multicast fusion on the adobe® flash® platform · 2010. 11. 22. · massive, global network...

Multicast Fusion on the Adobe® Flash® Platform

With

MediaPlatform® WebCaster

Technical Brief

MediaPlatform, Inc. 8383 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 750 Beverly Hills, CA 90211 (310) 909-8410 www.mediaplatform.com

[email protected]

http://www.mediaplatform.com/

mailto:[email protected]

2 Multicast Fusion Technical Brief

MediaPlatform® is a registered trademark of MediaPlatform, Inc.

Contents

1. INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................................................. 3

2. HIGHLIGHTS/FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ................................................................................ 3

3. OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................................... 5

3.1. MULTICAST FUSION – THE DECISIVE INNOVATION IN STREAMING VIDEO ...................................... 5

3.2. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MULTICAST FUSION .......................................................................................... 6

3.3. PILOTING MULTICAST FUSION ................................................................................................................ 6

3.4. STAKEHOLDERS AND EXPECTATIONS .................................................................................................... 7

3.5. THE TEST SOLUTION ................................................................................................................................ 8

4. SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE ....................................................................................................................... 9

4.1. N-TIER ARCHITECTURE ............................................................................................................................ 9

4.2. AUTHENTICATION AND SECURITY ....................................................................................................... 14

4.3. SOLUTION ARCHITECTURE DIAGRAMS ................................................................................................ 15

5. WHY MEDIAPLATFORM? .......................................................................................................................... 24

5.1. EXCELLENCE IN ENGINEERING ............................................................................................................. 24

5.2. A LONG TRACK RECORD OF SUCCESS WITH GLOBAL ENTERPRISES ............................................... 24

5.3. PERFORMANCE WEBCASTING ............................................................................................................... 25

5.4. TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANTAGES .......................................................................................................... 25

6. ABOUT MEDIAPLATFORM, INC. .............................................................................................................. 28

7. WEBCASTER AND MULTICAST FUSION DATA SHEET ..................................................................... 29



1. Introduction

MediaPlatform’s WebCaster software is the world’s first enterprise video solution to support multicast fusion together with Adobe®’s new Flash® Media Enterprise Server 4. The innovative offering enables a true breakthrough in the often challenging task of handling a large volume of video media on a corporate network. This Technical Brief is intended to provide you with an overview of WebCaster and how it works with the Flash® platform.

2. Highlights/Frequently Asked Questions

The use of Flash® as a video format is common on the Web. However, until recently, Flash® has not been very prevalent in the enterprise. This is beginning to change with the new edition of Flash® Media Server and other advances in the Flash® platform. In parallel, MediaPlatform has been working closely with Adobe® on the development of unique tools and Flash® players that enable multicast fusion in the enterprise.

Q: How is multicast fusion different from conventional IP multicast?

A: Multicast fusion is a breakthrough in enterprise video. In contrast to traditional IP multicast, which relies on the costly – and invariably incomplete – process of multicast enabling the network, multicast fusion enables video to reach virtually every point on a network without requiring network upgrades. Multicast fusion combines IP multicast with a new, advanced peer-assisted delivery of media content. In some places in the network the video will be IP multicast. In other places on the network, individuals will share the video using a secure, permission-based peer assisted model.

Q: Can you multicast outside the firewall?

A: Yes, with some limitations. With the MediaPlatform WebCaster OSMF player for multicast fusion, you can originate a video stream inside your enterprise but have it multicast using peer-assisted delivery amongst viewers outside the firewall. However, it is not possible currently to have peer-assisted delivery of High Definition (HD) streams outside the firewall due to the presumed lack of upstream bandwidth at the end user’s location.

Q: Isn’t peer-to-peer multicasting unreliable, insecure, and a threat to network health?

A: While ungoverned peer-to-peer connections are prone to cause problems on networks, the peer-assisted delivery of media on the Flash® Platform is different.

It’s strictly permission based and tightly controlled.

It can integrate with LDAP access control directories to avoid unauthorized or uncontrolled peering.



Q: Does Flash® Media Server need to be hosted on-premise in order to have the benefits of multicast fusion?

A: No. Flash® Media Server can operate in the cloud, but enable multicasting behind the firewall. The video stream can originate in the cloud. However, once the stream enters the enterprise, it can be multicast through peer-assisted delivery.

Q: What are the software requirements for multicast fusion?

