Oracle Oracle Video Server User manual

Oracle Video Server
Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
Release 3.0
February, 1998
Part No. A55979-02

Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
Part No. A55979-02
Release 3.0
Copyright © 1996, 1998, Oracle Corporation. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.A
Primary Author: John Dowden
Contributors: Brian Adams, Robert Baller, Kim Bartlett, Jean Giarrusso, Stefan Jones, Lesley Kew, Mason
Ng, Mine Ogura, Charles Prael, Matt Prather, Bob Sigmon, Pari Tajiki, Michael Short, Manish Upendran,
Shiu Wong, John Zussman
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iii
Contents
Send Us Your Comments.................................................................................................................... v
Preface........................................................................................................................................................... vii
1Overview
What is Oracle Video Server Manager?.......................................................................................... 1-2
Why Use Oracle Video Server Manager?....................................................................................... 1-2
The Oracle Video Server System Architecture.............................................................................. 1-3
Tier 1: Client.................................................................................................................................. 1-4
Tier 2: Application Server............................................................................................................ 1-4
Tier 3: Data Server........................................................................................................................ 1-4
Video Server Manager Communication Paths.............................................................................. 1-5
Oracle Video Server Content Model............................................................................................... 1-6
Content Layers.............................................................................................................................. 1-6
Running OVS without a Database ............................................................................................. 1-8
Registering Content...................................................................................................................... 1-8
2 Installation and Startup
System Requirements........................................................................................................................ 2-2
Installing Oracle Video Server Manager........................................................................................ 2-2
Starting Video Server Manager........................................................................................................ 2-4
Creating a Video Server Manager Shortcut on the Windows Desktop.................................... 2-5

iv
3 Using Oracle Video Server Manager
Video Server Manager Console........................................................................................................ 3-2
Menu bar........................................................................................................................................ 3-3
Toolbar............................................................................................................................................ 3-4
Navigator Tree .............................................................................................................................. 3-5
Creating a Split View in the Navigator Tree ..................................................................... 3-6
Detail Pane..................................................................................................................................... 3-7
Summary Tables .................................................................................................................... 3-8
Property Sheets...................................................................................................................... 3-9
Status bar........................................................................................................................................ 3-9
Video Server Manager Online Help.............................................................................................. 3-10
4 Monitoring and Managing an Oracle Video Server System
Video Server Manager Task Reference........................................................................................... 4-2
Index

Send Us Your Comments
Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager, Release 3.0
Part No. A55979-02
Oracle Corporation welcomes your comments and suggestions on the quality and usefulness of this
publication. Your input is an important part of the information used for revision.
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vi

vii
Preface
Oracle Video Server Manager™ (VSM) is a graphical, Java-based application that
enables you to monitor and manage multiple instances of the Oracle Video
Server™ and its clients. Compliant with Oracle’s Network Computing
Architecture™ (NCA), the Oracle Video Server Manager is your best tool for
monitoring and managing the Oracle Video Server system.
This guide discusses:
■general concepts underlying Oracle Video Server Manager and Oracle’s
Network Computing Architecture
■system requirements and how to start the VSM console
■how to navigate and use the VSM console
■the types of administrative tasks that you can perform with VSM
This Preface provides the following topics:
■Audience
■Structure
■Conventions Used in this Guide
■Online Documentation
■Related Documents

viii
Audience This guide is intended for anyone who is planning to use the Oracle Video Server
Manager to monitor and manage the Oracle Video Server.
This guide assumes that you are familiar with the Microsoft Windows and UNIX
operating systems.
Structure Please read this guide in its entirety before using this product. This guide contains
these chapters:
Conventions Used in this Guide
This section describes the command and platform conventions used in this guide.
Command Conventions
This guide documents parts of the Oracle Video Server Manager graphical user
interface:
■Buttons, icons, and dialog box names appear in boldface.
■Menu commands appear in boldface with the name of the menu and the name
of the command separated by a vertical bar, menu | command.
This guide also uses commands from UNIX C-shell. UNIX keywords appear in
boldface and UNIX parameters appear in italics.
Chapter 1 Overview: provides a brief explanation of Oracle Video
Server Manager and the Oracle Video Server system
architecture.
Chapter 2 Installation and Startup: describes how to install and start
the Oracle Video Server Manager console.
Chapter 3 Using Oracle Video Server Manager: tells you how to
navigate and use the Video Server Manager graphical user
interface.
Chapter 4 Monitoring and Managing an Oracle Video Server System:
describes the types of administrative tasks that you can
perform with Oracle Video Server Manager.

