Chris Knowlton's Blog

Sourcing from a multicast broadcast using Windows Media Services

chriskno — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 06:15:00 GMT

A few folks have recently had questions about how to do sourcing of a video stream when using multicast with Windows Media Services (WMS). There are two basic scenarios that we often see:

Unicast edge server sourcing from a multicast broadcast on an origin server
Multicast edge server sourcing from a unicast broadcast on an origin server

In this post, I'll address the first scenario, a unicast edge server sourcing from a multicast broadcast on an origin server, as illustrated by the following diagram.

Multicast is often employed across an enterprise wide-area network (WAN) or content distribution network (CDN) to move broadcast content out to edge servers. Two examples of where this is useful are for distributing:

Executive broadcasts across a multicast-enabled WAN link to a remote enterprise LAN that is not multicast-enabled.
IPTV broadcasts across a CDN and then delivering the broadcasts to end users using public-facing edge servers.

The primary advantage of multicast is that no matter how many edge servers you have, you only have one video stream being distributed. In other words, even if you run a large CDN and have two thousand edge servers to which you need to distribute a 500kbps stream, your network will only need to support 500kbps. If you had to use two thousand unicast streams to reach those edge servers, some portions of your network would need to be able to support up to 1Gbps of streaming traffic (2,000 x 500kbps).

Let me describe how you would you set up this scenario when using WMS 9.0 or above. The following steps assume:

You have Windows Media Service 9 Series running on Windows Server 2003 servers and/or Windows Media Services 2008 running on Windows Server 2008 servers, and
Your network hardware (routers, etc.) between the Origin and Edge Servers is multicast-enabled.

Origin Server: Set up a multicast publishing point

First, we need to set up the Origin Server, from which the multicast originates, sourcing from a file, playlist, or live encoder.

On the Origin Server, right-click on Publishing Points in the console tree on the left side of the WMS user interface, as shown below.
Click on Add Publishing Point (Wizard)… to create a new publishing point with the following settings (click Next to move from one dialog box to the next):
- Name: A descriptive name (I'll call it GlobalMulticast in this example)
- Content Type: One file, for testing purposes. (Later, you can source from a live encoder running on a PC, such as the free Windows Media Encoder 9 Series or a free trial version of Microsoft Expression Encoder 2, hooked up to a Webcam or other video camera.)
- Publishing Point Type: Broadcast publishing point
- Delivery Options: Multicast; for testing purposes, leave the 'Enable unicast rollover' box unchecked
- File Location: Pick any lengthy Windows Media video (.wmv) file that you have
  - TIP: For testing purposes, you could also source from a WMS Server-Side Playlist that is set to loop
- Publishing Point Summary: Verify your selections
- Completing the Publishing Point Wizard: Leave the default choice of creating a .nsc file and click Finish
Multicast Announcement Wizard
- Click Next if you see the Welcome dialog
- Specify Files to Create: Select the second option, Multicast information file (.nsc)
- Stream Formats: Click the Add button
  - Add Stream Formats:
    - If sourcing from a file, click the Browse button
      - In the Windows Media Browse dialog box, change the Data Source and Location fields as needed to find your multicast source file
      - Click once on the file name to highlight it
      - Click the Select File button
    - If sourcing from an encoder, enter an HTTP path to it
    - Click OK
  - Click Next
- Multicast Logging: Leave the default No answer and click Next
- Save Multicast Announcement Files
  - For the edge servers that will be sourcing from the multicast, LAN users, you must save the NSC file at a location that can be accessed using an absolute path (e.g., \\server\directory\file.nsc - in this example, I made use of a shared 'media' directory and would specify \\mediapack1\media\GlobalMulticast.nsc)
  - For local LAN users, you can save the NSC file:
    - On a Web server (for example, if you are using the default Web site in IIS7 running on the Origin Server, enter a path such as c:\inetpub\wwwroot\file.nsc), or
    - On a server share (for example, \\server\directory\file.nsc)
  - Click Next
- Archive Content: Leave the default No answer and click Next
- Completing the Multicast Announcement Wizard: Click Finish
Ensure multicast streaming is enabled
- In the console tree, click the new broadcast publishing point (if the publishing point is started, click Stop)
- In the details pane, click the Properties tab
- In Category, click Multicast streaming
- In Plug-in, click WMS Multicast Data Writer, and then right-click – if Enable is not grayed out, click on it

Edge Server: Set up a unicast broadcast publishing point

Now, let's set up an edge server, which will receive the multicast stream and pass it on to end users via unicast streams.