A: On the server side, you need to have Adobe® Flash® Media Enterprise Server 4.

On the viewer side, you need a browser running Flash® Player 10.1 along with the WebCaster multicast fusion player. Flash® is cross-browser and cross-operating system, so you can watch multicast fusion content on a PC, a Mac, or a Linux machine. You can watch it on the Internet Explorer® browser, Chrome®, Opera®, Safari®, and Firefox®.

Q: How can multicast fusion streams reach multiple remote locations, each of which has limited bandwidth?

A: Once a single stream reaches a remote location, it can be shared internally through peer-assisted delivery. For this reason, if there enough bandwidth for the stream to reach the location (i.e. can handle a 500 Kbps stream) then the peer-assisted delivery will facilitate multicast fusion inside the location.

Q: Does your network need to be multicast enabled in order to achieve multicast fusion?

A: No, but it will not affect multicast fusion if your network is enabled for IP multicast.

Q: Do WAN optimization, eCDN, or application acceleration hardware affect multicast fusion?

A: No. Multicast fusion is compatible with virtually every type of WAN optimization and eCDN solution on the market. However, multicast fusion should mitigate the requirement to acquire such technologies in order to have video on the network.

Q: Does multicast fusion support H264 and VP6 encoding?

A: Yes.

Q: Is multicast fusion available on mobile devices?

A: Yes, devices that support the Flash® Player 10.1 and the WebCaster multicast fusion player are able to receive a multicast fusion stream.



3. Overview

In the spring of 2010, MediaPlatform began working closely with Adobe® to implement the first real world test of multicast fusion using Flash® Media Server 4 and our own WebCaster enterprise webcasting tool. The breakthrough of multicast fusion is its ability to leverage both IP (Internet Protocol) multicast and application-level (peer assisted) multicast to reach 100% of the users on a network without the need for a costly and time-consuming network upgrade.

At the request of a long-time client, a Fortune 500 company, we tested this revolutionary multicasting technology at their site which had the kind of massive, global network infrastructure that made the process challenging, but exactly the type of real world scenario needed to adequately test. In the process, we developed the world’s first multicast fusion enabled Flash® player. The successful test illustrated how WebCaster and multicast fusion can transform the economics of enterprise video. It’s a true game changer, with the potential to revolutionize the next generation of corporate rich media. The arrival of this technology couldn’t have come at a better time. Just as shifts in worker behaviors are driving increased video traffic on budget-constrained corporate networks, multicast fusion offers a solution that eliminates the usual tradeoffs between video consumption and network investment.

3.1. Multicast Fusion – The Decisive Innovation in Streaming Video

Multicast fusion is the second and decisive wave of innovation that will enable enterprises to stream video without overtaxing their network infrastructures. When online video first appeared on the corporate scene, it could only be unicast, a cumbersome process wherein a separate and dedicated stream is delivered to each destination. Figure 1 illustrates the inherent limitations of unicasting, in which just three viewers of a 500 Kbps stream can shut down a T1 connection to a remote office. As a result of its potential to impair networks, most companies will simply not allow any unicast video.

To solve the unicasting problem, many organizations turned to IP multicast, a network technology that enables a video to stream just once to a node on a network and then is shared by all the viewers in that node, regardless of connection type or speed. IP multicast, though effective, is entirely reliant on hardware upgrades, router configurations, and other network related factors, which makes it difficult and costly to implement initially. Additionally, in most companies there are frequent changes in

Figure 1 – Online video evolved from the critically inefficient unicastingto IP Multicasting. However, IP Multicasting is costly and reliant on infrastructure investment. The new Multicast Fusion blends IP Multicasting with an innovative peer-assist multicast process, extending the reach of the multicast stream to 100% of users without requiring network upgrades.



network topologies, due to internal reorganizations or mergers and acquisitions, which greatly complicate the maintenance effort needed to sustain IP multicast enablement. As a result, very few companies have succeeded in IP multicast-enabling their entire network, which means at least some, or even many, employees simply can’t get video.

Multicast fusion solves the cost and complexity challenges of IP multicast. By combining a new form of multicast, known as “application-level multicast,” which leverages a peer assisted model of video sharing, to an IP multicast network, a video stream can reach virtually everyone on the network using existing bandwidth and infrastructure. Multicast fusion finally unlocks the full potential for video within the enterprise by combining IP and application-level multicast to deliver streaming media using the most efficient algorithms within a dynamic self-optimizing topology.

