General 1. What's the difference between streaming and bursting? Streaming is the technology for delivering video and audio over a network in which the server delivers a stream of multimedia data just in time for display. Streaming operates under a continuous interaction between client and server. That is, the client requests a multimedia file and the server plays that request. The server delivers data at a rate based solely on the client's demand -- the rate at which the multimedia is being played. Streaming's just-in-time delivery fails to meet the demand for high-quality video because real-time delivery exposes multimedia viewing to network disruption, causing jitter and interruptions. In addition, streaming does not make efficient use of network resources, driving up the cost of delivery applications Bursting takes advantage of the available bandwidth and low cost storage of modern broadband network environments. It retains the benefits of streaming while eliminating the deficiencies in quality and efficiency inherent with streaming. The Burstware® Server delivers multimedia data to the client in large "bursts" and caches the data in a large, configurable buffer before it is needed for playing. The data is then delivered from the buffer to the client's screen. Whereas the client buffer is depleted in real-time (the rate of play), the Burstware® server delivers large bursts of data, filling the buffer faster than the rate of play. This patented transfer rate is a key characteristic of bursting technology. In addition, Burstware® servers control the rate of delivery to clients. This enables servers to dynamically adapt to varying network load conditions, therefore optimizing network usage without compromising the video experience. Moreover, the client does not depend on continuous delivery. Clients provide information on buffer status to Burstware® servers, which schedule bursts for optimal efficiency and quality. Bursting technology uses intelligent buffering on the client side to provide more complete isolation from network disturbances, as well as to increase efficiency. The Burstware® Server manages the client's buffer, ensuring that it contains the necessary multimedia data to protect the end user from network disturbances. And, by taking advantage of client's storage capacities, Burstware® is able to deliver more data for the given amount of bandwidth. 2. How is bursting different from HTTP streaming? The principle differences between Bursting and HTTP Streaming are as follows: 1) Bursting is network centric, HTTP streaming is client-centric. This means that, in the HTTP streaming scenario, there is no tracking of bandwidth, and no optimization of network resources, resulting in higher costs. 2) Streamed multimedia is greed-based instead of need-based - multimedia is streamed first-come-first-served to the client with the biggest pipe and the fastest processor, rather than burst on an as-needed basis to keep client buffers filled. 3) Burstware®'s Optimized Connection Acceptance Criteria ensures high quality for everyone. Streaming has no such criteria applied. Less fortunate viewers are data-starved, which diminishes their viewing and listening experience. 4) Burstware® employs a failover scheme. There is no such feature in HTTP streaming. 5) Burstware® handles files of all sizes, including very large files. Streaming is designed to handle fairly small files. Because of these differences in multimedia delivery technology, Burstware® is able to offer more sophisticated bandwidth management, reliable failover, and delivery optimized for large files. 3. How much memory do I need to run Burstware®? The minimum recommended client configuration for the Burst-enabled Windows Media Player on Windows '98 is 32MB of RAM. Since Burstware® is only the delivery portion, the actual player and operating system requirements are the determining factors in this area. For Conductors and Severs, refer to the table in the product documentation that relates platform requirements to the bit rates being delivered. 4. Does Burstware® work over the Internet? Yes. Burstware® works on any network that supports TCP/IP. Burstware® works very well over the internet because of its sophisticated buffering scheme, which insulates the viewer from network disturbances endemic to the internet. Burstware® provides quality of service without any special network support. 5. What about security and privacy? Video is often delivered within a context that provides security, authentication and other validation capabilities. The current version of Burstware® does not provide integrated security support, such as Access Control Lists (ACL's). ACL's and other security features can, however, be provided through web applications that include Burst-enabled players. The current version of Burstware® does include extensive auditing capabilities through its logging facility. burst.com is currently soliciting input for more fully integrated security features. If you have suggestions, please contact burst.com through Burstware.com. 6. Does Burstware® Multicast? We plan to leverage Burstware®'s advanced buffer management technology to provide a superior multicast solution. Specifically, Burstware® will enable users to review content that was previously transmitted. Other multicast products only allow users to view content as it is transmitted. Burstware® will allow users to view previously transmitted content out of their local cache, thereby providing some of the benefits of video-on-demand (VOD) while still retaining the efficient bandwidth utilization of multicasting. 7. How do I control the amount of bandwidth my Burstware® application uses? Burstware® provides extensive control of bandwidth usage at several different levels. You can control your application's bandwidth consumption within an entire Burstware® domain, on a per-server basis, and for a single player connection. (A Burstware® domain consists of a conductor, its standby, and the Burstware® Server or servers they manage.) You can control the maximum aggregate amount of bandwidth that can be used across all Burstware® Servers within a domain by setting Burstware® Conductor's "licensedBandwidth" parameter. You can also control the maximum number of concurrent client (i.e., player) connections across all servers within a domain by setting Burstware® Conductor's "licensedNumClients" parameter. Both of these parameters can be adjusted both persistently (through the conductor initialization file) and dynamically at runtime (through the Burstware® Conductor configuration screen.) You can control the maximum amount of bandwidth an individual server can use by setting Burstware® Server's "managedBandwidth" parameter. The "managedBandwidth" parameter can also be adjusted persistently (through the server initialization file) and dynamically during runtime (through the Burstware® Server configuration screen.) You can control the maximum amount of bandwidth any single player connection can use by setting a burst-enabled player's "UserNetworkBandwidth" parameter. You can set this in the web page playing the video, which centralizes the control, or on a particular player machine. 