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Enterprise IPTV SolutionIntegrated Content Delivery Networks Approach

IntroductionThe Enterprise IPTV Solution enables organizations to produce and broadcast live and on demand video to internal (employees) and external(partners, customers, investors, analysts) audiences over IP based networks. Broadcasts are delivered to auditoriums, conference rooms ordesktops, and viewed with media players on desktop computers, or from dedicated Set Top Boxes and multimedia appliances. In essence, itenables organizations to reach dispersed audiences with the same powerful broadcast capabilities that were previously only accessible to thelargest media companies.

Alternate between different formats: video only, presentation only, video plus presentation

In this document we focus on two critical components of an IPTVSolution: Enterprise Content Delivery Networks for the Intranet andInternet Content Delivery Networks for the Internet. We first providean overview of an Enterprise CDN solution, based the CiscoApplication and Content Networking System (ACNS) platform. We thenprovide an overview an Internet CDN, the AT&T Intelligent ContentDelivery Service (iCDS). Finally, we provide an overview of the JubilantERM2 Platform for IPTV Management, and discuss how ERM2 integrateswith the Cisco ACNS Platform as well as with the AT&T iCDS service toenable a seamless end-to-end solution for an enterprise.

Solution ArchitectureThe Enterprise IPTV Solution is comprised of four key architecturalelements, as follows:

• Presentation Systems and Encoders to incorporate audio, video,and other graphical elements such as Power Point presentationsand PC content (spreadsheets, documents, web content) to createmultimedia presentations

• Endpoints to ingest multimedia content, including desktops, Set TopBoxes and portable media devices

• Distribution Systems to efficiently and securely distributemultimedia content throughout the enterprise and on the Internet.This includes systems and technologies such as Enterprise ContentDelivery Networks, Internet Content Delivery Networks, Multicastand QoS

• IPTV Management System coordinates and controls thePresentation Systems, Endpoints and distribution systems. It alsointegrates with existing enterprise applications such as portals,Identity Management systems and search engines

The Enterprise IPTV Management System is the central point ofmanagement for the Enterprise IPTV Solution and provides three keyvalue propositions. First, it manages and coordinates all the systemsthat comprise the solution to enable a streamlined, automatedworkflow. Secondly, it provides a full suite of management capabilitiesfor producers and administrators, to enable the scheduling,presentation, distribution, and publishing of multimedia content, withminimal support from corporate IT staff. Third, it integrates withexisting enterprise applications and network infrastructure to enhanceand optimize IPTV services in the enterprise.

Enterprise Content Delivery NetworkEnterprise Content Delivery Networks (eCDN) can significantlydecrease the impact that multimedia content such as audio and videocan have on the enterprise environment. In essence, content isaccessed by users from local “edge” or branch site caches so thatusers do not need to access content directly from the origin serverthat may be on the other side of a WAN cloud.

Most eCDN platforms also provide proxy cache capabilities with addedfeatures to ensure content freshness. In particular, these platformsexploit features of the HTTP protocol in which content is conditionallyretrieved based on how recently the content was modified, or whetherthe content was modified at all. Other features of an eCDN caninclude the following:

• Support for live and on demand media

• Full application proxy caching for HTTP, HTTPS and FTP

• RTSP protocol proxy and server functionality

• Application-layer multicasting for live video optimization

• Performance improvements to web-based enterprise applications

Enterprise IPTV Solution ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2

Enterprise Applications

PortalsSearch EnginesIdentity Management

Enterprise Network Infrastructure

IP Multicasting, QoS, Content RoutingEnterprise Content Delivery NetworkInternet Content Delivery Network

Multimedia Systems

EncodersCapture StationsSet Top Boxes

Jubilant ERM2 Platform

IPTV Management System

Enterprise Communications

Video Conferencing

The Big Picture: The Enterprise IPTV Solution is comprised of an IPTV Management System and Multimedia Systems. The IPTVManagement System integrates with existing Enterprise Applications,Communications Systems and Network Infrastructure

AT&T iCDS(Internet)

AT&T MPLS (Intranet)

Jubilant ERM2 IPTVManagement System

AT&T Data Center orCustomer Premises

Production Studio

Customer Data Center

Encoderand Camera

Enterprise Applications(Portal Identity ManagementSystems, Search Engines)

RegionalOffice

RegionalOffice

Home Office,Customers,Partner

Enterprise IPTV Architecture

Enterprise IPTV High Level Design

Cisco Application and Content Networking Solution (ACNS) is an eCDNplatform that can be utilized by the AT&T Enterprise IPTV Solution.Cisco ACNS supports a number of mission-critical network servicesusing a common infrastructure of network-integrated and dedicatedappliances called Wide Area Application Engines (WAE).

