Working with the administrative interfaces
There are two administrative interfaces for Windows Media Services: the Windows Media Services snap-in for Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and Windows Media Services Administrator for the Web, a Web-based administration interface that uses Active Server Pages (ASP) hosted by Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS).
The Windows Media Services user interfaces are divided into two parts: the console tree on the left and the details pane on the right. The console tree is organized as a hierarchy composed of group, server, and publishing point items. The information displayed in the details pane changes based on the item you click in the console tree.
If you click a server or a publishing point in the console tree, the details pane displays tabs that enable you to monitor and configure your server or publishing point. If you click a group or the Troubleshooting item in the console tree, the details pane shows a summary of relevant statistics for that item. The details pane has a row of buttons at the bottom that you can use to perform administrative tasks.
In addition to the console tree and details pane, the Windows Media Services snap-in also has four wizards to help you create publishing points, wrapper playlists, and announcement files.
Working with the console tree
The console tree can contain the following items:
- Servers. When you install Windows Media Services, your computer becomes the default Windows Media server. If you want to administer more than one Windows Media server using Windows Media Services, you can add additional servers to the console tree.
- Groups. If you are administering several Windows Media servers using the Windows Media Services snap-in, you can manage them more effectively by organizing them into groups. Each group should contain servers that need to be monitored and controlled together. A server can be a member of more than one group, if necessary.
- Troubleshooting. You can use the troubleshooting feature to identify problems or potential problems in your server operation. The Troubleshooting item provides a list of the most recent and error messages that have occurred since the Windows Media Services service was started.
- Cache/Proxy Management. significantly reduce the latency of your digital media content as well as the load on the origin server. When you click the Cache/Proxy Management item in the console tree, the details pane displays a page containing information about plug-ins and other tools that can help you manage your cache/proxy servers.
- Publishing Points. You can click the Publishing Points item to display a list of the names and statistics for all the publishing points hosted by a server. Each server can have one or more associated publishing points. By clicking an individual publishing point in the console tree, you can control and analyze the publishing point's activity by using the corresponding tabs in the details pane. A publishing point can operate by using one of two different methods: on-demand and broadcast. Each method provides the user with different types of content control and playback.
Working with the details pane
The details pane is the area of the interface used to perform tasks and monitor the operation of Windows Media servers. The contents of the details pane changes depending on the item you click in the console tree.
The details pane typically consists of several tabs. Each tab provides you with information and server management capabilities specific to certain aspects of server operation. The buttons at the bottom of the tab enable you to perform common server tasks.
Working with groups of servers
Each administrative interface handles the administration of multiple servers differently. The following list describes the differences:
- Windows Media Services snap-in. Multiple servers or groups can be added to or removed from the console tree. To administer a server, expand the server item in the console tree and click an item in the server list in order to view its statistics or configure its settings in the details pane. Both server and publishing point groups are available.
- Windows Media Services Administrator for the Web. On the Security Settings page that appears when Windows Media Services Administrator for the Web first starts, click Administer a list of Windows Media Servers. When the Administrator page opens, you can see the list of servers that are controlled by Windows Media Services Administrator for the Web. You can use the Add Server and Remove Server buttons to manage the list of servers. To administer a server, click a server listed on the server list page to display that server's administration page. To administer a different server, you must return to the server list page. For security reasons, you must use an authentication method other than NTLM that supports delegation in order to administer multiple Windows Media servers.
Working with wizards
In the Windows Media Services snap-in, four wizards are available to help you perform complex tasks. Each wizard takes you through a step by step process that helps you understand the operations you are performing.
- Add Publishing Point Wizard. This wizard helps you choose a content source and a distribution method. It can also help you create a playlist, log files, and archive files. If you do not want to use the wizard to create a publishing point or you want to include advanced features in your publishing point, you can use the Add Publishing Point (Advanced) command instead.
- Create Wrapper Wizard. This wizard helps you add advertising or other content to the start and end of your unicast broadcast.
- Unicast Announcement Wizard. This wizard helps you create an announcement file which can be used by unicast clients to access your publishing point. You can also use the wizard to create a simple Web page with an embedded link to your publishing point.
- Multicast Announcement Wizard. This wizard helps you create an announcement file and a multicast information file that clients can use to connect to your multicast stream.
This section contains the following topics:
Note
- Cache/Proxy Management, multicast streaming and the Multicast Announcement Wizard are available only if Windows Media Services 9 Series is running on the following editions of the operating system: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition. If you are running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition, these features are not supported.
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