On the edge server, right-click on Publishing Points in the WMS console tree
Click on Add Publishing Point (Advanced)… to create a new publishing point in the Add Publishing Point dialog box, with the following settings:
- Publishing Point Type: Broadcast
- Publishing Point Name: A descriptive name (I'll call it EdgeBroadcast in this example)
- Delivery Options: Multicast; for testing purposes, leave the 'Enable unicast rollover' box unchecked
- Location of content: We need to point at your Origin Server. Supply a path that is similar to the Content type example shown for a Multicast stream, mcast://\\server\directory\file.nsc. Using the Origin Server settings above, I would fill in mcast://\\mediapack1\media\GlobalMulticast.nsc (see image, below).
- Click OK
- Right-click on the new publishing point, and select the Start option (see image, below)
- To test that the unicast stream is working:
  - First use the Test Stream feature in WMS. Click once on your edge publishing point in the console tree, then in the details pane, select the Source tab. Click on the Windows Media Player icon at the bottom (circled in image below, on a WMS 2008 server).
  - Next, from a client PC, launch Windows Media Player and open (Ctrl + U) the unicast stream on the edge server, using a URL such as mms://server/publishingPoint. In my example, I would use mms://edgeserver1/EdgeBroadcast (URLs are not case-sensitive).

If all went well, you are now able to source from a multicast broadcast and re-distribute content using unicast streams from the edge.

Coming soon: I'll describe how to set up scenario #2, sourcing a multicast edge server from a unicast origin server.

Delivering audio and video media with Windows Web Server 2008

chriskno — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 05:28:00 GMT

Questions from customers on the floor of the NAB 2008 Show underscored again for me that many customers are interested in delivering digital media with Windows Web Server 2008. Why? Because for $469, you can get the power of IIS 7.0, the new IIS Media Pack, and Windows Media Services 2008 in a slimmed-down version of Windows Server 2008 to deliver media to the Internet. Whether you are a hoster building a Silverlight-enabled Web server farm, an enterprise administrator increasing your Web video capacity, or a small company putting up your first media server, Windows Web Server 2008 provides a great low-cost option for delivering your content.

-Chris

Microsoft at NAB

chriskno — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 05:07:00 GMT

A number of us from Microsoft will be meeting with customers and staffing the booth at the NAB Show again this year, including folks who work on Windows Media Services 2008, IIS 7.0 Media Pack, Silverlight 2, Expression Studio 2, Interactive Media Manager, Windows HPC Server 2008, Windows Media Center, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions, and Microsoft Mediaroom, among others. We will also have many partners joining us to demonstrate their value-added solutions for Microsoft media technologies, including integrated support for Windows Media and the SMPTE standard VC-1 codec.

NAB2008 is the most comprehensive showcase of electronic media in the world, bringing together over 1,400 exhibiting companies and more than 105,000 attendees from 130 countries, making it "Electronic Media's Essential Destination."

Microsoft will have an even larger presence at NAB2008, with an expanded exhibit space in the South Hall. Our exhibit will highlight Microsoft’s broad range of offerings targeting the media & entertainment industry, and will illustrate how Microsoft is enabling organizations and individuals to create, manage and experience rich media content.