3.2. The Significance of Multicast Fusion

Multicast fusion arrives at an opportune time. The use of online video is growing rapidly within corporations. Industry data shows that video consumption inside the corporate firewall is growing at an unprecedented rate, following consumer trends of the past few years. Approximately 12% of large enterprises were generating more than 100 hours of video content per month in 2009, up from 9% in 2008. The number of corporations generating 25-100 hours of video jumped from 21% to 29% in the same period.1 At that rate, a company could have amassed a 6,000-hour library of video since 2005! In the consumer public, video as a percentage of Internet traffic is projected to reach 91% by 20142, with corporate network traffic likely to mimic that consumer pattern. Gartner Research projects that 25% of content that workers see in a day will be dominated by pictures, video, or audio by 2013.3

From an internal cost perspective, multicast fusion enables corporations to keep up with growing video usage while cutting enterprise video expense across several cost centers. IT managers will appreciate it for the ability to deliver the greatest level of video service while minimizing the need for additional media servers, edge caching devices, eCDNs, and WAN acceleration hardware. And by having fewer physical servers to install throughout the network, Flash® Media Server promises a shorter deployment cycle than existing video streaming technologies and lower ongoing IT maintenance and support costs.

Multicast fusion is also as valuable to media producers as it is to IT managers. Flash® is compatible with all operating systems, so corporations can now stream video to Macs, PCs, and Linux machines with relative ease. It’s compatible with all browsers, making the video experience seamless for users of Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. Media producers will no longer have to produce video in multiple streaming formats when a corporate video is intended for both internal and external audiences, which is potentially a huge money and time saver.

3.3. Piloting Multicast Fusion

On paper, all of the new benefits of multicast fusion sound impressive. However, no one really knew how well it would work until it was implemented in a real-world, global corporate environment. To test multicast fusion, MediaPlatform, an early adopter and advocate of Flash® and Flex®-based webcasting

1 Interactive Media Strategies Executive Web Communications Survey, Q4 2009 2 Cisco Visual Network Index 2009

3 Gartner Data 2008



applications, worked closely with Adobe® on the development of the industry’s first multicast fusion enabled player.

As part of the player development process, we decided to commit to working within the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) standards. Adobe® founded OSMF as an open software framework for building feature-rich video players and applications based on the Flash® Platform. The goal of OSMF is to reduce the complexity of player development and give developers more time to focus on the overall user experience. OSMF facilitates the publication of numerous third party plug-ins for advertising, reporting, and content delivery, as well as standard features such as play, pause, seek, buffering, bitrate switching, and so forth.

Adobe® and MediaPlatform worked with a Fortune 500 client that had been using MediaPlatform’s webcasting solutions. This client volunteered and was an excellent candidate for the multicast fusion test for several reasons. First, their global network is enormous, with offices in 95 countries on six continents and over 100,000 employees. Second, this corporation is actually comprised of two enterprises, one of which is the original company with a significant portion of their network IP multicast enabled, and the other of which is a large entity they recently acquired whose network is not IP multicast enabled. Figure 2 shows a simple network map of the client as two entities, where there is an obvious division in multicast enabled networks.

3.4. Stakeholders and Expectations

The employees within the client organization had expectations of enterprise video and multicast fusion that varied depending on their roles. The line-of-business (LOB) people MediaPlatform worked with wanted the highest possible video quality wherever possible and move from Real® to Flash®. They were most concerned about latency and performance and anything else that could potentially affect the quality of an online event for viewers or executive presenters. In addition to quality concerns, they wanted video to be as pervasive in the organization as possible. The LOB stakeholders wanted to utilize the multicast test to explore Flash®, to stream to remote offices and scattered groups.

The IT department, however, had a different agenda for the test. The most critical issue they wanted to address was the ability for the entire organization to access and watch videos on the Flash® platform using IP multicast without causing network failures. IT wanted to make sure that the new solution was comparable or better than their current ability to IP multicast using Real. To implement this test, the client insisted on scheduling it during the middle of a major network upgrade project. This complicated matters, but we were able to work around the project so that the test would not cause any adverse network traffic patterns.

Figure 2 – High level network structure of the client site

http://www.osmf.org/



3.5. The Test Solution

Our test solution needed to accommodate four factors that the client requested:

- Multicast Flash Streaming comparable to current multicasting of Real streaming – moving

from Real as a delivery mechanism to Flash while still being cost effective.

