Creating a Channel

Before creating a channel, you should have the following information at hand:

• Stream Formats. A stream format includes information about the stream, such as what types of media it contains and what codec it uses. The channel management tool automatically generates stream formats from several sources. For a channel that streams live content from the Real-Time Encoder, use the Active Streaming description file (.asd) generated by the Real-Time Encoder for the stream to specify the channel's stream format. For a channel that streams a stored Active Streaming format file (.asf), use the .asf file to specify the stream format. You can also add stream formats from other channel files (.nsc). In order to create the channel, you must have the correct source file available to define the stream format.
• Multicast IP Address and Port. You should know which multicast IP address and port you want to use for the multicast. For more information on IP addresses and ports, see Setting Multicast Destination IP Address and Port.
• Multicast Scope. The time-to-live value for a multicast determines how widely the multicast travels on the network. You should know how far you want the multicast to reach and what value you should use for the time-to-live. For more information on setting the scope of multicasts, see Setting Multicast Scope.
• Channel File URL. The channel file URL specifies the network location from which clients retrieve the .nsc file containing channel information. Before you create a channel, you should decide where you will store channel files. Typically, this storage location is a publishing point on your HTTP server. You should create the publishing point and its storage location. When you create the channel, specify the URL for this publishing point as the channel file URL. After you finish creating the channel, export the channel information to the storage location as an .nsc file.
• Unicast URL. The unicast URL specifies the NetShow server and publishing point to which clients automatically connect to receive streams by means of unicast if they are unable to receive the multicast. Provided that the NetShow player is configured to use additional protocols, when the player is not able to receive the multicast, it automatically tries to make a unicast connection using the MMS protocol over UDP. If that fails, it tries using the MMS protocol over TCP. If that also fails, it tries to connect using HTTP.

  To set up a channel to use this feature, you must create a unicast publishing point that references the stream coming from the NetShow channel. For more information on using publishing points, see Using Publishing Points.

The channel wizard will guide you through the creation of channels. To use the wizard, make sure the Use the channel wizard when creating a new channel check box is selected, and then click New.

To create a channel without the wizard, click the wizard box to remove the check mark, and use the following procedure.

To create a channel

1. Under Channels, click Configure Channels.

   

2. Click New.

   

3. In the Name box, type a name for the channel.
4. In the Description box, type a description of the channel. A description is optional.
5. In the Contact Address box, type the postal address information for the channel administrator. Address information is optional.
6. In the Contact Phone box, type the phone number for the channel administrator. A phone number is optional.
7. In the Contact E-Mail box, type the e-mail address for the channel administrator. An e-mail address is optional.
8. If you are going to multicast using this channel, enter the IP address in the Multicast IP box, and then enter the port in the Port box.

   For more information about multicast IP addresses and ports, see Setting Multicast Destination IP Address and Port.

9. To set the scope of the multicast, enter the time-to-live value in the TTL box.

   For more information on setting the scope of a multicast, see Setting Multicast Scope.

10. If your computer has more than one network adapter, select the address of the adapter to use for multicasts in the Adapter Address box. If your computer has only one adapter, leave the selection at default.
11. To allow clients that cannot receive the multicast to connect to a unicast of the channel's stream, specify the appropriate URL in the Unicast URL box.

    The URL specifies the protocol, and the NetShow server and publishing point where clients can connect. Use the MMS protocol. For example:
    mms://servername/pubpointalias

    For more information on using publishing points, see Using Publishing Points.

12. To allow clients to retrieve channel information, specify the appropriate URL in the Channel File URL box.

    Channel information is stored as a file and the file must be available to clients. In most cases, the file should be made available on a publishing point on your HTTP server. The URL specifies the protocol, the server name, the publishing point, and the channel file name. For example: http://httpserver/httppubpoint/channel2.nsc

    If you are using NetShow on a corporate network, you can also store the file on a shared directory on a server. In this case, you can specify the location using a UNC path, for example: \\servername\sharename\channel2.nsc

13. You can use the channel to multicast, to distribute a stream to other NetShow servers, or to perform both tasks.
    • To multicast using the channel, click Enable Multicast.
    • To use the channel to distribute streams to additional NetShow servers, click Enable Distribution.
    • To enable both multicasting and distribution, click Both.
14. To archive all ASF streams played on the channel by automatically saving them to ASF files, click Enable AutoArchive. Then specify the maximum size for each file. If you administering the local server, click Select Auto Archive Directory to select a directory in which to store files. If you are administering a remote server, type the directory path in the Archive Dir box.

    

    Each stream will be saved as a separate ASF file. The file name is automatically generated using the channel name and the stream ID.

    If you are administering a remote NetShow server, make sure that the path you specify already exists on the remote computer.

15. Under Stream Formats, click Add to add the stream formats used by this channel. For live multicasts, use the .asd file created for the stream using the Real-Time Encoder. For stored multicasts, specify the name of the .asf file you are streaming. You can also add stream format information from another channel you created by specifying the channel's .nsc file.

    

16. In the Add Stream Format File dialog box, type the path and name of the .asd, .asf, or .nsc file whose stream format you want to use in the File name box. Or you can use the controls in the dialog box to browse for and select a file.
17. Click Open.

    To view details of a stream format, double-click the stream name in the list.

18. If the channel is to be used for multicasting, a message prompts you to export the channel to a file. Click Yes to export the channel.
19. In the Export a channel dialog box, the channel name appears in the File Name box. Click Save. You can also use the controls in the dialog box to browse for a location to save the file.

    

    Make sure the channel file name matches the channel file name you specified in step 12.

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