dialog box (see Figure 3-6), you can edit the data for your imported media before distributing these files throughout the CDN. You can change media names, descriptions, bit rates, and thumbnail images, control media replication, as well as copy, move, and remove media files. See the "Replicating Media" section for more information. Table 3-2 provides details on the media file properties that can be modified when editing media.
| Media Property | Description |
Name assigned to the media file. | |
Description of the content of the media file. | |
Indicates that the media file is marked for replication to a CE. | |
Rate at which the media file will be streamed during playback in bits per second (bps). The default is 1.5 megabytes per second (Mb/s). | |
The size of the media file, in bytes. | |
The total length of the media file playback in H:MM:SS format. | |
Path and filename for the thumbnail image that represents the media file. | |
Path and filename for customized error pages: Coverage—Not in the coverage zone of a CE. Content—Content not available on the CE. The CE could be offline. |
To edit a media name and description, bit rate, or thumbnail:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 Click the Edit thumbnail for the media file you want to change or edit. Fields for the media files properties appear. (See Table 3-2.)
Step 3 Enter the new name, description, bit rate, or thumbnail.
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Note Changing the name also changes the playback URL and invalidates existing Web pages that use the old name. |
Step 4 Click Save Changes.
Clicking Cancel Changes returns all values to their previous settings when you last clicked Save Changes.
To copy media from channel to channel:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 In the left drop-down list choose the channel from which you want to copy media.
Step 3 Select the Pick check box next to each file that you want to copy.
Step 4 Click All to choose all of the files or None to clear your selections.
Step 5 Choose the channel in the drop-down list on the right into which you want to copy media.
Step 6 Click Copy.
To move media from channel to channel:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 In the drop-down list on the left, choose the channel from which you want to move media.
Step 3 Select the Pick check box next to each file that you want to move. Click All to choose all of the files or None to clear your selections.
Step 4 Choose the channel in the drop-down list on the right into which you want to move media.
Step 5 Click Move.
To remove media from a channel:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the appropriate drop-down list box. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 3 Select the Pick check box next to each file that you want to remove. Click All to select all of the files or None to clear your selections.
Step 4 Click Remove. You are prompted to confirm that you want to remove the selected media.
The procedure for removing content from a channel using the remoteCmd program is similar to that for adding new media to a channel, detailed in the "Importing Files Programmatically" section .
Use the following syntax when creating a remove-media request:
http://Content_Distribution_Manager/cgi-bin/remoteCmd?OP=CONTENT&CMD=REMOVE&CHANNEL-NAME= mychannel&FILENAME=media_file_name
For instructions on evaluating your remove-media request after it has been sent, see the "Evaluating the Status of Your Add or Remove Request" section .
For any given media file, the CDM administrator has the ability to define custom HTML error pages for the following error conditions:
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Note A coverage zone is the area that a CE is authorized to serve based upon IP address, typically the local portion of your intranet or subnet. |
Before defining custom HTML error messages for the above conditions, create the HTML pages that will be displayed.
To select a file for each of the above conditions:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the drop-down list box. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 3 Click Edit for the file you want to edit.
Fields displaying the media file properties are displayed.
See Table 3-2 for a description of each option.
Step 4 Go to the section labeled Custom HTML Error Pages and enter the necessary alternative URL in the text fields provided.
Using a process called replication, the CDM distributes media to each CE in the network. Once accessed in the Media Editor, individual media files can be replicated from the CDM to a selected CE device.
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Note To mark content within a channel for replication, the channel must be subscribed to a CE. |
To replicate individual media files from a CDN channel to subscribed CEs:
The Media Editor dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-6.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the appropriate drop-down list. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 3 Click the Edit thumbnail image for the file you want to edit.
Fields displaying the media file properties are displayed.
See Table 3-2 for a description of each option.
Step 4 Select the Replicate check box.
Step 5 Click Save Changes.