- Consistency between two different organizations with both being able to show videos in Flash®.

- Primary and backup streams – The video signal required a backup stream in the event that the

primary stream became unavailable.

- Streaming from multiple studios – The client also wanted to be able to originate a video signal

anywhere in the world and have it stream easily to any location. They had a goal of being able

to produce videos and webcasts from either Studio A or Studio B and allow anyone in the

company to watch the presentations live without any network performance issues or latency.

Our test solution resembled the high level overview shown in Figure 3. We started with the original video signal from the live event, which we sent to a battery of Flash® Media Live Encoders (FMLEs) for encoding in different bitrates. In addition, each FMLE can be set up for different language versions of the video. Each language stream could then be encoded with a different audio track. Since this was not a requirement in this case, we did not fully test it. Flash® Media Server, running with MediaPlatform’s software, organized the streams and made them available to viewers using MediaPlatform’s OSMF compatible multicast fusion player, WebCaster.

With multiple encoded streams hitting the server, the key to making Multicast Fusion work is using MediaPlatform’s capacity to make a quick match between each player and the appropriate stream. In a process that is completely invisible to the end user, MediaPlatform’s software is able to connect viewers with a Flash® stream that is configured for their language and location,. When viewers are invited to participate in the test, they receive a link to a Web page that contains our WebCaster player. The player is set up to transmit the viewer’s network location and language preference to the instance of MediaPlatform’s software running on top of FMS 4. Using a table of IP addresses and correlated multicasting factors, MediaPlatform’s software is able to match each player with a specific type of stream. The viewer then receives the correct type of stream. In the actual test, one language was tested and video was successfully viewed by all participants in Flash without causing network performance issues.

The multicast fusion test was a success. A high quality video stream was able to efficiently flow through the network. The bandwidth usage was amazingly and unexpectedly low. Audiences involved in the test were pleased with the quality of the video. The business stakeholders in the media production department were elated that they now had the ability to produce content in a Flash® that could span

Figure 3 – High level overview of MediaPlatform’s approach to testing multicast fusion.



the entire internal audience and also be simultaneously usable for the external Web and have a real alternative to Real® multicast streaming.

4. Solution Architecture

WebCaster is a powerful, browser accessible application that may be installed as a hosted solution (application is hosted by MediaPlatform and accessed over the Internet), or as an application installed behind the client’s firewall in multiple configurations depending on the intended use. For on-premise (installed behind the firewall) configurations, WebCaster consists of seven (7) subsystems, each of which perform specific tasks. All subsystems can be installed on a single server though the recommended practice is to install on multiple servers that reside at the customer’s data center.

4.1. N-tier Architecture

In order to meet the infrastructure needs of IT organizations, MediaPlatform utilizes the N-tier architecture philosophy. The N-tier approach makes it much easier to scale systems accordingly when certain parts of the code and varying user behavior require extra CPU, memory, network or disk I/O resources. It also makes it possible to integrate other software with WebCaster via web services APIs and SDKs.

Figure 4 shows how WebCaster can be separated out into 3 different tiers: Event, Authoring, and Data

Hardware Subsystems include/Server Role

Application Server 1 Authoring

Publishing

Asset Manager

Application Server 2 Reports

Publishing

Application Server 3 Data collection

Application Server 4 Live

Database box Database (No MediaPlatform software installed)

Figure 4 – MediaPlatform N-Tier Architecture



Storage and Processing. These tiers are separated by the logical functions of WebCaster subsystems, or components designed to address specific application requirements. These subsystems include components such as Data Collection, Live Control, and Database. With this model, there can be a true separation between end-viewers (the audience), authors (those who provision and present), and the back-end storage and processing (servers that only accept server-to-server communication). This separation of subsystem roles into Tiers enables IT departments to create a higher performance, more scalable and redundant infrastructure for WebCaster.

Event Tier This layer is designated for communication between end-viewers and the authoring tier; most of the interaction between WebCaster software and end-users occur on this layer. Because they involve a large number of connections and requests from clients, the Live Event, Statistics Collection and “Destination” subsystems sit on this layer. Enterprises that wish to firewall this layer are encouraged to utilize enterprise firewall technologies that support high-volumes of concurrent network connections.