You can find us in booth SL5520 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center. For more information, see www.microsoft.com/media/nab2008, and check out these blog posts from some of my colleagues to find out which technologies and show events they recommend:

Ben Waggoner: http://on10.net/blogs/benwagg/21804/
Juanjo Carmena Ayuso: http://blogs.msdn.com/itmedios/archive/2008/04/10/la-presencia-de-microsoft-en-nab.aspx
Chris Carper: http://silverlightbiz.blogspot.com/2008/04/silverlight-and-nab-2008.html

Please stop by if you are going to be at NAB! I'll be at a station with Jim Thill to demonstrate Windows Server 2008 and Silverlight.

-Chris

Exciting media announcements at MIX08

chriskno — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 03:27:00 GMT

There were many very cool announcements and demos during Scott Guthrie's portion of the MIX08 Day 1 Keynote, and media technologies related to Silverlight were key among them. One 15-minute segment on media included talking points on Windows Media Services 2008 (WMS), the IIS7 Media Pack, Bit Rate Throttling screen shots and client experience, and Web Playlists in an advertising demo.

Here are links to information on some of the media technologies mentioned in the keynote:

Release of the Silverlight 2 Beta, bringing the ease and power of the .NET framework to a cross-platform cross-browser plug-in
Move Networks integration with Silverlight, a great example of a company making use of new Adaptive Streaming capabilities in Silverlight 2
Expression Encoder 2 Beta, which accelerates encoding, improves video quality, and includes new Silverlight templates
IIS 7.0 Media Pack Bit Rate Throttling, which allows you to save money and increase scalability when delivering media from your Web server
IIS 7.0 Media Pack Web Playlists, which allow you to control and monetize your content
Windows Media Services 2008, which provides over 2x the scalability of WMS 9.0 and now runs on the affordable Windows Web Server 2008

Media serving breakout session highlights for MIX08:

Wednesday afternoon, March 5th

IIS and WMS media serving were a key component in a session by Ben Waggoner on Encoding Video for Microsoft Silverlight Delivery Scenarios
Web Playlists were featured during an in-depth breakout session on Silverlight and the Advertising Opportunity that got into the details of the keynote advertising demo

Thursday morning, March 6th, Ed Maia showed a great demo of the IIS Media Pack during his session on Integrating Media in Silverlight Applications
Friday morning, March 7th, Charles Finkelstein will mention IIS and WMS media serving in the Overview of Expression Encoder 2 session with James Clarke

IIS-specific sessions at MIX08 include the following:

Wednesday afternoon, March 5th, Robert Cameron and Tito Leverette presented Bringing Hosters and Developers Together with IIS7 (including demos of Bit Rate Throttling and Web Playlists)
Thursday morning, March 6th, Drew Robbins presented Partying with PHP on Microsoft Internet Information Services 7
Thursday afternoon, March 6th, Mai-lan Tomsen Bukovec presented Everything You Need to Know about Diagnostics and Debugging on Microsoft Internet Information Services 7

-Chris

Launch of Windows Media Services 2008

chriskno — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:22:00 GMT

Today I'm pleased to announce the launch of Windows Media Services 2008. Windows Media Services, like all of Windows Server 2008, is significantly more secure, reliable and robust - and it is already considered by many customers to be the best in the market for live and streaming delivery, and the latest improvements provide 2x scalability over Windows Media Services 9.0.

In addition to its proven scalability and reliability, Windows Media Services now supports a Server Core installation, enabling reduced footprints for fixed-function streaming server scenarios, offering embedded appliance-like performance. Additionally, a cache/proxy plug-in is built in, making it easier to configure WMS for edge network enterprise and Internet topologies. Many features of Windows Media Services that were previously available only on Windows Server Enterprise and Datacenter are now available on Windows Server Standard, and all Standard features are now also available on Windows Web Server 2008. This makes the power of Windows Media Services 2008 available to a broader set of users at a lower cost.

Key benefits of Windows Media Services (WMS) 2008 include:

Industrial Strength. Global Scale.