WAE devices are packaged as standalone network appliances orrouter-integrated network modules (NME-WAE). Running Cisco ACNSsoftware, WAE devices allow organizations to accelerate the delivery ofrich media and multimedia applications, particularly at the edge of thenetwork in branch offices, where bandwidth tends to be scarce.

By serving content closer to end users, Cisco ACNS allowsorganizations to reduce the bandwidth required for web-enabledapplications and restrict bandwidth utilization to sanctioned businessinformation and applications. In this section, we describe the high level features and functions of the Cisco ACNS Platform, looking firstat how Cisco ACNS supports live video streaming, and then on howCisco ACNS supports Video on Demand.

Live Video StreamingA publicly announced live streaming event is the single most taxingevent on a non-multicast enabled network and on the origin servers.In a live streaming event that does not take advantage of networkmulticast or application-level stream splitting, a separate stream iscreated to the originating video server from every single client. If thestream encoding rate is reasonably high at 300 Kbps and there are10,000 users, video servers will have to deliver 3 Gbps of videostreaming traffic. The data centre deployment would require a largenumber of video servers to support the event, ignoring the fact thatthe rest of the network will likely encounter congestion before thevideo servers see all the requests. The strain is compounded if there is a WAN between the clients and the video servers.

Unicast Stream SplittingLive unicast stream splitting is intended for instances where there is no network multicast enabled and/or there is a desire to provide livestreaming for ad hoc, unplanned events. When there is a Cisco WAEwith each WAN router, unicast stream splitting supports live streamsthat originate on the non-multicast enabled Internet or within thecorporate intranet.

In the case of unicast stream splitting, clients get to view thebroadcast when it occurs. The intermediate WAEs cause minimal delaycompared to the delay introduced by the encoder, encoder buffer andmedia player buffer. With stream splitting, the customer does not haveto upgrade network infrastructure to enable IP multicast to achievereliable, high quality live streaming.

Finally, the customer does not have to create a scheduled multicastevent because WCCP-enabled WAEs automatically split the stream. In all circumstances, video quality is limited to the available WANbandwidth. Customers require a full duplex switched Ethernet LANinfrastructure at the remote sites because each client pulls anadditional unicast stream.

Hybrid Unicast to Multicast StreamingBack channel or unicast-to-multicast streaming is similar to streamsplitting except that the final leg of the stream is converted to amulticast to minimize the bandwidth impact on the network and theload on the WAE. In many cases the last leg WAE will be co-locatedwith the client in which case the WAE acquires a single unicast streamover the WAN and converts it to a multicast in the LAN. If a customerhas a multicast enabled WAN then they can use a WAE to publish themulticast in the data centre to stream the multicast to all the multicastenabled clients over the WAN. The multicast enabled network routersand switches replicate/copy the streams (packets) where necessary sothat all clients can view the video event.


Unicast WAN

www

DNS VideoServer

A separate stream for eachclient traverses the WAN

Aggregate data traffic forall clients must be less thanthe WAN bandwidth

All Requests

Live Stream Without ACNS

Unicast WAN

www

DNS CDM VideoServer

Overcomes WAN Bandwidth Bottleneck

Requires Larger CEs

Live Unicast Video

Multiple Unicase Streams(One per user)

WAE WAE

Splitters

Live Stream Unicast Stream Splitting

Unicast WAN

www

DNS CDM Video

Multicast enabled LAN only

CE scales to many simultaneous programs

Live Unicast Stream

Single Multicast streamReplicated by Network

WAE WAE

Live Stream Hybrid Unicast to Multicast

Video on Demand StreamingThe challenge with VoD has traditionally been WAN bandwidth.However, in the case of a WAE that is local to the client requestingcontent, this WAN bottleneck can effectively be removed. VoD contentis generally comprised of files generated from a live event. It takes theform of a Microsoft Windows Media file, a Real media file, or otherstandard video formats (MPEG-4, H.264 etc.)