8. Does Burstware® have accounting and auditing features? Are these features transparent to the end user? Burstware® has extensive support for accounting and auditing, all of which is transparent to the end user. The Burstware® Server and Conductor logs track every media file access request, as well as large amounts of performance, error, and other information. Each time a media file is accessed, the logs record identifying information for the client, including the User Name, Client IPAddress, the Global Unique Identifier (GUID) of the Windows Media Player, etc. The logs also track the name of the file accessed, exactly how many seconds the client was connected to the server, the exact number of bytes the client received, the network latency between the client and server, and other information. Included in burst.com's Professional Services CD is a tool called the Burstware® Log Toolkit, which allows users to generate compiled and customized reports with this information. The Toolkit allows you to run reports across all Burstware® Servers, a subset of them, or a single one. The logs are converted into XML and loaded into a Microsoft Access database so that you can write SQL queries and generate detailed reports. Our database schema is documented and we've included several compiled reports for billing, auditing, error tracking, etc. Burst-Enabled™ Windows Media Player 7. Which CODECs does the Burst-enabled Windows Media Player support? Does it support AVI? Quicktime? Burstware® is designed to be CODEC-neutral and the infrastructure can support any media format. The Burst-enabled Players are the only portion of the product that are dependent on specific CODEC support. The Burst-enabled Windows Media Player currently supports the following formats: MPEG1 AVI Quicktime (.mov) Cinepak H.261 H.263 Indeo JPEG MP3 (audio) ASF WMA 8. How do I know that WMP is bursting? You can verify this from two locations. First, if the Burst enabled WMP is playing video from a location that begins "burst://" the Burstware® protocol is being used to receive video data from a Burstware® Server. Second, you can verify the use of the Burstware® software from within the WMP by selecting: File>Properties > select the 'Advanced' tab You can see the ``Faster-Than-Real-Time™ Media - Burstware®'' source filter bridge. (Note: The best way to find out whether or not WMP is bursting is to check ``Network Statistics.'' This feature will be available with the GA release of 1.2) 9. I am trying to play a Quicktime file and it is not working? What do I do? Check to see if the Burst-Enabled™ Windows Media Player supports the particular Quicktime file. One way to do this is to open the file directly through the Windows Media Player by choosing File>Open. If you still encounter trouble reading the file, contact Quicktime support. Server 10. What if the total bandwidth at the server isn't enough to service all clients? Will they still be able to watch video? The Managed Bandwidth setting limits the total bandwidth the Burstware® Server can use to deliver media. The Server rejects Player requests that would cause the Server to exceed this limit. If the network card on a dedicated server machine is 100 Mbps, the system administrator might set the Managed Bandwidth value to 75 Mbps. Burstware® Server would then reject any client request that would cause the total bandwidth needed to service all clients to exceed 75 Mbps. This value can be set on the servers as needed to limit the impact of the Burstware® system on total network bandwidth. The Server will not accept more requests if it will degrade the viewing experience of those clients already playing multimedia files. Instead, the primary Conductor will route the request to a server that can handle the load 11. Will Burstware®'s performance degrade if my Burstware® Server is not on the same machine as the videos it's serving? Hitting the network twice may burden it unnecessarily, unless you have special hardware to support this. 12. One of my server machines crashed and I tried to install the Burstware® Conductor on another machine but it won't function? What's wrong? It is likely your Burstware® License key requires your Burstware® Conductor to function on a specific machine defined by a machine name or IP address. To verify the name of the machine specified by your license key, check the Conductor's "Configuration" tab. The field labeled licensedHostId displays the machine name required by your license key. Contact your Burstware® sales representative for information regarding a license key that supports a different Host ID, machine name, or IP address. 13. How do I control access to files (specific clients with specific media)? The Burstware® Server provides no inherent security mechanism for controlling access to specific files. Instead, web applications may be developed using Burstware® that control and expose selective content to specific users. Consult your application developer for security issues. 14. Does an end user know that the video they're watching has been delivered from a Burstware® Server? In general, the use of Burstware® is transparent to a client playing video. The typical end user watching video with a burst-enabled Windows Media Player or Apple QuickTime Player won't know whether they are receiving data from the Burstware® Server, a Microsoft WMT Server, or a QuickTime Streaming Server. A sophisticated user can tell they are receiving bursted video in the Windows Media Player by looking at the Network and Buffer Statistics panels. Please see "Viewing Network and Buffer Statistics" in Burstware® R1.2 documentation. Conductor 14. When will I need two conductors? Two conductors are needed when a true, no single point of failure architecture is desired. A secondary Burstware Conductor should be configured on a device that is accessible to Burstware players. If access to the primary Burstware Conductor is unavailable, the secondary Burstware Conductor can manage requests for video from Burstware players until the primary Conductor is made available. Contact your Burstware® sales representative regarding licensing and pricing for a true, no-single point of failure Burstware® architecture. 15. Do I have to install a Player/Server/Conductor on every machine to run Burstware®? No. The Server and Conductor can run on a central server machine. Install the Burst-Enabled Windows Media Player wherever you want to show video. 16. I am trying to add additional servers but the conductor will not add them to its list? What do I do? The first thing to do is verify that the server has been added to the Conductor's server list in the .ini file. Look at the Configuration panel in the Conductor and make sure the server name and port number are included there. Second, ping the server from the Conductor's machine to make sure a network connection is established. Then check to see that the licencedNumServers on the Conductor's configuration/monitoring panel does not exceed the allowed limit. Finally, make sure that you are not close to exceeding the licensed bandwidth by checking licensedBandwidth field in the same panel. If adding the Server's managed bandwidth causes the Conductor's managed bandwidth to exceed the allowable licensed bandwidth limit, the Server won't be added. 17. Which Burstware® components do you need license keys for? The license is needed for the Conductor. Ensures that you use Burstware® components according to the terms of your license agreement with burst.com. These terms include: Hostname Licensed bandwidth Number of concurrent users Number of Burstware® Servers Expiration date of your Burstware® license