Proven Reliability. Windows Server 2008 improves on the five nines reliability of Windows Server 2003 to deliver a rock solid server platform that companies bet their businesses on.
Native 64-bit OS Support. Windows Media Services 2008 provides 2x the industry-leading scalability of WMS 9.0 thanks to native 64-bit operating system support and new networking technologies built into Windows Server 2008.
Scalable Live Streaming. The combination of massive scalability and proven reliability make Windows Media Services 2008 the right choice for delivering large-scale live events to a global audience.
Fast Streaming. Windows Media Services 2008 can deliver instant-on/always-on streaming for broadband users and dramatic improvements in the streaming experience for all users. Fast Start and the newer Advanced Fast Start for WMS significantly reduce streaming buffering times to deliver near-television-like experiences when playing back content or switching between sources. For on-demand content, Advanced Fast Start also enables quick seeking within a WMS stream, allowing users to "seek" forward or backward instantly.
New Cache/Proxy Server plug-in. Included with Windows Media Services 2008, this plug-in allows a Windows Media server in a branch office or other remote location to easily split a single broadcast stream from the home office into multiple streams for local end users, reducing WAN traffic. Similarly, the caching functionality caches on-demand content streamed to the remote location (e.g., training videos) the first time it is viewed, and subsequent requests for that content are served from the local cache/proxy server.

Monetize Content. Cut Costs.

Streaming for Windows Web Server 2008. With the launch of Windows Server 2008, Windows Media Services 2008 is now available for the very affordable Windows Web Server 2008, which has a suggested retail price of $469.
Advertising for Streaming Content. A variety of advertising types, including bumpers, trailers, and interstitial ads, can be dynamic and personalized via integration with ASP.NET servers, WMS server-side playlists (.WSX), and client side playlists (.ASX). Windows Media Services 2008 provides the advanced usage logging necessary to ensure broadcasters can accurately and effectively track and report on advertisement reach.

Simplified Management

Server Core installation. Windows Server 2008 provides a componentized installation option for Windows Media Services 2008. All unneeded components and services except for the components used for streaming are removed. This results in a minimized attack surface, more efficient use of system resources, and substantially reduced servicing for headless, dedicated streaming servers, giving them appliance-like performance and reliability.
Server Manager. Windows Server 2008 provides a one-stop interface for server configuration and monitoring. Server Manager is an addition to familiar options including Microsoft Management Console (MMC), Web, script, and command-line control; it allows general IT professionals to administer Web and streaming servers with a higher-level console consistent with other Windows server roles.

Scenario-based Wizards and Help. Windows Media Services 2008 makes it easy for non-media professionals to integrate streaming servers into their existing network.
HTTP protocol support. Windows Media Services 2008 provides consistent streaming across Internet- and intranet- based routers, switches, and firewalls.
Powerful Object Model and Event Mechanism. Developers can choose from over 1,000 methods, interfaces, and properties for rich customization of the server. Combined with support for DCOM/WBEM/WMI and an extensive object model, Windows Media Services 2008 provides the most powerful platform for the development of customized streaming solutions.
Broad programming language support including .NET 2.0. Create plug-ins and custom server-based applications for event management, logging, authentication and more.

Please click on the following links to learn more:

If you have any feedback, please let us know on the WMS Newsgroup, or comment on this post.

Web Playlists, WMS 2008, and a new IIS Media Page

chriskno — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 07:00:00 GMT

Today was a big day for IIS and WMS! As you may have seen among the many announcements, today we announced the launch of several media technologies:

..and the launch of IIS.NET 2.0, including a new IIS Media page.

Give us your feedback. :-)

Go Live (and save money) with Bit Rate Throttling!

chriskno — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:18:00 GMT

I am happy to announce that the latest version of Bit Rate Throttling, an Internet Information Services 7.0 (IIS7) Media Pack feature, is now available for download! This updated version adds additional controls to help an administrator ensure a reliable and consistent end-user experience, particularly when serving video content. For many scenarios, this feature will reduce bandwidth costs while increasing per-server capacity for concurrent download connections.

Bit Rate Throttling allows a Web administrator or site operator to:

Easily and automatically provide metered delivery of media and data downloads
Significantly reduce bandwidth costs for audio/video content that has high drop-off rates
Increase the number of concurrent users that can be supported per serverThis is a Go Live beta release, which means you can deploy this in live production environments. See http://www.iis.net/golive for details of the Go Live program.