The video file may be pushed (pre-positioned) to a local WAE usingthe CDN file distribution capabilities (aka content pre-positioning) orpulled as a result of a client request. These two mechanisms aredescribed in further detail below. Regardless of how the video filereaches the WAE, the file will be delivered locally across the LAN onceit is in the WAE cache.

The video storage requirements can generally be calculated as follows.If the stream encoding rate is 300Kbps, then an hour of video willconsume 300,000 bits/second * 3,600 seconds/hour * 8 bits/Byte or135 MB. Based on these estimates, a WAE with 40 GB capacity willhold about 296 hours of video.

Pull Caching for Video on DemandPull caching allows the WAE to dynamically learn what content shouldbe populated in the cache by waiting for a user to request it. Cachingis recommended if the encoded video (or streaming rate) is smallerthan the available WAN bandwidth, but there is insufficient bandwidth

for multiple clients to simultaneously view the video. Caching is theonly option if the organization that controls the WAE does not haveaccess to the video files before a client request is made.

The Cisco ACNS solution is capable of caching video files in a varietyof formats such as Microsoft Windows Media, Real Networks, andQuickTime. A primary advantage to caching is that there is noadministration required. The disadvantage is that the first user canexperience poor quality if there is network congestion.

Pre-Positioning for Video on DemandIn the case where the recorded video is owned or can be acquired, itmay be pre-positioned by Cisco ACNS using administrator definedbandwidth distribution controls, or by utilizing third party systems thatintegrate with Cisco ACNS API’s and have intelligent and automatedcontent distribution capabilities, such as the Jubilant ERM2 Platform, asdescribed in this document.

Internet Content Delivery Network

OverviewAT&T’s Intelligent Content Distribution Service (ICDS) can significantlyimprove your website’s capacity, reliability and performance. By servingyour traffic through our worldwide network of high-speed edgeservers, your web content and media streams reach users faster andmore reliably than from your servers alone. ICDS can reduce yourserver farm bandwidth and horsepower requirements, and enjoys theadvantage of AT&T’s extraordinary network capacity and impressivepeering capabilities.


Internet or WAN

www

CR CDM VideoServer

Separate stream for eachclient across the WAN

Aggregate data traffic ofall clients must be less thanthe WAN bandwidth

First Request

Subsequent Requests

Video on Demand Without ACNS

Internet or WAN

www

DNS CDM VideoServer

Streamlined bandwidth must beless than WAN bandwidth

First Request

Subsequent Requests

WAE WAE

Video on Demand Pull Caching

Internet Content

Network

Origin SitePeriodic Bottleneck

Distributed system increasingnet performance, reliability and economics

User Access

ICDS

Internet or WAN

www

DNS CDM VideoServer

Streamlined bandwidth is greater than WAN bandwidth

Pre-positioning

All Requests

WAE WAE

Video on Demand Pre-Positioned Video

AT&T can combine content delivery, broadband/dial or dedicatedaccess and advanced hosting facilities with professional engineeringsupport services to provide a single vendor end-to-end solution. AT&Tutilizes its own IP backbone, making AT&T uniquely positioned to findthe best way to manage the traffic on content distribution.

AT&T Intelligent Content Distribution Service is a facility-based ContentDelivery Network that replicates information across the Internet. WithICDS, end users can get the fastest possible download since content isplaced on multiple servers located closer to your web viewers.

CapabilitiesAT&T’s Intelligent Content Distribution Service offers Caching servicesto our clients. Cache servers for the caching service operate in thereverse proxy mode and appear as real web servers to end-user’sbrowsers. Cache servers pull cacheable objects from origin servers on a needed base; non-cacheable objects are bypassed and sent toorigin servers directly. This service is further divided into two offers.