ix
Platform Conventions
The Oracle Video Server Manager client can operate on several different platforms.
This guide specifies Windows 95 path names. For example, the default Oracle
home directory for Windows 95 is C:\orawin95. If you are using a different
platform, interpret the directory and file path names that reflect your installation.
Likewise, the screen representations in this guide reflect the Windows 95
environment. On different platforms, dialog boxes and windows appear slightly
different, but contain the same information as those presented in this guide.
Online Documentation
The Oracle Video Server Manager documentation is available online. Online
documentation is provided in AdobeAcrobat(PDF) files, which are readable
with Adobe Acrobat Readerand when printed appear exactly like the bound
versions of the documentation.
The online documentation is automatically installed on the Oracle Video Server
Manager machine in the following directory:
Windows 95/NT
c:\ORAWIN95\vsm30\doc (where C:\orawin95 is the default product location)
UNIX
$ORACLE_HOME/vs30/doc/pdf
Installing Adobe Acrobat Reader
For Windows 95/NT clients, the Acrobat Reader is automatically installed during
the Oracle Video Server Manager installation.
To install the Acrobat Reader on a Solaris machine:
1. Mount the Oracle Video Server distribution CD-ROM as root.
2. Change directory to /cdrom/ovs/ovsdoc/acroread.
3. Use the install script to install Acrobat Reader.

x
Viewing the Online Documentation
To view the VSM online documentation from a Windows 95/NT machine, select
Programs|Oracle Video Server|OVS Road Map from the Windows Start menu.
To view the VSM online documentation from a Solaris machine, type:
% $ORACLE_HOME/vs30/doc/pdf/roadmap.pdf &
Related Documents
Refer to the Oracle Video Server Road Map to find documents related to this release of
the Oracle Video Server Manager.
Your Comments Are Welcome
We value and appreciate your comments as an Oracle user and reader of the
manuals. As we write, revise, and evaluate our documentation, your opinions are
the most important input we receive. Our Send Us Your Comments form is at the
front of the manual, at the end of the table of contents. We encourage you to use
this form to tell us what you like and dislike about this manual or other Oracle
manuals. If the form is not available, please use the following address or FAX
number.
Oracle Video Server Documentation Manager
Oracle Corporation
500 Oracle Parkway
Box 6OP5
Redwood Shores, CA 94065
U.S.A.
FAX: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]

Overview 1-1
1
Overview
This chapter covers these topics:
■What is Oracle Video Server Manager?
■Why Use Oracle Video Server Manager?
■The Oracle Video Server System Architecture
■Oracle Video Server Content Model

What is Oracle Video Server Manager?
1-2 Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
What is Oracle Video Server Manager?
The Oracle Video Server Manager (VSM) is a graphical, Java-based software
solution that simplifies the management of distributed multimedia servers and
clients in heterogeneous environments. VSM offers the following features and
benefits:
■Centralized management of distributed systems: VSM can monitor multiple
instances of the Oracle Video Server and its clients from one location, reducing
product and overhead costs.
■User-friendly graphical user interface: The VSM Java console provides an
easy-to-use graphical user interface that is designed to enable you to effectively
manage the system quickly, with a minimum of training.
■Integration with Oracle’s Network Computing Architecture: Oracle’s NCA is
a comprehensive, open, network-based architecture that provides extensibility
for distributed environments. For more information about Oracle’s NCA, visit
the Oracle web site at http://www.oracle.com/nca.
Why Use Oracle Video Server Manager?
As you write and deploy multimedia business applications in client/server
environments, system administration becomes increasingly challenging. With the
new generation of multimedia servers, you are responsible for managing a highly
divergent and ever-growing combination of servers, clients, and data. You must
have an easy-to-use, effective, integrated set of tools that can manage local and
remote multimedia systems from a single location.
The Oracle Video Server Manager (VSM) is the fastest and most efficient way to
manage multimedia content and services throughout your Oracle Video Server
(OVS) system. VSM simplifies routine OVS administrative tasks, enabling you to be
more productive. From the VSM console, you can:
■start and stop individual OVS instances
■view the status of critical OVS services
■monitor and/or manage several OVS functions and components:
–Logical content, clips, and programs
–OVS clients
–Oracle Media Data Store (MDS) volumes, disks, and files
–Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM) tapes and files

