Version 3.6 System Administrator Guide

Transcription

1 Version 3.6 System Administrator Guide This document provides information Ensemble Video System Administrators can use to create and manage Ensemble Video Institutions and administer Ensemble Video system-wide settings. April 2014

2 About Ensemble Video ( Ensemble Video is a flexible online video platform that simplifies video management and delivers content to any device, any time, over a variety of networks. Ensemble Video enables hundreds of progressive organizations across the globe to accelerate learning, increase viewer engagement, improve knowledge sharing, and reduce the cost of doing business. Ensemble Video offers selfhosted, cloud-hosted, and multi-tenant deployments, and works in concert with a wide range of complementary video and web technologies to streamline video management and publishing. For help, search and browse the Ensemble Video Support Portal at support.ensemblevideo.com and the Ensemble Wiki at wiki.ensemblevideo.com For Ensemble Video news, and to learn how other customers are using our platform, read our blog, Ensemble Video Notes at notes.ensemblevideo.com For general information, visit Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

3 Table of Contents About Ensemble Video ( 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS... 3 I. TECHNICAL COMPONENTS OF ENSEMBLE VIDEO... 4 TRANSCODING WITH PROMEDIA CARBON... 5 BACKUP AND RECOVERY... 6 II. THE ENSEMBLE VIDEO ORGANIZATIONAL FRAMEWORK... 7 SYSTEM, INSTITUTION, AND ORGANIZATION ADMINISTRATORS Institution Administrator Organization Administrator... 8 NAVIGATING BETWEEN INSTITUTIONS, ORGANIZATIONS, AND LIBRARIES... 9 OTHER USER ROLES Contributor Editor Viewer III. ENSEMBLE VIDEO ADMINISTRATION TAB API KEYS CONTENT TYPES Selecting An Embedded Player INSTITUTIONAL SETTINGS Institutions Workflow Templates Upload Directory and Watch Directory Workflow Templates TechSmith Relay Worfkow Template Crestron CaptureHD Workflow Template LICENSE LOGS SETTINGS TRANSCODING IV. SERVER ADMINISTRATION ENSEMBLE VIDEO DIRECTORIES THE VIDEO MANAGEMENT SERVICE SECURING ENSEMBLE VIDEO WITH SSL Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

4 I. Technical Components of Ensemble Video Each installation of Ensemble Video has three components: 1. The Web Application 2. A Control Database 3. One or more Media Servers The Web Application is written using MS VB and C#.NET, and must run on a Windows Server (Web Edition, Standard, or Enterprise) with MS Internet Information Server (IIS). The Control Database is an MS-SQL database, and the Media Server(s) can be a web server(s) for progressive download, and/or a streaming media server(s). Wowza Streaming Engine is the preferred media server, as Ensemble Video takes advantage of some of the unique and very useful features of Wowza. In the simplest of installations, these components all reside on a single server. Ensemble Video all-in-one installation Content Administrator Interface Ensemble Video Web Application VB.Net on IIS Web server Control Database MS/SQL Express Edition with Advanced Services Media Server IIS Web server (progressive download) Media Server Wowza Media Server (streaming) Ensemble Video HTTP requests and HTML/XML results Video media content requests and streams Many Ensemble Video customers already have one or more media servers that they want to use instead of (or in addition to) the media services resident on the Ensemble Video application server. Many also have an existing MS-SQL database they want to use for their control database, rather than installing a separate instance of MS-SQL on the Ensemble Video Web Application server. This is also supported, and can be done easily with network access to those external resources. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