Web AccelerationWeb Acceleration is the basic offer of caching service. For this offer,customers host content on their own origin servers. ICDS acceleratesall or a portion of HTTP/HTTPS objects for a customer’s web site.Typical objects accelerated by Web Acceleration are HTML files andimage files.

Large File Download (LFD)LFD (or File Download or eFile Download) is a special version ofcaching service. Web sites identified as LFD type typically contain largesize objects such as downloadable software or QuickTime files. For thisoffer, customers may host content on their own origin servers or usenetwork origin servers and storage provided by ICDS.

Additional Services• SSL Caching – The Secure Socket Layer (SSL) caching feature will

allow customers to use ICDS to accelerate static content of theirsecure web sites

• Cookie Filtering – This feature will allow each caching site tospecify whether ICDS should ignore cookies or not

• Support of Referral URLs – This feature will allow customers tospecify whether ICDS should serve a site’s objects to end-users ornot based on the referral URL received in a request

• Intelligent-Site (I-Site) Management – I-Site Management utilizes anIntelligent Domain Name System (iDNS) developed by AT&T labs’research group to dynamically throttle content requests between acustomer’s origin servers and ICDS’ cache servers. I-Site Managementis ideal for web sites that do not require to be accelerated by ICDSall the time. I-Site Management is offered as an add-on for thecaching service described above. I-Site Management includesCapacity On Demand (COD) and Slim Mirror features

• Capacity On Demand (COD) – COD allows a customer to specify aload cut-over range within which iDNS will gradually divert contentrequests away from the customer’s web servers and into ICDS’cache servers. COD is useful for customers that want to use theirown origin servers for content requests if their servers can easilyhandle the load; but when the load on their servers increase,customers can depend on ICDS to manage the load and graduallytake over subsequent requests

• Slim Mirror – Slim Mirror allows customers to use ICDS as abackup/failover service. iDNS will periodically check whether acustomer’s web site is available. If the web site does not respond in an expected manner, iDNS will switch end-user requests to ICDS’cache servers, which in turn will fetch content from a separatebackup web server provided by the customer. This backup webserver may contain a scaled down version of the original web siteand reside on a less powerful hardware platform

ICDS also utilizes iDNS to perform Proximity Routing, an advancedGlobal Server Load Balancing (GSLB), for caching and streamingservices. Behind each cache node, local Server Load Balancing (SLB) is used to balance content requests within a node.


Benefits

• Extremely large burst capacity

• Fault-tolerant node infrastructure – reduced singlepoint of failure vulnerabilities

• Internet connectivity via the AT&T OC48/OC192backbone network and to more than 140 additional ISPs

• Global and Local Load Balancing

• Server clusters

• Support for HTTP 1.1 Cache Control Headers

Features

• Intelligent Domain Name System – Enables ICDS toroute content to the most optimal edge node

• Highly Available Distribution Architecture – Nodes areplaced throughout the AT&T network, are connected toeach other by high-capacity and redundant links

• AT&T BusinessDirect® Portal

• XML-based Cache Control – Preload or purge the ICDSnetwork cache-specific files

Deployment Methodology: Regional and Global Content Propagation The ICDS service architecture comprises many systems and functions.Within the ICDS caching service, content is propagated from customerOrigin Servers to AT&T ICDS cache servers when needed to fulfill anend-user content need. The figure above shows the relationshipbetween each system.

Sourcing ContentICDS uses a pull method based on end user requests to get thecontent from the source. If the requested content is not present in a cache server, the cache server will pull the content from thecustomer’s origin server. This can occur either directly between allcache servers and the origin server, or the cache servers can belogically arranged in a parent-child hierarchy, as shown below, toreduce the load on the origin server. If one child cache server makes a request to a parent server that already has the content requested,the parent will return the content to the child.

Distribution of ContentWhen an end-user tries to use a web browser to access an object thatis served by ICDS, the following steps are carried out:

1. The web browser parses the URL and issues a DNS lookup to thelocal DNS server to resolve the domain name embedded in the URL.

2. The local DNS server processes the DNS lookup request by firstchecking its local DNS cache. If the local DNS cache can satisfy theDNS lookup request, the local DNS server returns the corresponding IPaddress back to the web browser. Note: the DNS Time-To-Live (TTL)value is usually set to very short like 2 minutes; this enforces local DNSservers re-query periodically. Proceed to Step 6.