The Oracle Video Server System Architecture
Overview 1-3
–Real-time feeds
■load and register content
■play videos
For a complete list of the administrative tasks that you can perform from VSM,
refer to Chapter 4, Monitoring and Managing an Oracle Video Server System, or
the VSM online help.
The Oracle Video Server System Architecture
The Oracle Video Server system is fully compliant with Oracle’s Network
Computing Architecture, offering a scalable, object-oriented architecture, which
consists of three tiers:
■Tier 1: Client
■Tier 2: Application Server
■Tier 3: Data Server
Figure 1-1 illustrates where each of the OVS system components resides in this
three-tier architecture. For a more detailed description of the components of the
Oracle Video Server system, refer to Introducing Oracle Video Server.
Figure 1–1 Oracle Video Server System Architecture

The Oracle Video Server System Architecture
1-4 Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
Tier 1: Client The client tier resides completely on the client machine(s) and consists of the
following components:
■Oracle Video Server Manager: The Oracle Video Server Manager console is a
Java application that gives you point-and-click control over OVS services,
clients, and content.
■Oracle Video Client: The Oracle Video Client software enables you to develop
interactive, video-based multimedia applications for such uses as computer-
based training, interactive kiosks, corporate repositories, and Web sites. The
Oracle Video Client software provides several tools to help you build and view
client video applications. For more information about the Oracle Video Client,
refer to the Oracle Video Client Developer’s Guide.
Tier 2: Application Server
The Application Server tier consists of the following components:
■Oracle Video Server: The Oracle Video Server is an end-to-end software
solution for networked client-server computers which store, manage, deliver,
and display digital video on demand. The Oracle Video Server is supported on
a variety of server platforms and scales to many users.
■Oracle Video Server Cartridges: A cartridge is a manageable object that “plugs
into” and extends the functionality of another piece of software. Cartridges use
an IDL (Interface Definition Language), a language-neutral interface, that
allows the cartridge to identify itself to other objects in a distributed system.
Any customer or vendor can write a cartridge or service that plugs into the Ora-
cle Video Server system. For example, a real-time encoding vendor might write
an encoder cartridge that integrates with the Oracle Video Server, as shown in
Figure 1–1.
Tier 3: Data Server
The Data Server machine contains the target service(s) which the client needs to
access to get application-specific data. In the Oracle Video Server system
environment, the Server tier consists of the Oracle database (optional). A database
is a set of dictionary tables and user tables that are treated as a unit. The OVS
system can use the Oracle database to write and query database tables associated
with OVS processes, including logical content, clips, and broadcast programs.

Video Server Manager Communication Paths
Overview 1-5
For Oracle Video Server Manager, the target service is the Oracle Video Server
(which resides on the Application Server) and its connected clients, as well as the
Oracle database.
Video Server Manager Communication Paths
This section describes how Video Server Manager (VSM) communicates with the
Oracle Video Server (OVS). The numbered steps in this section refer to the
communication path segments illustrated in Figure 1–2.
1. The user makes an HTTP request from VSM to OVS.
2. OVS collects the requested data or executes the requested command,
communicating with the Oracle Media Data Store (MDS) or database as
necessary.
3. OVS communicates with the Oracle database to resolve logical content
references.
4. OVS returns the data to VSM, displaying the requested information, or
indicates that the requested operation was performed.
Figure 1–2 VSM Communication Paths