5 Ensemble Video installation with external control database and media servers Content Administrator Interface Ensemble Video Web Application Ensemble Video HTTP requests and HTML/XML results MS-SQL Control Database External Media Server(s) Video media content requests and streams Different enterprises choose to use different versions of MS-SQL Server: MS-SQL Express, MS-SQL Standard Edition, or MS-SQL Enterprise Edition. In the case of an external MS-SQL control database, an account with MS- SQL System Administrator privileges must be used to create the Ensemble Video database. This is only required once, during or prior to installation. A separate user with rights to manage the database will be used by Ensemble Video to create, add, and delete database tables and data. Transcoding with ProMedia Carbon Many institutions want uploaded media to be automatically converted to a common media format that is suitable for internet delivery. This is called transcoding, and for many institutions the transcoded file is an MP4 file that can stream to desktop computers and mobile devices. Ensemble Video has an integration with ProMedia Carbon (formerly known as Carbon Coder), enabling this to be done seamlessly. ProMedia Carbon is an enterprise-class server software that can simultaneously transcode multiple media files. A user uploads a video file (e.g., MOV, WMV, M4V, AVI, etc.) and the file is automatically handed off to a ProMedia Carbon, transcoded, and then transferred to the media server. Ensemble Video users see status updates during this process, letting them know how the conversion process is progressing. While ProMedia Carbon sometimes runs on the same server as Ensemble Video, it s typically run on a separate server. The process is very CPU-intensive, and the load on the CPU can adversely impact the performance of the Ensemble Video Web Application. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

6 Typical Ensemble Video-Carbon Coder transcoding server integration and workflow. Backup and Recovery To ensure recovery in case of failure, it s critical to back up the database daily, at least. The Ensemble Video System Software Folder and Web Application Directory should also be backed up regularly (they contain log files and other useful information). The system software is typically installed on: C:\Program Files (x86)\symphony Video, Inc., while the Web Application is part of the IIS directory structure, for example: W:\inetpub\wwwroot\ensemble. If you use MS-SQL Express, it does not provide a built-in backup mechanism. Ensemble Video is installed with an MS-SQL backup script that you can modify and set up as a scheduled task, to create a snapshot file from your MS-SQL Server, which can be backed up by your regular backup mechanism. For more information on configuring backup and recovery for your installation, see the Ensemble Video Backup and Recovery guide at Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

7 II. The Ensemble Video Organizational Framework Ensemble Video makes it easy to upload, catalog, manage, and publish a library of media titles or media entries. Each entry has a title, keywords, and production date, along with other catalog descriptors and one or more media files. While most Ensemble Video users are interested in the video management capabilities of Ensemble, the system can support a wide range of media types, including animations, images, and attachments (documents, spreadsheets, etc.). Ensemble was designed for de-centralized content management. This is implemented through a flexible organizational framework, where different groups and users can maintain independent media libraries, but also share content across those libraries. An Ensemble Video implementation consists of one or more Institutions. For institutions and enterprises that license Ensemble Video for on-premise use, there s typically only a single Institution. But for Ensemble Video Cloud and Multi-Tenant implementations, Institutions are defined for each independent enterprise using the platform. Each Institution can have: A custom login URL with custom login branding and welcome message. Portals for public/private content access, with custom portal URLs. Custom branding of the Ensemble Video Web application environment. One or more Identity Providers (LDAP or Shibboleth), for authentication and content security. LTI configuration for integrating with external web platforms. The Ensemble Video organizational framework Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

8 Within a single Institution, at least one Organization is defined. Within each Organization, an Organization Administrator can create any number of Ensemble Video Libraries. Each Library has one or more Content Administrators, who create and manage media entries within the Library. A Library contains media content ingested (via Watch Directory) or uploaded by Content Administrators associated with that Library (the Media Library), as well as content shared by other users of the system (the Shared Library). A Content Administrator may set up one or more Internet Playlists for external constituents, and one or more Playlists for internal viewers (e.g., a training web site, Learning Management System, or a website where recorded lectures or events are made available). System, Institution, and Organization Administrators The installation of Ensemble Video creates an Ensemble Video System Administrator account. A System Administrator is a super user who has access to all Ensemble Video functions and settings. In addition, there are two other critical administrative roles: 1. Institution Administrator An Institution Administrator can create Organizations and manage branding and other settings via the Institutional Settings Interface. For details on this administrative role see the Ensemble Video Institution Administrator Guide. Institutional Administrator Settings Interface 2. Organization Administrator An Organization Administrator can create and manage any number of Libraries within his or her Organization, and create and manage any number of user accounts for each Library. For complete details on this administrative role see the Ensemble Video Organization Administrator Guide. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