Key features:

Automatically reads the encoded bit rate information from each defined media file type
Per-response bandwidth limiting on progressive downloads for every connection
Throttling rules are configurable at the server, site, virtual directory, and file levels
Fast Start experience for end users
Extensible to add support for other media and file formats
Fully integrated into the IIS7 administration and configuration models
NEW – Set default and maximum throttling rates, and concurrent connection limits

Click here for the 64 bit version; click here for the 32 bit version.

For more information, see the Bit Rate Throttling walkthroughs:

Bit Rate Throttling Setup Walkthrough. Describes how to download and install the Bit Rate Throttling module.
Bit Rate Throttling Configuration Walkthrough. Describes how to configure the Bit Rate Throttling module at the server, site, virtual directory, and file levels, including new Site-level limits.
Bit Rate Throttling Extensibility Walkthrough. Describes how to use the extensibility interface provided by the Rate Throttling module to add support for additional media file types.

-Chris

Call for input and feedback on media features

chriskno — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 20:26:00 GMT

We're getting some great off-line feedback on feature tweaks and additions for the new IIS7 Media Pack Bit Rate Throttling feature. Have you tried it out, but not yet submitted your feedback? Is there something you'd like to add or change? What other media features have you always wanted in your Web server? I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of these questions. You can reply publicly to this blog, or reply privately by clicking the Contact link on my blog page.

-Chris

Announcing the Bit Rate Throttling module Customer Technology Preview

chriskno — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:23:00 GMT

Bit Rate Throttling, the first feature in the upcoming IIS7 Media Pack, is now available for download at http://www.iis.net/downloads/default.aspx?tabid=34&g=6&i=1522.

The IIS7 Bit Rate Throttling module was first announced at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show last April as part of the TCO advantage for Silverlight. It enables Web administrators to throttle the delivery of any file based on the file type, with additional functionality for digital audio/video files. Throttling can be set at the following levels within Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager: server, site, virtual directory, and file.

For audio and video files, this module automatically detects the encoded bit rate of the file, sends a short burst of data to the client at full throttle to ensure a fast start to their playback experience, and then delivers the content at a throttled rate that is equal to or slightly greater than the encoded bit rate. Several popular digital media file types are pre-defined in the module, and others can be added. Data files are throttled at a configurable constant rate.

The Bit Rate Throttling module includes the following key features:

· Integration with IIS 7.0. The Bit Rate Throttling module is tightly integrated with this new administration interface and configuration store in IIS 7.0. In addition, IIS 7.0 has a new administration tool, and the new Bit Rate Throttling module plugs seamlessly into that paradigm.

· Throttling for any file type. Any file type can be throttled at a constant rate. An administrator can easily specify a new file type and throttling settings through the user interface.

· Advanced media throttling. One of the most significant features in the new Bit Rate Throttling module is the advanced support of audio/video media formats. This includes automatic detection of the encoded bit rate in a file, and intelligent progressive-download throttling based on that. Built-in support is included for digital media with the following file name extensions: .asf, .avi, .flv, .mov, .mp3, .mp4, .rm, .rmvb, .wma, .wmv. An administrator can simply enable Bit Rate Throttling and start intelligently delivering these common media types using the default throttling settings.

· Extensibility. The new Bit Rate Throttling module supports developer extensibility, making it possible for software vendors and hobbyists to add support for additional media formats using simple XML editing. Microsoft is using this extensibility feature to implement the built-in media format support.

· Shared hosting support. By fully integrating into the IIS 7.0 pipeline and configuration model, the new Bit Rate Throttling module makes it possible to host Web page content and intelligently deliver a variety of media from the same Web server, site, or virtual directory. This level of granularity also provides the ability to isolate users through per-user virtual directories.

Bryan Fleming and Eric Woersching have both written about the Bit Rate Throttling value proposition provided by this module for folks who are hosting media content on Web servers. If you are wondering whether to deliver media content using IIS7 or Windows Media Services, please read my previous blog post.