Oracle Video Server Content Model
1-6 Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
Oracle Video Server Content Model
Oracle Video Server (OVS) offers both physical and logical control of all content
that is stored in the Oracle Video Server system. To harness the flexibility and
control that this content model offers, you must understand the different layers of
content that are available in the OVS environment.
Content LayersThe OVS content model consists of the following layers:
■Content Files: files that OVS stores and delivers to clients. Content files can
contain video and/or audio and are created through a process called encoding.
For more information on the types of content files that OVS supports, refer to
“Codecs, Containers, and Frameworks” in Chapter 3.
■Tag Files: a physical file that stores metadata and header information about a
given piece of content, such as the file’s name, format, bit rate, and size. Tag
files also store information about individual video frames, which is not stored
in the database. Tag files must have an .mpi extension.
■Physical Content: a database object that contains the same header and
metadata information found in a tag file.
■Clips: a logical excerpt from a content file. Each clip corresponds to only one
content file. Clips map to a specific start and stop position (in seconds) within a
content file.
■Logical content: a collection of video clips that are played in a pre-defined
sequence.
Logical content, clips, and physical content are all objects that are stored
persistently in the Oracle database. Video Server Manager enables you to create,
edit, and remove these objects, thereby protecting the physical data that is stored in
the Oracle Media Data Store (MDS).
In contrast, tag files and content files are physical data files which are stored in the
MDS. For each content file that you load into the MDS, you must create a tag file
and store it in the MDS with the content file.
Figure 1–3 illustrates the relationship between the different OVS content layers.

Oracle Video Server Content Model
Overview 1-7
Figure 1–3 Oracle Video Server Content Layers

Oracle Video Server Content Model
1-8 Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
Running OVS without a Database
If you are running OVS without an Oracle database, the content model changes
slightly. When OVS is invoked without a database, the content service obtains
content data directly from the tag file headers stored in the MDS. Thus, there are no
clips or logical content in a system that does not have a database.
When OVS is running without a database, Video Server Manager still enables you
to monitor the physical content (metadata and header information). However,
logical content and clips are not available in this scenario.
Registering Content
In the OVS environment, the process of creating tag files and creating the logical
content, clip, and physical content objects in the database is called registering.
For more information on how to register content from Video Server Manager, refer
to the VSM online Help.

Installation and Startup 2-1
2
Installation and Startup
The server and client components of the Oracle Video Server Manager (VSM) are
separately-installed options of your Oracle Video Server system.
The server-side components of the Oracle Video Server Manager are installed with
the Oracle Video Server software. For system requirements and instructions for the
server-side VSM installation, refer to the Oracle Video Server Installation Guide for
your server platform.
This chapter provides instructions for installing and starting the VSM console and
other client-side components of the Oracle Video Server Manager.
This chapter contains the following sections:
■System Requirements
■Installing Oracle Video Server Manager
■Starting Video Server Manager
■Creating a Video Server Manager Shortcut on the Windows Desktop
Note: If you chose to install Oracle Video Server Manager on
your video server machine, the Oracle Video Server Manager
console was installed automatically. For instructions on how to
start VSM, refer to “Starting Video Server Manager” later in this
chapter.

System Requirements
2-2 Getting Started with Oracle Video Server Manager
System Requirements
To install and use the Oracle Video Server Manager console on a Windows
machine, you need the following resources.
■VGA video (SVGA strongly recommended), minimum screen resolution of
800x600
■32 megabytes RAM
■Microsoft Windows 95 with Service Pack 1 or Windows NT 4.0 with Service
Pack 3
■TCP/IP services
■Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 1.1.5
■Oracle Video Client 3.0.3 (if you want the ability to play video)
■CD-ROM drive
■Hard disk space:
–Oracle Video Server Manager: 2.3 MB
–Oracle Video Server online documentation: 4 MB
–Oracle Video Client 3.0.3: 3.5 MB
–JRE 1.1.5: 4 MB
–Adobe Acrobat Reader 3.0: 4MB
Installing Oracle Video Server Manager
Follow these instructions to install the Oracle Video Server Manager console:
1. Start Windows 95/Windows NT 4.0. Close all other applications.
2. Insert the Oracle Video Server Manager CD into your CD-ROM drive.
3. Select the Run command from the Windows Start menu.
4. Type the following command in the Open box:
D:\SETUP.EXE
This assumes that your CD-ROM is your D: drive. If your CD-ROM drive uses
another name, substitute that in place of D: in this command.
5. InstallShield launches and presents you with the Welcome dialog box. Click Next.