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IBM Web Service Streaming Engine

A standards-based multi-media server that serves both live and stored presentations and that is accessible as and controlled as a Web service for Windows and Linux.

Date Posted: October 5, 2006

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1. What are the administrative and viewer client URLs?

  • http://<installhostname>:8080/StreamingEngineWeb/ServletStatus
  • http://<installhostname>:8080/StreamingEngineWeb/ServletClient

2. Where is the documentation?

Go to the administrative client URL (see FAQ #1) and click on Documentation. There you will find an overview, detailed help on how to configure and run the streaming engine, a listing of the current and future features, and the SDK documentation.

3. What do I do if I already have Tomcat installed?

At present, the IBM Web Service Streaming Engine installation does not handle that situation. It is recommended that you install the streaming engine on a machine without Tomcat.

4. What if port 8080 is already taken?

The Streaming Engine's installation gives the option of setting the port, but if after installation it turns out the port was taken, it is possible to edit the Tomcat file $CATALINA_HOME/conf/server.xml and change the port number.

5. How do I control Tomcat?

There is an administative Web service for Tomcat at http://<installhostname>:8080/manager/html. For more information, such as for protecting the administrative pages with a user name and password, go to the Tomcat Web site.

6. Why is Tomcat started as a service on Windows but not on Linux?

Service on Linux is in the future plans. Services on Linux are more complicated and not as easy to set up through an installation.

7. So I can write my own Web application for controlling and using the streaming engine?

That's the big point. Web service development environments such as Rational Application Developer and Microsoft .NET can generate a Web Service Client project based upon the Streaming Engine WSDL, which can be obtained from the documentation.

8. Does the Streaming Engine work on other Web service hosts?

The Streaming Engine is tested on and works on WebSphere. The required components for the service are only the Streaming Engine DLL and Java class, which can be found under $CATALINA_HOME/server/webapps/axis/WEB-INF/classes/com/ibm/media/stream. Please refer to the WebSphere documentation on how to install the Java class as a Web service.

9. How do I create live channels, and what sources can I connect to?

With this version, it is possible to connect only via one particular protocol, which is supported only by a future alphaworks submission. That technology uses a Web camera or a capture card to generate live content. Other live input modules are being developed and are in the testing phase; these include a Web camera or capture card input and an IP camera connection. Those new modules might be available soon.

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