ISP Hosting features provide a way to allot connections to users. If you are an Internet Service Provider (ISP), you can host streaming media on behalf of your customers.
RealServer works with your existing user accounts and directory structure to make users' media files available for streaming. You allocate a minimum and maximum number of connections for each account, based on the number of streams permitted by your license. Allocating on a per-connection basis, rather than by stream, ensures that all files, including SMIL files which reference multiple streams, will always be served.
User account information is stored in a text file, which lists pathing and connection information. List all user account information in a single file, or use separate files to make management easier. Within the user list file, create customized account path and connection information. Or, create a single entry that applies to all user accounts.
Take advantage of the RealServer 8 file system to store users' content in any directory, in any location.
Links to hosted content have the following format if used in a Web page:
http://server.example.com/ramgen/~username/filename.rm
The link which RealServer uses, or which you can type directly into RealPlayer, has the following format:
rtsp://server.example.com/~username/filename.rm
When RealServer receives a request for streaming media, it looks at user account information, stored in user list files, to determine which user is hosting the requested content.
User list files can list account information separately for each user, or can give generic information that applies to all users.
Each account has three items associated with it:
Account information is stored in text files, called user list files. You can put all information into a single file or use separate files to make organization easier.
Each account has a reserved number of connections and a maximum number of connections associated with it. The user list file can contain a generic account description that applies to all users, specific instructions about certain accounts, or a combination of the two.
The maximum setting refers to the highest number of connections that will be available for a particular customer's content. Anyone who tries to watch a clip after that account's maximum number of connections are in use will receive an error message, even if connections are available to other accounts.
The number of connections reserved for ISP hosting depends on the type of user record within the user list file:
If you use a combination of account descriptions, be sure to read both topics in this section.
The reserved setting ensures that the specified number of connections will always be available to clients that attempt to view a particular user's hosted media.
All reserved connections are subtracted from the overall number of connections available to RealServer. The remaining connections are available for non-ISP-hosted content, or for hosted content that hasn't yet been requested. For example, if your RealServer is licensed for 50 connections, and you reserve 20 connections through the ISP hosting feature, there are 30 connections available for general use. RealServer can use those remaining connections for streaming regular clips, or for users of ISP-hosted material that isn't yet reserved.
Reserved connections are only activated for accounts listed in the user files, and are activated as soon as RealServer starts.
Users whose accounts are not specifically listed in the user list file default to the generic account description.
For accounts not described in the user list file, minimum connections are not reserved until content is played from a user's account.
It is possible to reserve more connections than are included in your license. In this case, connections are distributed on a first come, first served basis.
For example, if your RealServer is licensed for 50 connections, and you create a generic account that reserves a minimum of 3 connections for all 25 customers, all the connections will be reserved for ISP hosting customers. Since 75 connections are reserved, but only 50 connections are available, the first 50 customers who connect will be able to play content, but anyone connecting after that will not.
Users inherit many features of your RealServer: hosting of on-demand content, and access control are available.
Authentication of users' content, and features related to live material, such as broadcasting of live content, splitting, and multicasting, are not available for hosted material.
As the administrator, you are able to view how many clients are connected to all material served by your RealServer, using Java Monitor. In order to discern which material belongs to users, you must examine the paths of the individual clips in use. You also can see which clips have been served by reading the access log file.
RealProxy is able to cache your users' content, just as it can cache any on-demand files served by this RealServer.
Like any content it serves, RealServer creates a record for each file it serves in the access log. The fourth field in each record of the access log, identified by the GET statement, lists the path and filename of each clip served. Compare this information to the path information you've set up to determine how many clips have been streamed from each account.
In most cases, RealServer creates one record for each clip served. However, SMIL presentations served from your clients' accounts may generate more than one record. You can see which records are part of a SMIL presentation by looking at the final number in the record (present if Logging Style is 5). These numbers will match if they are from the same SMIL presentation. See "SMIL Presentations, Ram Files, and Access Log Files".
The GET statement will include the ISP hosting mount point and the user's account name (beginning with the ~ character). For example, a file with the URL:
http://server.example.com/ramgen/~chris/file.rm
would appear in the access log as:
GET ~chris/file.rm
Because dedicated ISP hosting RealServers can only stream content for users, and not stream any other type of content, the access log will only show material streamed for ISP customers. The mount point will always appear.
The GET statements will show the directory portion of the URL.
A file with the following URL:
http://server.example.com:8080/ramgen/r/ra/rabrams/file.rm
would appear in the access log as:
GET r/ra/rabrams/file.rm
RealServer can be dedicated to only serving hosted content. If you use this option, RealServer cannot stream media files from any other directories.
This option requires that users' directories are arranged in a hierarchy. Features available in dedicated hosting are the same as in account-based hosting.