9 Navigating Between Institutions, Organizations, and Libraries When an Organization Administrator logs in, he or she can move between Libraries in the Organization, via a dropdown menu at the top of the Ensemble Video Contributor Interface. Institution Administrators can also switch between Organizations, using a similar dropdown menu to the left of the Library dropdown. System Administrators can switch between Institutions via the dropdown at the far left top corner of the interface. System Administrators can easily switch between Institutions, Organizations and Libraries Other User Roles Other Ensemble Video roles include Contributor, Editor, and Viewer. When users are provisioned, they re assigned a Home Library, but Organization or Institution Administrators can give them guest permissions in other Libraries (for details, see the Ensemble Video Organization Administrator Guide. 1. Contributor These users can manage, catalog, and publish video content using Ensemble Video. Contributors: Are associated with a Home Library, which they have access to when they log in. Can add, edit, publish, and delete media entries. Can define, edit, and delete Playlists in the Web Publishing Tab. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

10 Can customize bandwidth labels Can add Library Shares and authorize Direct Publishing permissions. 2. Editor These users can: Edit and publish videos in the Media Library Publish videos in the Shared Library Content Administrator Editors can not Add or Delete videos, and do not have access to the Web Publishing or Administration Tabs. 3. Viewer Can only view published items in the Media Library, and in the Shared Library. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

11 III. Ensemble Video Administration Tab When you log into Ensemble Video as System Administrator, and go to the Administration Tab, you will find six control icons on the far right-hand side of the interface, which are available ONLY to System Administrators: This section documents each control in the order those control icons appear in the interface (shown above). API Keys The API Keys are for external applications that require access to the Ensemble Video Applications Programming Interface, for secure server-to-server communication. Currently, the only external application that takes advantage of this feature is an open source Building Block add-on program for Blackboard, a popular Learning Management System (LMS) that provides easy instructor access to Ensemble Video managed content. Form for generating API Keys. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

12 Via the API Key control, you generate secure key pairs and provide them to the Blackboard Building Block as part of the process to configure this integration. For details see our Blackboard Building Block Setup guide at Content Types You can create, manage, and delete supported content types through the Content Types control interface. Content Types Control Interface. Clicking the Edit button for a content type gets you to a form where you can edit information for an existing content type. Editing a content type. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

13 Here, you can specify file extension, description, and an icon that will display with a media link for that content type. You can also indicate whether thumbnail/preview images should be generated. If you want to use Ensemble Video to manage a content type that is not yet defined, click on the Add a New Content Type button on the right side of the screen. Selecting An Embedded Player For certain media types (see table below), you can select an embedded player, which will be used on the Media Library Preview Video page, Quick Publish pages, and wherever the HTML Plug-in is embedded. Specifying and embedded audio/video player In the Content Types interface, click Edit (on the line for the media type you wish to configure an embedded player for), and use the dropdown menu to select a player. The only embedded players currently supported are the Flowplayer (a Flash-based player), and QuickTime Player. And these two players only work with certain media types: Embedded Player Media Formats supported Flowplayer* Works with Flash Video (flv), mp3 audio, and H.264 compressed video in mp4, m4v, and f4v files Quicktime Can be configured for QuickTime video (mov), along with m4v and mp4 video files Note: If you choose the Flowplayer, Ensemble Video will automatically insert an HTML5 player on any idevice, for seamless media playback of MP3 and MP4/H.264 content. For Android devices, Ensemble will insert a Play button to launch the built-in Android media player. This is a system-wide setting, so all Previews, Quick Publish, and HTML Plug-in pages will be affected. Be sure to consider the impact across all your users before making any changes. Institutional Settings The Institutional Settings control takes you to a web application where Institutional Settings are managed. There are two settings that System Administrators manage, which appear at the top of the list of settings, in the left hand column, in the System section: Institutions and Workflow Templates. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

14 Institutional Settings The other settings, below in the Institution section (Branding, LTI Configuration, Identify Providers, Portals, Organizations and Workflow Templates), are typically managed by an Institutional Administrator. For more information, see the Ensemble Video Institution Administrator Guide. Institutions The Institutions setting enables System Administrators to create and manage Institutions. To add a new Institution, just click on the +Add button and enter a name and (optionally) a storage Disk Quota for the institution (in gigabytes). Workflow Templates A Workflow Template defines a media server path and other information for media processing. The most commonly used Workflow Templates are Upload Directory and Watch Directory Templates. Information provided in Upload and Watch Directory Templates is used to create media server directories. That information is also passed down to the Organization level, and eventually to the level of the individual Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