3. If the local DNS server cannot fulfill the DNS lookup request, itfollows DNS referral rules to route the DNS lookup request. At the end,either the DNS server in the layer 4 switch or iDNS gets the request.

4A. – The layer 4 switch uses Global Server Load Balancing (GSLB)scheme to determine which cache node should serve the content requestand return the Virtual IP (VIP) address back to the local DNS server.

Or

4B. – iDNS uses Proximity Routing scheme to determine the cache nodeclosest to the local DNS server and returns the VIP address back to thelocal DNS server. Note: iDNS is not available for SSL caching option.

5. The local DNS server returns the (virtual) IP address back to the web browser.

6. The web browser attempts to establish connection with thereturned IP address.

7. The layer 4 switch uses local Server Load Balancing (SLB) to routethe content request to a cache server in the cache node.

8. The web browser issues an HTTP (for Web Acceleration and LFD) orHTTPS (for SSL caching option) request with the cache server.

9. If the requested object is cached by the cache server and still valid


AT&T IP Network

Gigabit Filter

ICDS Node ManagementSystem

Web Acceleration Node

Log File Servers

Layer 4-7 Switch Publishing Server Complex(SPPOC)

Intelligent DNS

Cache Management ServersApplication Servers – PortalsDatabase ServersReports ServersOperations Portal (on App. Servers)Customer Portal (on App. Servers and Proxy)Firewall VoD Storage

Media ServersProxy ServersProvisioning Servers

F/W

Proxy

4 Locations

APP CMS RPT DB

ProxyCache

NetworkOriginServers On Demand

StorageProvisioning and FTP Server

Streaming Cache (2) For VoD

L2 Switch

Streaming Cache (5) for Live WebcastingCache Servers

Gigabit Filter

Deployment ICDS Methodology

iDNS

OriginServers(Ashburn, VA)

Cache Nodes1

Parent Nodes

Child Nodes

End User(near Denver)

Request for content only if cache doesn’t currently have the object1Nodes contain from 2 to 6 servers each

Atlanta

Austin

NYC, NY

Hawthorn, CA

Cambridge

Denver

Denver

SwitchWeb Servers

Dallas

Detroit

Lisle

Seattle

DNS

Requ

est f

orwww.nas

a.go

v

Clos

est N

ode’s

IP

http request/response for page

ICDS Request Flow

(e.g., not expired), the cache server returns the object back to the webbrowser. Proceed to Step 13.

10. If the requested object is not cached by the cache server or isdetermined invalid (e.g., expired), the cache server looks up itsconfiguration to find the origin server and initiates an HTTP (or HTTPS)connection to the origin server. Note: for hierarchical caching, theorigin server may be another cache server; if the object is not cachedby the parent cache server, it will then initiate a connection to theorigin server.

11. The cache server sends the URL requested by the web browser tothe origin server.

12. The origin server returns the object back to the cache server. If theobject is cacheable, the cache server makes a copy of the object in itslocal storage.

13. The cache server returns the object back to the web browser.

Default method for ICDS is filling of the cache based on end userrequest (Request driven). But ICDS also provides tools to customers ifcustomer desires to pre-populate the content. Pre-population can beeither through the web GUI on Customer Portal or through the use ofthe XML interface.

Fault TolerancePerformance, high availability, and reliability are prime motivatingfactors in the design of the ICDS network. Key points in the design and operation of ICDS that achieve these goals are explained below.

Redundancy in Caching and Streaming ArchitectureThe ICDS network contains redundant architecture for caching and streaming service. The ICDS network is based on multiplegeographically distributed caching nodes, each of which containsmultiple high-performance high-bandwidth caching appliances.

Proximity-Based Load DistributionICDS requests are directed to a node that has a good probability of being close (in terms on network latency) to the requesting client. Various techniques are employed to achieve this result, and refinements are made on an ongoing basis to the tables andalgorithms underlying this feature. Should a nearby node fail orbecome heavily loaded, the system will adapt by rerouting requests to another favorable node.