Clicking Cancel Changes returns all values to their previous settings when you last clicked Save Changes.
The selected file is replicated to all CEs subscribed to that channel.
To replicate all media currently in a channel to subscribed CEs:
The Channel Settings dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-1.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Some general information about the selected channel is displayed.
Step 3 Click Replicate All Media.
To remove all media currently in a channel from subscribed CEs:
The Channel Settings dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-1.)
Step 2 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Some general information about the selected channel is displayed.
Step 3 Click Remove All Media. You are prompted to confirm your decision to remove all media files from this channel.
Step 4 Click OK.
Once you have successfully imported media files to the channels established on the CDM, you are ready to link that content to your Web site or corporate LAN.
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Note To import media files to the CDM, click Import Media or click Media Importer on the Channels menu and see the "Importing Media" section for more information. |
To embed CDN media URLs in Web pages:
The Cisco Systems Channel Previewer window appears, listing the channels on the CDM.
Step 2 Click a channel thumbnail image to view the media files that have been added to that channel.
A separate browser window opens listing all media files subscribed to that channel.
Step 3 Highlight the URL that appears just below the filename for the media.
Step 4 Right-click your mouse and select Copy. Alternately, right-click the CDM Preview hypertext link for the media file, and select the Copy Shortcut option from the menu that appears.
Step 5 With the URL for the media copied to your clipboard, open the HTML editor used to maintain your Web pages.
Step 6 Locate the position in the Web page where you wish the link to the CDN media to appear.
Step 7 Create a new HTML anchor link at the proper location that points to the CDN media. Your link should be in the format:
<A HREF="URL">image_or_text_file_name</A>
Step 8 Paste the URL you copied into the tag so that the link points to the CDN media. Then save the changes you made to the Web page and post the page to the Internet or your intranet.
CEs can be requested with an integrated Motion Picture Experts Group 1 (MPEG1) decoder to play media files as National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) or Phase Alternation Line (PAL) video signals. This enables the CE to play video directly to a TV monitor in applications such as kiosks, cable TV systems, and video walls. Playback is controlled from any Web browser and has VCR-like controls, including the ability to create looping playlists.
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Note To use the video-out feature, you must have a device with an integrated MPEG decoder card. |
CEs can be configured to output video using either the NTSC or PAL standard.
To designate the video format that will be used when delivering content from a CE to a video device:
The Time Zone dialog box appears. (See Figure 3-7.)
Step 2 Choose the name of the CE you wish to modify from the Device Selector list.
Step 3 Click Video Type and choose the correct video output format for the device you are using. Your options are NTSC or PAL. NTSC is the default.
Step 4 Click Save Changes.
To access the TV Controller from the CDM user interface and add media to a playlist:
The TV Controls dialog box appears.
Step 2 Click the name of the CE you wish to access. Each CE's name is a link.
Step 3 Enter your username and password.
The CDM's TV controller appears.
Step 4 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 5 Under the heading Available Media, select the check box next to each Available Media file that you want to add to the playlist. Click All to choose all of the files or None to clear the selections.
Step 6 Click Add to Playlist.
Once you have created your playlist, use the play, forward, reverse and skip buttons on the TV Controller to play the media files on the playlist.
To view information about a video that is playing:
Step 2 With the media file playing, click Info on the Remote TV Controller. Information on the file that is currently playing appears in the Cisco TV Controller window.
To access the TV controller from the CDM and remove media from a playlist:
The TV Controls dialog box appears.
Step 2 Choose a CE name. If multiple TV out-enabled CEs are available, make sure to select the correct CE.
The CDM TV Controller appears.
Step 3 Make sure the correct channel is displayed in the Channel Selector field. If it is not, click the correct channel in the list.
Step 4 Under the heading Playlist, select the check box next to each playlist file that you want to remove from the playlist. Click All to select all of the files or None to clear your selections.
Step 5 Click Remove.
Posted: Wed Sep 27 14:17:17 PDT 2000
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