Statistics Collection: This subsystem is responsible for collecting information from the end-viewers. This data includes usage statistics, poll answers, submitted Q&A questions, and registration information. During viewing of a presentation, data is captured as raw statistics and inserted into the WebCaster Database where it can be indexed and reports can be generated at the authoring tier.

Live Event: This subsystem listens for commands from the Live Event Console (the user interface for controlling live presentations) and communicates them to the Authoring server. There, the event commands can be published to publishing servers (usually the origin servers of a CDN). The Live Event subsystem is also responsible for communicating event commands to the media encoders (a subsystem in the Authoring tier) for event synchronization.

Destination Servers: Technically, these servers are not part of the MediaPlatform system as they do not serve up any WebCaster code. However, it is important to understand how they relate to the WebCaster system. There are two types of destination servers, one for assembled presentations and the other for publishing. A destination server for assembled presentations (typically the “origin” server of a CDN) is a web and/or media server where the Authoring server deploys static and streaming content for end-viewers to access. The deployed content is usually comprised of common web elements such as HTML, JavaScript, GIFs, and JPEGs. In a large organization, it is important to have a content delivery network (CDN) as a destination for assembled presentations so that the content can be cached to the CDN's "edge" servers, insuring that the end viewer's performance is acceptable.

Publishing is similar to deployment of presentations except that it has a dynamic aspect to it. Unlike deploying of pages and content, publishing only pushes out tiny files that contain event information. For example, in the case of live polling, when the author pushes out a new question, a file is published to the publishing destination server(s) where end-viewers receive this information at a set interval. Upon receiving the data, the end-viewer will see the new poll question published.



Authoring Tier The Authoring server sits at the heart of the WebCaster system. Shown in Figure 5, it provides the interface for authors to upload content, assemble and deploy presentations, and control live events. Additionally, the Authoring server enables authors to view statistical data on any webcast or on demand presentations. The Authoring server consists of the following subsystems:

Project Creation/Navigation – The main interface of WebCaster allows you to manage existing and create new projects. Wizards are available to walk you through project creation and the Application Management Environment (AME) allows you to makes changes to selected data in a page without having to edit the layout.

Asset Management – The Authoring server has an interface to the Asset Manager, an online data repository where authors can upload new or search on existing assets (presentations, video, audio files, etc.) to be used in their presentations.

Template Creation (Titan) – WYSIWYG drag-and-drop editor where authors create new template layouts (look-and-feel of presentation pages) or modify existing ones. Authors control what components appear on the page, as well as how those components look and behave. (Not available in all editions of WebCaster)

Live Event Console – This is the interface presenters use to control a live webcast. The Live Event Console allows presenters to control when specific events occur during a presentation (i.e. slide flips, text, polls) and communicates these events to the Live Event server for synchronization with the end-viewer. Figure 6 shows how the encoding and event injection work in the WebCaster solution.

Figure 5 – Authoring Tier

Figure 6 – Logical diagram of encoding and event injection



Deployments – This process is responsible for merging content with layout, assembling them into web pages, and distributing the pages to the destination servers. Destination servers are defined in the Deployment Environments Manager, where an author can deploy to different servers based on file types (i.e. html, wmv, rm).

Publishing – The process that listens for either commands from an author or changes in the database and then publishes files to the publishing destination server accordingly. Although publishing is handled by the Authoring server by default, the process can be assigned to any and multiple WebCaster servers to enable publishing scalability and enhance reliability.

Reports – The reports engine is responsible for parsing through raw data gathered by the Statistics Collection server and merging it with user registration data. Once the data is indexed and organized, authors can access reports via MyStatistics, the interface for reports viewing.

Publishing - Publishing is the process of taking information from a data source, processing it, and sending out commands to multiple locations (publishing destination servers) in the form of tiny JavaScript and XML files. Depending on the function, end-users will poll the destination servers at certain time intervals. At each interval, the end-user will receive the latest information, be it a new polling question or a Q&A published answer. It is important to understand the different functions of publishing so that the IT department will know whether or not it is necessary to scale accordingly. There are five functions that require publishing:

Event File – Event Files are time-stamped files of all events (i.e. synchronized slide advance) that have taken place for a live event. These files are used for time synchronization when a user enters a live event. These files are also used as the main event delivery mechanism for WebCaster. In the case of WebCaster, the viewers are polling the destination server every four seconds to receive the latest event information. In all other cases, event information is only pulled upon entering the presentation.