We'd love to get your feedback on this module - please post a comment below, or join the discussion at the new IIS7 - Media forum.

-Chris

Comparing Web servers to streaming media servers

chriskno — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:13:00 GMT

I'm often asked by customers whether they should use Web servers or streaming media servers to deliver their content, especially now for new rich media sites rolling out Silverlight. The answer invariably depends on their business objectives. Each type of server offers pros and cons related to infrastructure, business model, administrative requirements, and end-user experience. This post will provide some information that might help when making this decision.

Two articles provide a good primer for such a discussion. The first is Web Server vs. Streaming Server, an older analysis that needs updating but provides great context. The second is the relatively more recent Streaming from a Web Server, which provides Web server how-to instructions and updates the comparison to streaming with Windows Media Services 9 Series.

Both articles basically make the case for using a streaming media server based on efficiency, quality, features, scalability, content protection, and protocol options. Many of the points made are still very valid, while others have diminished in relevance due to improvements in bandwidth and changes in technology. For instance, let's look specifically at IIS and Windows Media Services…

In many scenarios, HTTP streaming:
- Has proven to be very scalable in terms of concurrent connections on a Windows Media Services server
- Is increasingly effective for delivering high-quality end-user experiences as bandwidths to homes and branch offices increase
IIS 7 takes a giant step forward from IIS 6 and competing Web servers with the new IIS 7 Media Pack bandwidth throttling feature and Windows Server 2008 scalable networking capabilities, as it can:
- Make better use of resources on the server and delivers more concurrent data streams over HTTP when serving large files, such as video content
- Provide configurable functionality similar to Fast Start and Fast Cache in Windows Media Services
- Send media content at the encoded bit rate, or an administrator-defined rate, for popular formats such as Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Video, and MP3
- Throttle other data types at administrator-defined rates

Given these changes and many others for Windows Server 2008, we might change the high-level "Comparing server features" table from the Web Server vs. Streaming Server article to look as follows…

Windows Server 2008 Feature	Windows Media Services	IIS 7 + Media Pack
Stream through most firewalls	X	X
Stream content with Digital Rights Management	X	X
Fast Streaming	X	~
Fast Start	X	X
Fast Cache	X	X
Fast Reconnect	X
Fast Recovery	X
Advanced Fast Start	X
Stream without downloading	X
Broadcast (live)	X
Intelligent streaming	X
Optimized for delivering Windows Media content	X	X
Indexing	X
Rich Windows Media client logging	X
Built-in Windows Media Cache/Proxy plug-in	X
Supported on Server Core installations	X	X
Available for Windows Web Server 2008	X	X
Stream content to cross-platform Silverlight clients	X	X
Delegated Administration		X
Centralized Configuration		X
Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for on-demand streams		X
Ability to deliver a broad range of media formats		X

If you compare this to the original table, you'll notice that both IIS and Windows Media Services have some great new features that might affect your choice for delivering streaming media. Clearly, your decision will be based on your particular business requirements. Fortunately, with the new functionality provided by Windows Server 2008, your options for this decision have just increased.

After Windows Server 2008 launches, we'll provide updated versions of both Web Server vs. Streaming Server and Streaming from a Web Server. In the meantime, stay tuned to www.iis.net for more information on the delivery of streaming media, and let us know if you have any questions or topics that we can address.

-Chris

Putting a toe in the water...

chriskno — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 04:53:00 GMT

Hi, my name is Chris Knowlton, and I am a Lead Program Manager on the IIS team. I have been with Microsoft for five years, working on streaming media delivery with Windows Media Services (WMS). The IIS team recently picked up the charter for WMS as part of the formation of the Web Server Platform Group.

My focus here will be largely media-centric, starting with an upcoming post on when to use a Web server vs. a streaming media server for delivering audio/video content. With the everyday use of rich media growing fast for entertainment and business, the fun is just beginning. :-)

Please provide Comments listing the media delivery questions that you would like to see answered...

-Chris