Traffic-Based Load DistributionICDS compliments its proximity-based balancing with a traffic-basedmodel when a given node becomes heavily loaded. This assures thatthe proximity-based routing does not overwhelm any given node justbecause clients happen to be closest to that node. Traffic-based loadbalancing distributes requests in a fair manner across the less-loadednodes, always striving to keep the loads evenly distributed.

Local Server Load BalancingWithin any given node, multiple servers are available to handlerequests. Failure of one or more servers is automatically detected andsuch servers are immediately removed from the node’s server rotationlist. These servers are brought back online only after Operations hasisolated and corrected the problem.

Redundancy in Origin Servers for CachingCustomers may employ multiple origin servers for the same web sitefor caching. ICDS caching can be provisioned with multiple originserver IP. Requests will be balanced across the multiple servers andfailed servers will be skipped and periodically retried.

Redundancy in Local Management Servers for CachingEach of the 16 domestic U.S. caching nodes contain two LocalManagement Servers (LMS) for operations support. Both LMS will shareprocessing of raw log files from cache servers. Not only more logs canbe processed at each node, but a node can continue function even ifone LMS server is down.

Redundancy in Large File DownloadCustomers can employ multiple origin servers similar to theredundancy in the Caching service. For Network-based origin serversfor Large File Download (LFD), ICDS provides two geographicallydiverse locations with two origin servers in each location. Customerscan upload the content to one location, and the content is replicatedto the other location within 20 minutes 90% of the time.

DNS Query DistributionICDS supports DNS traffic as part of its load-balancing feature. DNS Arecord queries for customer ICDS domain names are resolved withinthe ICDS nodes, the responses chosen so as to direct HTTP traffic tothe best node, as described above. To assure continual DNS availability,multiple DNS servers are deployed. Most nodes contain one suchserver. Should a DNS server fail, the public DNS system will simplyselect from among the remaining servers.

One or all of the cache servers within a node can fail without loss ofservice. Should an entire node fail, requests that would have beendirected to it will generally be directed instead to the next mostfavorable node in terms of network latency. Likewise, the failure ofmultiple nodes will not interrupt service as long as at least one noderemains to serve the customer. The exact set of nodes any givencustomer is provisioned into depends on that customer’s CapacityType Group (CTG). CTGs are selected based on the feature set requiredby the customer.

Scalability and Monitoring Resource Availability AT&T uses the award winning iGEMS infrastructure to monitor allhardware and software supporting the ICDS service. Alarms aregenerated based on the thresholds that are set and the NOC respondsproactively to the alarms before the situation becomes critical. Thereare multiple levels of alarms (normal, warning, major, critical) for CPU,bandwidth, storage, as well as many other parameters. AT&T ICDSservice also has a capacity planning process; The Life CycleManagement organization monitors the service capacity usingproprietary trending tools. These tools produce forecasting statisticsthat predetermine when additional capacity needs to be deployed.

IPTV Management SystemThe Enterprise IPTV Management System is the central point ofmanagement in the Enterprise IPTV Solution and provides three keyvalue propositions. First, it manages and coordinates all the systemsthat comprise the solution to enable a streamlined, automatedworkflow. Secondly, it provides a full suite of management capabilitiesfor producers and administrators, to enable the scheduling,


presentation, distribution and publishing of multimedia content, withminimal support from corporate IT staff. Third, it integrates withexisting enterprise applications and network infrastructure to enhanceand optimize IPTV services in the enterprise.

Problems with IPTV in the EnterpriseIn the past, producers had to interface with a variety of corporate ITstaff responsible for enterprise applications (portal, security) as well as network infrastructure in order to plan and execute IPTV events.Furthermore, producers had to coordinate and manage a myriad ofmultimedia systems, including encoders, streaming servers,presentation systems and Set Top Box Systems.

Before an event, producers needed to interact with IT staff to publishand announce upcoming events on corporate portals, and alsointeract with network engineering teams to plan for the distribution ofmultimedia traffic in the Internet as well as on the corporate network.

During an event, producers relied on support from IT staff to monitorthe distribution of live multimedia traffic throughout the enterprisenetwork, and after an event, producers had to interact with IT staff topublish Video on Demand content onto corporate portals and plan forthe distribution of Video on Demand files on the Internet andthroughout the corporate network.