Question & Answer (Q&A) Results – Q&A Results typically show viewers a list of asked questions and answers to the questions. The answers are published at the author’s discretion at intervals no less than 30 seconds.

Poll File – The poll file contains the questions, answers, and current results for each question. The shortest interval which viewers can receive a new poll question is 30 seconds.

Live Variables – Live variables are logical components that can cause behaviors on an HTML page based on a value set by the author. This is typically used on a “lobby” page where authors wish to manually allow entrance into a presentation at given time. Viewers only will poll destination servers every 30 seconds to see if there is a change in status on the lobby page.

Registration Information – An XML file is published for each project that uses registration and is updated each time a new viewer registers for a presentation. XML files are published so that



authors can quickly look up data on individual registrants without waiting for the raw data to be parsed and indexed.

Data Storage and Processing Tier This back end tier consists of servers and processes that only require server-to-server communication. Having servers at this tier creates a nice separation from servers that interact directly with end users.

Database: The Database server is the memory and brain of the WebCaster software. It serves a variety of essential functions including tracking user behaviors, storing project-related data, statistics, and user information, and managing WebCaster subsystem behaviors across the entire system.

Asset Storage: Assets, or components such as PowerPoint documents or video files used in WebCaster presentations, can be stored anywhere from an attached disk drive to a network file system (NFS) or storage area network (SAN). Assets are accessed by authors only until they are deployed out as part of a presentation. By taking advantage of a shared storage solution such as NFS or SAN, WebCaster is easily scalable to multiple authoring servers.

Media Processing: The Media Processing subsystem executes a series of processes that converts common file types such as Microsoft PowerPoint files to low bandwidth JPEGs or GIFs for web distribution. It is possible to configure the Authoring server to handle this process, but since this subsystem is only instantiated by a server process, it is best to keep it at the back-end tier.

WebCaster’s Use of Open Standards WebCaster utilizes a number of open standards, including:

JSP

XML

HTML, DHTML

JavaScript

HTTP, HTTPS

On the back end, Java was chosen as the application language mainly for its cross-platform capability. This allows IT departments to run WebCaster on a wide range of operating system environments including Wintel, Linux, and Solaris machines. WebCaster currently leverage Resin and Tomcat application server engines.

On the client end, WebCaster was designed to function without the need for downloadable plug-ins or other non-standards based proprietary code. Other than the standard players that are already installed on most machines (Windows Media, Real, or Flash®), WebCaster does not rely on any plug-ins to view presentation. Maximum compatibility across corporate operating infrastructures is assured because WebCaster uses a standards based client architecture that leverages XML, HTML, and JavaScript.



Important Note on Web Services Architecture for Enterprise Integration: WebCaster exposes almost all of its abilities through secure web services which facilitate integration with almost any existing enterprise environment. For example, the user interfaces of existing ticketing systems can trigger the provisioning of new presentations and/or events, the existing LDAP/AD Single Sign-On infrastructure of an organization can be used to authenticate users and track statistics, and a marketing platform’s lead management database can be automatically populated by the usage statistics of a presentation.

4.2. Authentication and Security

WebCaster provides a high level of security functionality. Security is account-based with accounts granted at various levels of privileges on a project-by-project basis. Logging is obtained via Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Once logged in, each user may have different rights and privileges.

WebCaster uses authentication techniques for logging into the system as an author and for logging into secured content created by the system. Additionally, Administrators can log on using a secure login and can authenticate using Active Directory and LDAP.

Webcast viewers can also take advantage of Active Directory and LDAP single sign on by using WebCaster’s web services API’s in the Enterprise configuration. In addition, webcasts can be secured on 3rd party CDN’s such as Akamai, or on internal CDN’s by means of IP filtering and token passing, which allows for tight control of external webcasts.

WebCaster has the option to use Secure Socket Layer (SSL) to provide secure client-server communication. WebCaster offers additional security features for 3rd party hosted content. WebCaster optionally uses HTTPS for added security. In addition, event creators can limit viewer access to presentations using the WebCaster registration and login system. Viewers may access the webcasts under the following administrator-defined security schemes:

1) Individual Passwords – assigned by the presentation author (can be automatically and randomly generated from the data record)

2) Global Password – (can be set from the data record) 3) Auto-Email Passwords – Unique passwords emailed when you register (can be automatically generated). 4) Viewer Created Passwords – Viewers create their own passwords when registering 5) No Passwords – Just normal registration



