Table of Contents

1. Introduction

2. Virtual Machines Architecture

3. Network Architecture

4. Machine Configuration

5. Hosting VMs in Hyper-V

6. Hosting VMs in VMware

7. How to Use VIDIZMO

8. How to Use ECDN

9. How to Use Multicast 

10. Licensing & Activation

1. Introduction

VIDIZMO application can be installed on a VM and hosted in On-Premise or On Cloud data centers. To make it easier for IT, we are giving out pre-configured VIDIZMO VMs with all the VIDIZMO components loaded in them. This makes it a lot easier for any IT team or personnel to deploy, host and kick start VIDIZMO. 

This article describes how the VMs are configured, what components they each carry, their network configuration and what it'll all take to deploy them and recreate the entire environment. If you want to skip to the download section, please scroll all the way down or click here.

You don't necessarily have to download and setup all the VMs, depending on your scenario, you can get away by downloading just one VM. 

2. Virtual Machines Architecture

There are a total of 3 VMs that make up the entire environment. These VMs have a different set of components installed to perform different roles. Their names are VidAppDemo, VidOriginDemo, and VidEdgeDemo. 

i. VidAppDemo

VidAppDemo is the main server that has all the major VIDIZMO components installed in it. In fact, it is a completely independent VM and provides almost all of the VIDIZMO functionalities. It has following components:

• Web Application: This is the Web interface of VIDIZMO, used for uploading media, setting up ECDN, Publishing Points, or to schedule Live Webcasts. You can also use Web Application to create specific domains or sub-domains for Channels, marketing site URLs, Tiny URL custom domain, Marketplace domain, and secure Channel domains.
• Content Provider: This component lets you broadcast and serve Live or On-Demand content from VIDIZMO so you can position content closer to your viewers, and eliminate WAN overload. VIDIZMO uses either Microsoft Azure Blob storage or Local CDN to store its content.

Click here to learn more about How To Configure Content Providers And Hosting.

• Encoding Provider: For your On-Premises deployment, VIDIZMO's Encoding Provider component provides multi-protocol, multi-bitrate, secure content delivery making sure video content never leaves your firewall. 
• Reporting Engine: Reporting Engine component in the VidAppDemo VM is used for reports generated in VIDIZMO. VIDIZMO supports standard reports, customized reports, ad-hoc reports, running reports online, running reports via batch job, and reports for any data element stored within the system. Reports can also be exported to other applications like Excel and PDF or other formats.
• Services: VIDIZMO is based on a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), where the application components provide services to other components via a communications protocol, typically over a network. The principles of Service-Orientation are independent of any vendor, product or technology so you can communicate to VIDIZMO using any technology, product or vendor.
  WCF Services are the core components and forms the business layer of VIDIZMO which provides business rules and restrictions at a central point. It consists of the following five services which perform different operations based on their operational work areas:

i. MashupInfoManagement Service

ii. UserInfoManagement Service

iii. ContentInfoManagement Service

iv. CampaignInfoManagement Service

v. EnterpriseLIcense Service (EnterpriseLicenseActivation + EnterpriseLicense)

• Database: VIDIZMO has advanced asset management tools to develop and organize a large database of current and future (incoming) content and supports MS SQL 2008/2012 Express, Standard or Enterprise Edition depending on the customer's business needs.
  
  

ii. VidOriginDemo

VidOriginDemo is the VIDIZMO's Streaming Server and also has the Multicast Streaming Server installed on it which uses Windows Media Services. 

Depending on your deployment scenario, VIDIZMO Streaming Server can be implemented as the VIDIZMO ECDN Edge Node/Origin. For customers with geographically dispersed viewers on multiple locations with varying bandwidth limits, VIDIZMO Streaming Server accelerates the delivery of video content through a process called HTTP caching, where the content is stored on multiple edge nodes of a content distribution network (ECDN). Multiple VIDIZMO Streaming Servers can be installed as either a central Origin (where all content originates) server or Edge Nodes that are installed on each location facing bandwidth challenges. 

For demo purposes, Windows 2008 is used so as to provide VIDIZMO Streaming Engine as well as Multicast Streaming capability on the same VM.

To learn more, please click on Understanding VIDIZMO ECDN.

iii. VidEdgeDemo

The third VM is the VidEdgeDemo. Used as a standalone server, it provides basic live video streaming capability for live events, by providing a publishing point to live encoders on one hand and a playback URL for VIDIZMO Player on the other. All viewer devices connect to this VIDIZMO Streaming Server for playback of the live stream. Note that by default in VIDIZMO, on-demand video is streamed directly from the Content Provider which acts as the Origin. This means that a standalone VIDIZMO Streaming Server is only limited for live streaming.

All of these VMs are built on Hyper-V and can be hosted on Windows 2012 or Windows 2016. 

3. Network Architecture

These VMs have been configured using Dynamic IP address, and as long as there's a reachable DHCP server that can issue them IP, they should be able to communicate over the network. To communicate internally or with each other, they use the name of the machine like VidApp. Therefore changing names of the windows machine will give unexpected results. 