15 Library, where Library Media Workflow creation is automated. (For more information see the Institution Administrator Guide section on Workflow Templates and the Organization Administrator Guide section on Media Workflows.) Crestron CaptureHD and Techsmith Relay Workflow Templates are used to configure pre-processing of content that is specific to media and metadata created by Crestron CaptureHD recorders and Techsmith Relay software. To add a new Workflow Template, simply click the +Add button in this section, and select Techsmith Relay, Crestron CaptureHD, Upload Directory, or Watch Directory from the menu. Upload Directory and Watch Directory Workflow Templates For Watch Directory and Upload Directory Templates, the Institution name is automatically inserted as the Sub Directory name. When these Templates are used at the Organization level (see Workflow Templates in the Institution Administrator Guide) the Organization name will be automatically inserted as well. For both Upload and Watch Directory Templates, you provide a name for the Workflow Template, a storage Path, and a URL Path for the player. If you specify a UNC storage Path, there is a place to enter username and password, along with authentication domain. For Upload Directory, you can specify a transcoding preset as well. For Watch Directory Templates, you set a File Filter. (For complete details on Watch Directory capabilities and settings, see the Ensemble Video Watch Directory Guide.) Upload Directory Institutional Workflow Template= Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

16 Watch Directory Institutional Workflow Template TechSmith Relay Worfkow Template A TechSmith Relay Worfklow Template defines a process that: 1. Reads in TechSmith Relay XML files 2. Generates Ensemble Video XML files and moves the Ensemble XML together with the Relay content to Ensemble Video Watch Directories The Ensemble Video XML and Relay content are then ingested to create new items in Ensemble Video Libraries. The Workflow Template specifies a Source Path, where TechSmith Relay files are written via FTP, as Relay recording is completed. The Destination Path points to an Ensemble Video Watch Directory root path. This is where Ensemble XML files and Relay media content will be written in individual Watch Directories, based on username. The Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

17 Destination The Identity Provider determines the routing of content by Username to a Watch Directory with folder name also based on username. These usernames must match the usernames in Camtasia XML files. Individual Watch Directory folders can be created automatically, by username. (For details, see Workflow Templates in the Ensemble Video Institution Administrator Guide.) For Source or Destination directory, you can specify a local directory or UNC path. If you use a UNC path, you also need to provide username, password, and domain for authentication. The Destination Ensemble Video Watch Directories must be on a web server, and the Destination URL specifies the web root for for the Watch Directory. That root HTTP URL is passed, with appropriate paths appended, to the Camtasia player when a user views the Relay content. Crestron CaptureHD Workflow Template A Crestron CaptureHD Worfklow Template defines a process that: 1. Reads Crestron CaptureHD XML files 2. Generates Ensemble Video XML files, and moves the Ensemble XML together with the Crestron content to Ensemble Video Watch Directories The Ensemble Video XML and Crestron content are then ingested to create new items in Ensemble Video Libraries. The Workflow Template specifies a Source Path where Crestron XML and media files are written via FTP. The Destination Path points to an Ensemble Video Watch Directory root path. This is where Ensemble XML files and Crestron media content will be written in individual Watch Directories. The Identity Provider determines the routing of content by Username to a Watch Directory with folder name also based on username. These usernames must match the values in the <Organizer> tag in the Creston XML files. Individual Watch Directory folders can be created automatically based on username, last name, or Library name. (For details, see Workflow Templates in the Ensemble Video Institution Administrator Guide.) For Source or Destination Directory, you can specify a local directory or UNC path. If you use a UNC path, you also need to provide username, password, and domain for authentication. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