4.3. Solution Architecture Diagrams

Figure 7- A high level overview of a live webcast from the source to the audience



Figure 8 - Live streaming media flow overview



Figure 9 - Webcaster audience overview



Figure 10 - Webcaster with on-demand streaming

Figure 11 - Webcaster live streaming



Figure12 - Webcaster source configuration



Figure 13 Typical production workflow



Figure 14 - Software subsystem relationship diagram



Figure 15 - Server architecture overview



Figure 16 - Webcasting system adminisration and monitoring



5. Why MediaPlatform?

MediaPlatform, Inc. delivers best-in-class webcasting and media management technology to global enterprises and digital media producers. MediaPlatform’s webcasting software enables high-impact presentations for lead generation, corporate communications and training. The company offers organizations the ability to take advantage of scalable cloud-based computing, as well as on-premises deployment, to present and manage rich media. With media management tools built on its platform, the company helps clients derive long term archive value from their investment in media content.

5.1. Excellence in Engineering

Our company is known for excellence in engineering, with a host of superlatives and “firsts” accompanying our product offerings, including:

Most scalable webcasting solution, reliably used to stream live video to simultaneous audiences in the tens of thousands.

Most customizable viewer experience, enabling completely custom branding of the media player and alignment with corporate branding standards.

Most dynamic and professional-class back-end production management system, with the ability to manage complex live events with multiple live presenters and a large production team assigned separate roles.

Highest level of potential application integration, realized through a 100% Web services (SOA) approach to solution architecture.

First pure software-as-a-service enterprise webcasting solution.

5.2. A Long Track Record of Success with Global Enterprises

As the preferred webcasting and media management software vendor, MediaPlatform has enjoyed long term, successful relationships with some of the world’s largest webcasting enterprises, including:

NEC – NEC has been a MediaPlatform client for many years. Bryan and NEC documented more than $250,000 in annual savings by replacing dealer training road shows, where product managers traveled to dealer sites, with webcast training delivered on our solutions. MediaPlatform has met and exceeded NEC’s requirements and we continue to enjoy a strong relationship with them as we work to measure the ROI of their communications initiatives.

AT&T – The global telecom giant relies on MediaPlatform’s webcasting solution to conduct large scale virtual company meetings, routinely reaching upwards of 50,000 live viewers.

Oracle – The company uses MediaPlatform’s webcasting solution to conduct executive briefings to internal audiences, as well as streaming keynotes and breakout sessions at the annual Oracle OpenWorld conference.



5.3. Performance Webcasting

MediaPlatform’s solutions drive performance webcasting, linking phases of the complete webcast production process through a series of best-in-class offerings. We call this “performance webcasting.” Mediaplatform manages the webcast guest invitation and registration processes with rich customization characteristics. The back-end production control interface allows producers to manage a live or on-demand event with a full complement of professional options, including dynamic survey, poll, and Q&A functionality. The signal streams from the most scalable, redundant infrastructure available on the market today. End users see the presentation on a custom-branded player that can be designed to match corporate branding specifications. Post-event, powerful analytics and reporting tools enable event owners and business stakeholders to gain insight into the success of the event and the return on investment for the production process.

5.4. Technological Advantages

MediaPlatform’s webcasting software offers a number of distinguishing technological advantages:

One Comprehensive Software Platform – MediaPlatform offers one unified platform that manages both audio webcasts and video webcasts, with synchronized events such as PowerPoint, polling, surveys, testing and certification, Q&A, and so forth. With MediaPlatform there is only one software application to master, with equal functionality for video or audio-only events.

Management of multiple deployment environments – Our clients can publish their webcasting content to any publishing point on a range of content distribution solutions, including an internal enterprise CDN, an external CDN such as Akamai or Limelight, an internal multicast engine such as a Cisco solution, or a simple streaming server.

MediaPlatform software automates the process of managing these multiple publishing points - allowing the client to create multiple deployment environments for different scenarios. For any given webcast, the client can select one deployment environment or publish webcast content simultaneously to several deployment environments for live streaming. The ability to easily manage these multiple deployment environments is a significant differentiator.

Figure 17 - The Performance Webcasting Process



Groupware architecture - While most products in this space are designed for a single user, MediaPlatform’s software is designed from the ground up for teams of people to work together in the process of designing, building, running and measuring live and on-demand webcasts. From asset management to project management, MediaPlatform’s webcasting software provides sharing features and role-based access that allow simple, secure team-driven webcasting.