4. Machine Configuration

i. VidAppDemo

Following are the minimum requirements:

• Windows Server 2012 R2/2016 Standard Edition VM with a minimum of 8GB RAM, 4 Core CPU, 25 GB VHD.
  • IIS 8.5 or greater
  • Microsoft Office 2013/2016 Professional
  • Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5.2
  • Microsoft Windows Management Framework 5.1
  • SQL Reporting Services

ii. VidOriginDemo

• VM with a minimum of 8 GB RAM, 4 Core CPU, 16 GB VHD.
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition (For Multicast Support)
  • Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5.2 (Full Version)
  • Microsoft Windows Management Framework 5.1
    

iii. VidEdgeDemo

• VM with a minimum of 8 GB RAM, 4 Core CPU, 16 GB VHD.
  • Windows Server 2012 R2/2016 Standard Edition
  • Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5.2 (Full Version)
  • Microsoft Windows Management Framework 5.1

5. Hosting VMs in Hyper-V

1. From the Actions menu of the Hyper-V Manager, click on the Import Virtual Machine option. This will start the Import Virtual Machine Wizard.

2. The Import Virtual Machine wizard also walks you through the steps of addressing incompatibilities when you import the virtual machine to the new host—so this wizard can help with the configuration that is associated with physical hardware, such as memory, virtual switches, and virtual processors. 

To import a virtual machine, the wizard does the following:

• Creates a copy of the virtual machine configuration file. This is done as a precaution in case an unexpected restart occurs on the host, such as from a power outage.
• Validates hardware. Information in the virtual machine configuration file is compared to hardware on the new host.
• Compiles a list of errors. This list identifies what needs to be reconfigured and determines which pages appear next in the wizard.
• Displays the relevant pages, one category at a time. The wizard explains each incompatibility to help you reconfigure the virtual machine so it is compatible with the new host.
• Removes the copy of the configuration file. After the wizard does this, the virtual machine is ready to be started.

Click on the Next button to continue:

3. Browse to the location to specify the folder containing the VM. Click on the Next button to continue:

4. Select the VM to import and click on the Next button to continue:

5. On the next screen, as shown below, you have three options to choose the type of import. Select the option "Copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID)". 

Click on the Next button to continue.

Hyper-V offers three import types:

Register in-place – This type assumes export files are in the location where you'll store and run the virtual machine. The imported virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, if the virtual machine is already registered with Hyper-V, it needs to be deleted before the import will work. When the import has completed, the export files become the running state files and can't be removed.

Restore the virtual machine – Restore the virtual machine to a location you choose or use the default to Hyper-V. This import type creates a copy of the exported files and moves them to the selected location. When imported, the virtual machine has the same ID as it did at the time of export. Because of this, if the virtual machine is already running in Hyper-V, it needs to be deleted before the import can be completed. When the import has completed, the exported files remain intact and can be removed or imported again.

Copy the virtual machine – This is similar to the Restore type in that you select a location for the files. The difference is that the imported virtual machine has a new unique ID, which means you can import the virtual machine to the same host multiple times.

6. The next screen asks for the folder to store the VM. You can leave these setting as default to store the VM in the Hyper-V directory or specify a different location.

To specify a different location, use the checkbox for "Store the virtual machine in a different location" and provide or browse to the desired location.

Click on the Next button to continue.

7. Browse and choose the storage folder for the Virtual Hard Disk.

Click on the Next button to continue. 

8. The Import Wizard may prompt you to select a Virtual Switch to establish a connection between the servers. Select the appropriate switch when prompted for it:

9. The Import Virtual Machine Wizard processes the information and prepares to import the files. 

10. When the Wizard completes copying the files, it displays a summary of the process, which may take a while depending upon the size of the VM.

To complete and close the Wizard, click on the Finish button when it becomes available.

6. Hosting VMs in VMware

Use the VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Client to host VIDIZMO's Virtual Machines on your VMware Server. In our example, we have used VMware ESXi 5 to host the VIDIZMO VMs.

The steps below will walk you through to the process of setting up the VIDIZMO VMs.

1. Launch your VMware vSphere Client making sure you are connected to the correct DataStore in the VMware Workstation. You can check the selected DataStore by:

    1. Selecting the Server

    2. Navigating to the Configuration tab to list the available DataStores.

2. Next, launch the VMware vCenter Converter Standalone Client to start your VM configuration and hosting process. 

Click on the Convert Machine link as shown below:

3. From the next screen, select your source machine.

1. Use the Powered Off option and from the drop-down, select "VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine."

2. Use the Browse button to navigate and select the source VIDIZMO VM. 

Note: Make sure your source machine is powered off.

3. Then, click on the Next button to proceed. The Next button becomes available once the file selection field is populated: 

4. Once the wizard completes retrieving the source information, the wizard proceeds to the next screen to select a host for the new virtual machine.