URLs used in this type of hosting have a different format. Rather than use a tilde (~) to alert RealServer to an upcoming ISP request, this method relies on a directory structure shown in the URL.
http://server.example.com/ramgen/s/sa/sandy/media/filename.rm
rtsp://server.example.com/s/sa/sandy/media/filename.rm
A comparison of the two styles is shown below. Use only one style on a particular RealServer.
If you used ISP Hosting in RealServer versions 3 through 5, you can still use the UserList from your previous configuration file. Refer to "Creating User Lists From Earlier Versions" for instructions on how to use your existing UserList.
Earlier versions of RealServer listed minimum and maximum settings for the number of streams available to each account. In RealServer version 8, those settings now refer to the number of connections available to each account. This enables customers to serve SMIL files-which may reference several streams simultaneously-without running out of streams.
This manual uses new terminology for the methods of referring to account structures described in previous editions of RealServer Administration Guide.
Although they have different names in this manual, the user directory structures and user list structures in each method are functionally identical to the methods used in earlier versions of RealServer.
Throughout this chapter, we'll use the example of an ISP who sets up RealServer to host its users' media files. Northwest ISP hosts content for customers in a three-state area in the United States' Pacific Northwest. Users' directories are organized according to the state in which the users live-Washington, Oregon, and Idaho:
C:\home\washington
C:\home\oregon
C:\home\idaho
Individual accounts are located immediately below these directories:
The links to these users' files look different than other RealServer links. These all contain a tilde (~) and the user's usernames or account names:
RealServer matches your existing directory locations of users' files, even if you use different structures for different users. Typically, user directories are named with the username of the account; the username is included in the URL.
Customers' media files are stored in their directories. If they place files in a subdirectory of their main directory, that subdirectory must be included in the URL.
A RealServer used exclusively for hosting users' streamed media from accounts based on a strict directory structure uses an alternate method of identifying accounts. In the user list, you identify how far down the directory path to look for individual user accounts; this requires that the accounts must all be at the same level.
In the following example, accounts are divided into separate directories, according to an alphabetic arrangement:
...
/UserAccounts/r/ra/rabrams
/UserAccounts/r/ra/radams
...
/UserAccounts/s/sa/sanderson
/UserAccounts/s/sb/sbraun
/UserAccounts/s/sb/sbrown
/UserAccounts/s/sc/schu
...
Users may have their own subdirectories. If they place files in a subdirectory of their main directory, that subdirectory must be included in the URL.
Of course, if you use the account-based style of identifying customer directories rather than the method described in this section, you can also dedicate RealServer to only hosting streamed media for customers, but other streaming options are still available.
There are three steps for configuring RealServer to host users' media files:
This file establishes account information, such as reserved connections and maximum connections.
 |
Additional Information |
|---|
| See "Step 1: Creating the User List". |
The configuration file indicates where to find the user lists, and completes the pathing information needed to located the users' media.
|
|
Additional Information |
|---|
| See "Step 2: Configuring RealServer". |
|
|
Additional Information |
|---|
| See "Step 3: Linking to ISP Content". |
You will need to tell customers what format they should use in creating their links.
Create the user list, and store it anywhere that is accessible to RealServer.
The user list is a text file with the following format:
UserList [
{account, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
account is either a specific user name, or ~* to indicate that all accounts will use the same settings. See "Using Multiple User List Files" for examples of how multiple accounts can be shown in a user list.
 |
Note |
|---|
| Dedicated hosting RealServers use a slightly different format. Refer to "Dedicated Hosting User File Format" for the correct format to use. |
/path/ gives information about the location of users' media files. It does not necessarily refer to an actual location or portion of a location; instead, it is a logical method of grouping the users.
minimum_connections is the minimum number of connections reserved for this user. 0 indicates that no connections are reserved. See "Connections Available for Each Account" for more information.
maximum_connections is the maximum number of connections available to this user. 0 indicates that no connections may be used. See "Connections Available for Each Account" for more information.
 |
Tip |
|---|
| You can include comments in the file by preceding a line with a semi-colon (;). |
In this user list file (shown in the left column of the table), users are grouped according to their geographic location. Two users, Chris and Pat, are in the Washington (wa) group. Two other users, Lee and Sandy, are in the Oregon group.
If each account has different settings, create a separate record for each user, as in the example above.
If you have a large number of accounts to create, and they will all use the same number of connections, create a single entry that refers to all accounts generically:
UserList [
{~*, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
]
In the following example, one connection is reserved for each person, and the maximum number of connections available for any account is 35. (There are some restrictions on whether the connections are actually reserved; see "Connections Available for Each Account".)
UserList [
{~*, /users/, 1, 35}
]
Custom account information and generic settings can be combined in a single user list. Combining them is convenient if most users have the same settings, but a few have different number of connections reserved, or use different paths:
UserList [
{username1, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
{username2, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
{username3, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
...