These manual processes lead to errors, which in turn lead to unreliableservices. The manual processes also incur significant hidden costs inthe number of IT personnel involved in each broadcast.

Solution: IPTV Management SystemThe IPTV Management System eliminates these manual processes andenables a streamlined, automated workflow. It provides a full suite ofmanagement capabilities for producers and administrators, to enablethe publishing, presentation, and distribution of multimedia content,without the need for support from corporate IT personnel.

Workflow

Pre-ProductionProducers provide scheduling information for events to the IPTVManagement System, which publishes and announces upcomingevents on corporate portals, provisions network infrastructure such asEnterprise Content Delivery Networks and Internet Content DeliveryNetworks, and provisions multimedia systems such as encoders andSet Top Boxes. Producers also specify who can view what event duringthis phase to enable access control for live events.



Portals/CollaborationLearning ManagementSearch Engines

Enterprise Network Infrastructure and Transport

IP Multicasting, QoS, Content Routing, VPNRouting and Switching

PresentationSystems

Encoders

Endpoints

DesktopsSet Top BoxesMultimedia Appliances

Enterprise IPTV Management System

Encoder ManagementPublishing


Voice over IPWeb ConferencingVideo Conferencing

Distribution ManagementSet Top Box Management

Media IndexingSystem Monitoring

Identity ManagementSystems Management

Content ManagementEvent Management

User ManagementAccess Control & DRM

Performance MonitoringReporting

Application AccelerationEnterprise/Internet Content Delivery Network, MPLS

Focus on the Enterprise IPTV Managment System Features


Portals/CollaborationLearning ManagementSearch EngineIdentity ManagementSystems Managements




IP Multicasting, QoS, Content Routing, VPNRouting and SwitchingApplication AccelerationEnterprise/Internet Content Delivery Network, MPLS

Presentation Systems

Encoders and Streaming Servers

Set Top Boxes and Multimedia Appliances

Corporate IT

Productionand MediaServices

NetworkInfrastructure

Problems with IPTV in the enterprise

Enterprise Applications and Communication Systems

Portals/CollaborationLearning ManagementSearch EngineIdentity ManagementSystems Managements


Enterprise IPTVManagment System

Multimedia Systems

Presentation SystemsEncodersSet Top BoxesMultimedia Appliances


IP Multicasting, QoS, Content Routing, VPNRouting and SwitchingApplication AccelerationEnterprise/Internet Content Delivery Network, MPLS

Corporate IT

Productionand MediaServices

NetworkInfrastructure

Self-service model for Producerswithout the need to interface withCorporate IT or Network Infrastructure

Streamlined workflow and central point of managementfor Enterprise IPTV Services

Enable Self-Service Processes

Error-Prone Manual Processes and Communications

ProductionThe IPTV Management System controls and monitors multimediasystems (encoders, Set Top Boxes), monitors the performance of thevideo streams, and gathers reporting information for each event. The IPTV Management System also enforces access control for usersaccessing content which was specified by producers prior to an event.

Post-ProductionThe IPTV Management System archives, processes and indexesrecorded events, publishes content in a searchable Video on Demandlibrary and also posts Video on Demand content onto portal pages.The IPTV Management System can also pre-position content onEnterprise or Internet Content Delivery Networks.

This streamlined workflow enables reliable IPTV services and greatlyreduces the hidden costs associated with the number of technicalsupport personnel involved in each broadcast. In the remainder of thissection, we provide an overview of the Jubilant ERM2 Platform forEnterprise Rich Media Management, which serves as the foundation ofthe Enterprise IPTV Solution. We first summarize the key capabilitiesprovided by the platform, and then summarize the integration pointsthat are possible between the platform and other enterpriseapplications and network infrastructure.