18 License The License control is for updating your Ensemble Video License Key. This control lets you know how many titles you are licensed for, and the expiration date for your license, if you have an annual license. To update the license click Update License, paste in the License Key provided by Ensemble Video (or your authorized dealer or reseller), and then agree to the license terms. Manage license control. Logs The Logs control provides internal system monitoring information on various system functions: the Ensemble Video Service, the Web Application, Transcoding, and LDAP authentication. You can navigate to any of these logs, using the dropdown menu on the right-hand side of the screen. Use the page links at the bottom of the screen to page through the log text. Alternatively, you can download the log to examine the details in a text editor. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

19 The Logs administrative control interface. Settings The Application Settings control lets you modify various system settings. Most of these settings are adjusted only by the Ensemble Video Technical Support Staff. Transcoding The Transcoding control allows you to create Transcoding Profiles that are available to Organization Administrators, as they create Upload Media Workflows for the Libraries across your Ensemble Video implementation. You can also use these presets when you create Workflow Templates for the Institutions and Organizations in your implementation. Each Profile can include a single transcoding preset (a set of rules for video conversion). Or, if you want to support Adaptive Bitrate (ABR) streaming, you can create a profile with multiple presets. With ABR, the transcoder will create multiple encodings, and dynamically adjust the encoding streamed to viewers based on available bandwidth. ABR streaming is supported for Windows and Macintosh computers via Flash Player, and the rtmp protocol. ABR streaming is supported for idevices via HTML5 Player, and Apple s HLS protocol (delivered automatically with Wowza Streaming Engine). Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

20 Select transcoding presets to create a new Transcoding Profile To add a new Transcoding Profile, click Add a New Profile. Then, select one or more encoding presets, and provide a name for the new Profile. If you want to create an ABR Profile, be sure to choose presets from the same family (e.g., ABR HD, ABR HQ, or ABR SD). In the example in the above screen shot, a new Profile is being created that supports Adaptive Bitrate streaming from 350 Kbps up to 1112 Kbps. If you create an ABR Profile, be sure to pick a Default preset (i.e., 796 Kbps) in the dropdown menu at the bottom of the form, which will play over lower bandwidth connections on startup. (It will also be used for Android devices, which do not support dynamic Adaptive Bitrate streaming via the RTSP protocol.) If you select a single preset, you won t need to select a Default preset from the dropdown. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

21 IV. Server Administration Ensemble Video Directories Every Ensemble Video implementation has two installed software directories: 1. Video Web Application Directory, where the Web Application interface programs and related software are installed. 2. Application Directory, where the Ensemble Video Service programs and utilities are installed as a Windows application/service. A Symphony Video, Inc. program group in the Windows Start Menu enables you to easily navigate to either the Web Application Directory or the Windows Application Directory. The Video Management Service A video management service is installed on the application server. This runs as a Windows service ( Ensemble Video Service see screen shot). When a file is uploaded, it automatically processes the file and copies it to the appropriate media server, using the directory and authentication credentials provided in the appropriate Media Source. The service also monitors and processes all Watch Directories. Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,

22 If you find that uploaded files are not available for streaming/download once they re uploaded, be sure the Ensemble Video Management Service is running (it should also be configured to start automatically on system restart). If the service is running, you can look at the Video Management Service Log file to see if there are any error messages that were generated when the file was copied to a media server directory. You can view the log using the Logs control in the Administration Tab, in Ensemble Video (see page 18). Or, you can open the Log File on the Web Application Server. The Log File is located in the System Software Directory, in the Service Directory. For example: C:\Program Files\Symphony Video, Inc\Service\service.log Securing Ensemble Video with SSL We recommend that you configure the Ensemble Video Web Application to deliver all web content over HTTPS. This will prevent an issue that occurs when your users access non-secure information from a secure web, where you may have Ensemble Video playlists or videos embedded. For example, if a web site (e.g., accesses an Ensemble Video iframe Embed Code using standard HTTP ( the user will see a security warning and/or the content may not be shown. This is often the case when the Ensemble Video Plugin is embedded into a Learning Management System, Content Management System, or an intranet which are often secure. For details on how to enable SSL for Ensemble Video, see the How to Configure SSL guide at Send technical questions and suggestions to support@ensemblevideo.com. Additional help and resources are available at Ensemble Video 3.6 System Administrator Guide April,