{~*, /path/, minimum_connections, maximum_connections}
]
In the following example, customized accounts for four users have been created, and all other accounts will use the default settings shown in the last entry:
You can create as many user lists as you want; using multiple files can make administration easier. For example, an ISP provider might include commercial accounts in one user list file and personal accounts in another file.
RealServer loads the user lists in the order they appear in the configuration file, and any settings in subsequent files override settings in previously-loaded files. If the same user name appears in more than one list, RealServer uses the settings in the last user list.
Because of this behavior, bear in mind the following considerations when using multiple user list files:
~*) must be used carefully. Include it only in the first-loaded user list file. If you include it in the last file, RealServer will ignore all the other user lists.
Once you have created the user list file and the ISP hosting feature is in use, you must instruct RealServer to re-read the user list.
The format of the user list file in dedicated hosting is nearly the same as the account-based method, with these exceptions:
UserList [
{*n, /path/,minimum_connections,maximum_connections}
]
where n is a number that represents the level of directory at which individual user directories appear.
In the following example, all user accounts are located under a subdirectory of the UserAccounts directory. The unique directories are located at the fourth directory level (rabrams, radams, sanderson, and so on).
...
/UserAccounts/r/ra/rabrams
/UserAccounts/r/ra/radams
...
/UserAccounts/s/sa/sanderson
/UserAccounts/s/sb/sbraun
/UserAccounts/s/sb/sbrown
/UserAccounts/s/sc/schu
...
The user list for this example uses 4 for the value of n:
UserList [
{*4, /UserAccounts/, 1, 15}
]
URLS created with this method have the following format:
rtsp://server.example.com:554/directory1/directory2/directory3/filename
For example, rtsp://server.example.com:554/UserAccounts/r/ra/rabrams/band.rm
Recycle your UserList entry from the configuration file of earlier versions. If your UserList is long, you may want to create more than one file.
After you create the new user list file, follow the instructions in "Step 2: Configuring RealServer".
UserList entry.
UserList setting into a new text file.
Another item from the previous configuration file, UserDir, does not have an equivalent.
You will need to make a note of the values for /path/ that you used in the user list file.
These instructions describe how to create a separate mount point for each customer category, which means customer files can be stored in separate base paths or drives.
/path/ settings you have used. You will need this information in Step 15.
You will add a mount point for each path in the User List file, give a description, and indicate a base path.
A generic mount point name appears in the Edit Mount Point box.
In our example, we used the following settings:
A generic translation mount appears in the Edit Translation Mount Description box.
/path/ from the user list file.
For each /path/ that appears in the user list file, repeat Step 11 through Step 15 to associate the /path/ with a translation mount.
In our example, we have created a separate user path for /wa/, for /or/, and for /id/.
| Translation Mount Description | Mount Point | User Path |
|---|---|---|
Washington users |
/wa_isp/ |
/wa/ |
Oregon users |
/or_isp/ |
/or/ |
Idaho users |
/id_isp/ |
/id/ |
A generic user list name appears in the Edit User List File Name box.
You'll need to tell your customers what format to use for their links.
Links in a Web page use this format:
http://address:HTTPPort/ramgen/~account/path/file
| Component | Meaning |
|---|---|
http |
The protocol used to initiate streaming. |
address |
Machine and domain name of RealServer. IP address may be substituted. |
HTTPPort |
Port number where RealServer listens for requests sent via the protocol listed at the beginning of the URL. This value is usually 80 or 8080; see "Port Numbers". |
ramgen |
Required when you link in a Web page. |
account |
User's account name. |
ramgen |
The mount point tells RealServer how the clip should be served. |
path |
Optional. |
file |
The file name itself, including the extension. |
For samples of links to use in the Web page, see "Example ISP Hosting Scenario-Northwest ISP".
Links typed directly in RealPlayer or used in a Ram or SMIL file use the following format:
rtsp://address:RTSPPort/~account/path/file
The format is nearly the same as the link used in the Web page: the protocol is different, the port number (if any) matches the protocol, and Ramgen is omitted.
Links in a Web page use this format:
http://address:HTTPPort/ramgen/directory1/directory2/path/file
| Component | Meaning |
|---|---|
http |
The protocol used to initiate streaming. |
address |
Machine and domain name of RealServer. IP address may be substituted. |
HTTPPort |
Port number where RealServer listens for requests sent via the protocol listed at the beginning of the URL. This value is usually 80 or 8080; see "Port Numbers". |
ramgen |
The mount point tells RealServer how the clip should be served. |
directory1 |
Each directory that is part of the hierarchy of directories. The number of directories you list must match the n number in the user list file. |
directory2 |
|
path |
Optional. Represents any subdirectories of the user's home directory. |
file |
The file name itself, including the extension. |
Using the example in "Dedicated Hosting User File Format", a link to file.rm in the user directory /UserAccounts/r/ra/rabrams would look like the following:
http://server.example.com:8080/ramgen/r/ra/rabrams/file.rm