CapabilitiesThe following is a summary of the capabilities provided by ERM2:

• Publishing. Announce upcoming events in a centralized ProgramGuide or portals and post Video on Demand content in existingweb pages

• Multimedia Search. Provide a searchable archive of Video onDemand content

• Event Management. Schedule live and rebroadcast events

• Encoder and Presentation System Management. Configure, controland monitor remote encoders and Presentation Systems tosynchronize audio, video and other graphical content e.g. slides

• User Management, Access Control and Digital Rights Management.Encrypt multimedia content and enforce access control

• Content Management. Manage recorded events in a virtual folder hierarchy

• Media Indexing. Automatically index recorded events to enablesearch based on phrases, keywords, acronyms, proper names

• Distribution Management. Configure and provision both Internetand Enterprise Content Delivery Networks for the distribution oflive and on demand video content

• Set Top Box Management. Configure and control remote Set TopBoxes, publish program guides on Set Top Boxes and enforceconditional access from Set Top Boxes

• Reporting. Provide information about who viewed what, where and when

• System Monitoring. Monitor encoders, Presentation Systems,application servers, Set Top Boxes and Content Delivery Networks

Enterprise IntegrationERM2 integrates with existing enterprise applications and networkinfrastructure to enhance and optimize the performance of IPTVservices in the enterprise. The following is a summary of the keyintegration points.

• Identity Management Systems enable group based access control

• Portals provide a launch point for Program Guides and Video onDemand Libraries

• Search Engines enable multimedia search capabilities for Video onDemand Libraries

• Enterprise Content Delivery Network on the customer’s networkcan be utilized to optimize WAN bandwidth

• Internet Content Delivery Networks enable the reliable and securedelivery of high quality video on the Internet

Integration with Enterprise Content Delivery NetworksERM2 enables producers to manage Enterprise Content DeliveryNetworks (eCDN) such as the Cisco Application and ContentNetworking System (ACNS), for the efficient and optimized distributionof multimedia content in the enterprise. ERM2 integrates with the CiscoACNS Platform to enable two key benefits.

First, ERM2 enables the distribution of Video on Demand files via the eCDN. Video on Demand content is centrally managed fromone of the streaming servers, but local copies can be pre-positioned tothe Cisco ACNS edge cache devices, also known as Content Engines(CE). Users accessing content are automatically redirected to streamthe video from their local CE, reducing the load on the WAN as usersacross the enterprise stream Video on Demand to their desktops.

Second, ERM2 automates the configuration and provisioning of theeCDN for live broadcasts. As broadcasts are scheduled, producersspecify which subset of edge devices should receive each broadcasti.e. based on region, business unit etc. Based on this information, ERM2 configures the eCDN for broadcasts, without requiring producersto communicate with network administrators to manually configurethe eCDN for each broadcast.

This capability to preposition Video on Demand content as well asconfigure and provision the eCDN for live broadcasts is enabled by theAPI provided by the Cisco ACNS Platform.

Integration with Internet Content Delivery NetworksERM2 enables producers to manage Internet Content Delivery Networkssuch as the AT&T Intelligent Content Delivery Service (iCDS) for theefficient and optimized distribution of multimedia content in theenterprise. ERM2 integrates with AT&T iCDS to enable two key benefits.

First, ERM2 enables the distribution of Video on Demand files via theeCDN. Video on Demand content is centrally managed from one of the streaming servers, but content can be cached on AT&T iCDS. Usersaccessing content are automatically redirected to stream the videofrom the iCDS caching servers instead of from the customer’sstreaming servers, ensuring a high quality experience for users, andpreventing performance bottlenecks for customers. This capability to


preposition Video on Demand content is enabled by utilizing the XMLAPI provided by AT&T iCDS to control the pre-positioning and purgingof media files.

Second, ERM2 automates the configuration of the AT&T iCDS service forbroadcasts. As broadcasts are scheduled, producers specify whether aparticular event should be available on the Internet. Based on thisinformation, ERM2 configures the AT&T iCDS for broadcasts, withoutrequiring producers to communicate with network administrators tomanually configure AT&T iCDS for each broadcast.

This paper was written in cooperation with Cisco Systems, Inc. andJubliant Technologies, Inc.

Cisco Systems, Inc.http://www.cisco.com/go/acns

Jubilant Technologies, Inc.http://www.jubilant.biz

For more information contact your AT&T Representative or visit us at www.att.com/business.

Enterprise IPTV Solution ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 10

04/10/08 AB-1229-01© 2008 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T and the AT&T logo are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property.

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