On this screen, you will need to provide the Destination Type and the Server details.

Click on the Next button to continue:

5. The Destination Virtual Machine becomes available as soon as the wizard is able to verify the server credentials: 

6. Select the Destination Location (DataStore) for the new virtual machine. Click on the Next button to continue:

7. The next screen allows you to set up parameters for the conversion task. Once done, click Next to continue: 

 

7. How to use VIDIZMO

Make sure to follow these steps once the copying process is complete:

1. Turn on the machine:

    Right click on the Imported VM and select the "Start" option. It will assume the "Running State" when started.

2. Access the VMs to check if they are running properly:

i. Application Server

Sign-in using the following URL:

http://Vidappdemo/main/Signin.aspx

This will bring up the home page from where you can sign-in to the Vidizmo Application.

Click on the Signin link on the top right-hand corner to bring up the following screen.

To obtain default login credentials, please contact support@vidizmo.com.

Use the following links to learn more about VIDIZMO:

- Understanding VIDIZMO Account and Channel

- Understanding General Settings

- How To Upload Media

- How To Manage Uploaded Media

- How To Setup Media Availability

- Understanding VIDIZMO Playback

- VIDIZMO Custom Branding

ii. Streaming Servers

Similarly, for the Origin Server and the Edge Node, use the following URLs:

http://VidOriginDemo:8083

http://VidEdgeDemo:8083

This will bring up the ECDN Control Panel for the respective Server.

Proceed to the Login screen and log in to your Server, making sure to use the same credentials with VIDIZMO Administrative privileges, which you used for the VIDIZMO Application:

The default credentials are the same as the application server.

8. How to Use ECDN

In VIDIZMO, the ECDN is a complete Add-on Solution comprising of different components consisting of ECDN Management, an Origin Server, and Edge Servers.

i. ECDN Management

This module, installed centrally, is VIDIZMO platform's built-in module which contains the Location Management and Streaming Server Management. Streaming Servers can either be Origin or Edge type Servers and are described below.

ii. Location Management

VIDIZMO ECDN Management is where Edge nodes are setup from the application. ECDN in VIDIZMO is setup by associating it with a location so that when users come from a specific location, they get served by that ECDN Node being setup. Thus the location, which is bound to a Subnet, helps the ECDN to interpret the user's IP dynamically and figure out the location to serve the content.

To learn more on how Locations are setup in VIDIZMO, click here on How to Setup Locations. 

Click here to learn more on How To Setup VIDIZMO ECDN.

Click here on How VIDIZMO ECDN Provides Fallback During Live Streaming for more details on how locations are used to reroute the user to capture the nearest stream.

iii. ECDN Origin

The Origin server is the main server deployed for the purpose of serving Live or On-Demand digital content. For scale and resilience, a number of Origin Servers can be deployed, each configured to run as a Live Origin server or for On-Demand content delivery. Click on Using ECDN for Live Streaming over Intranet / WAN section to learn more about the number of ways Live and On-Demand Origin Servers work.

iv. Edge Nodes

Edge nodes are the interface between the Origin Server and the outside network. These Edge Nodes provide data to caches and are deployed in a hierarchy to allow tiered caching.

VIDIZMO Edge Nodes can be configured to serve on the basis of user's geographical location, thus making content available from the servers that fall within their proximity. Some of the key benefits of such a deployment include:

1. User proximity allows greater response and latency time.
2. Allows increased download speeds and less likelihood of errors over a shorter distance, thus providing file integrity.
3. With Multiple locations, there is less likelihood of bandwidth congestion from multiple requests.

9. How to Use Multicast 

 VIDIZMO supports IP Multicast technology which reduces traffic by simultaneously delivering a single stream of information to potentially thousands of corporate recipients. 

Multicast is a very specific implementation and for it to stream successfully, it is essential that all nodes and devices (switches, routers etc.) in the network, from the server to client, should all be Multicast enabled.

To learn more about Multicast Streaming, click here on How To Setup Multicast Using Windows Media Server.

Use the following links to learn more about VIDIZMO ECDN, Publishing Points, and Live Streaming:

- How To Setup VIDIZMO ECDN

- How To Set up Publishing Point For Live Steaming In VIDIZMO

- How To Schedule A Live Webcast In VIDIZMO

- How To Configure Live Streaming Using Multicast

- How To Capture Live Streams Using Wirecast
- How To Setup Multicast Using Windows Media Server
- How To Setup Live Streams Using Azure Media Services (AMS)
- How To Setup Live Stream Using Wowza Streaming Cloud

10. Licensing and Validity of the Servers

VIDIZMO Application Server and the Streaming Servers come with a 30 Day VIDIZMO Trial License. To upgrade your license, please contact your account manager or VIDIZMO implementation support team for more details.

Each machine also has the following Trial Versions installed:

For more details, please contact VIDIZMO Support on support@vidizmo.com.