Scalability – MediaPlatform’s software is designed for unlimited scalability and has been used for events of over 100,000 participants and has been used for scores of simultaneous events. This performance and stability is the result of robust CDN integration, as well as a highly optimized, distributed approach with no single points of failure. MediaPlatform’s adherence to Open Systems and Industry Standards allow mainstream support by Motorola’s IT organization.

MediaPlatform’s software also enables the scalability of a company’s webcasting program by allowing multiple live events at the same time and many administrators during one event.

No Single Point of Failure – MediaPlatform’s software architecture can be set up to avoid single points of failure, providing uninterrupted service with 100% redundancy, giving the system an extremely high rate of availability and reliability.

Complete Customization - MediaPlatform’s template building tool, Titan, enables non-programmers to create completely customized, reusable templates to control functionality as well as look-and-feel. Combinations of these templates can be grouped together to form reusable “themes” that become easy to re-brand, populate and publish. This architecture is truly a rich-media publishing system rather than a set of webcasting tools combined with asset management systems.

The significance of this cannot be underestimated. In a crowded webcasting market with an increasing number of webcasting producers chasing audiences with webcasting platforms that look increasingly alike, MediaPlatform’s software allows its operators to create extraordinary custom audience experiences. This allows our clients to achieve an unmatched level of custom branding to coordinate webcast interfaces with other marketing and communications efforts, including the look and feel of their web presence.

Multiple live remote presenters with live video switching – Support multiple Flash® broadcast streams from different locations during the same webcast, with diverse video sources: from plug and play web cams to sophisticated capture cards. Live screen demoing enables our clients to show the desktop of any of the participating locations.

Live remote AV management – Dynamically change the video settings, audio settings, and bandwidth input of geographically dispersed video sources. This allows a centrally located webcast team to administer live webcasts throughout the globe.

No Proprietary Hardware – MediaPlatform’s software is suited for stand-alone as well as large scale webcasting operations. MediaPlatform works with the client’s existing IT infrastructure; we do not provide entry-level solutions that include hardware – like proprietary encoding appliances - that you will eventually outgrow. With MediaPlatform software, the client simply adds more user-licenses as needs expand, so there are never any legacy hardware issues.



Web Services – MediaPlatform’s software has been designed for simple integration with other applications using Web services and the principle of Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA). With SOA, MediaPlatform facilitates the development, expansion and interoperability of webcasting in your enterprise and helps lay the groundwork for a future proof, non-proprietary, portable, and scalable webcasting solution.

MediaPlatform exposes almost all of its abilities through secure web services which facilitate integration with almost any existing enterprise environment. For example, MediaPlatform’s software can integrate on a high level with existing registration and e-commerce systems, the user interfaces of existing ticketing systems can trigger the provisioning of new presentations and/or events, the existing LDAP/AD Single Sign-On infrastructure of an organization can be used to authenticate users and track statistics, and a marketing platform’s lead management database can be automatically populated by the usage statistics of a presentation. MediaPlatform’s software can programmatically connect its capabilities to other corporate software systems.

Innovation: MediaPlatform currently has five issued patents and over seven more patents pending. We are extremely dedicated to innovation and leading the development of future webcasting technologies.

Patent Number Title

6,922,702 System and method for assembling discrete data files into an executable file and for processing the executable file

6,839,059 System and method for manipulation and interaction of time-based mixed media formats

6,834,371 System and method for controlling synchronization of a time-based presentation and its associated assets

6,701,383 Cross-platform framework-independent synchronization abstraction layer

6,529,146 System and method for simultaneously encoding data in multiple formats and at different bit rates



6. About MediaPlatform, Inc.

MediaPlatform, Inc. delivers best-in-class webcasting and media management technology to global enterprises and digital media producers. MediaPlatform’s webcasting software enables high-impact presentations for lead generation, corporate communications and training. The company offers organizations the ability to take advantage of scalable cloud-based computing, as well as on-premises deployment, to present and manage rich media. With media management tools built on its platform, the company helps clients derive long term archive value from their investment in media content. www.mediaplatform.com www.twitter.com/webcaster [email protected]

http://www.mediaplatform.com/

http://www.twitter.com/webcaster

mailto:[email protected]



7. Webcaster and Multicast Fusion Data Sheet

multicast fusion on the adobe® flash® platform · 2010. 11. 22. · massive, global network...

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