Applet
A Java application that a Java-enabled web browser, such as
Netscape Navigator and Internet Explorer, can execute. The
Burstware® JMF Player can be launched as an "embedded"
applet on a web page. (See Embedded Applet).
Active X
A loosely defined set of technologies developed by Microsoft.
ActiveX is an outgrowth of two other Microsoft technologies
called OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) and COM (Component
Object Model). As a monitor, ActiveX can be very confusing
because it applies to a whole set of COM-based technologies.
Most people, however, think only of ActiveX controls, which
represent a specific way of implementing ActiveX technologies.
The Burst-enabled Windows Media Player can be programmed as
an Active X control
AU
Short for audio, a common file format for sound files on UNIX
machines. AU was once quite popular when the Internet was
still a UNIX world. Now AU files aren't as popular, but there
are still many sites that use them - usually educational sites
or older sites that still use UNIX. AU files generally end
with an .au extension.
ASF (Advanced Streaming Format)
A streaming multimedia file format developed by Microsoft.
ASF is in essence an open, extensible container format rather
than a standard for the contents of the container. ASF is
"agnostic" as to any particular codec (like MPEG), communication
protocol (like HTTP, RTP, or multicast IP), or media composition
framework (like MPEG-4 or Dynamic HTML). ASF is intended to
support all of these, and more. ASF is often used for low
bit-rate streaming. ASF has been submitted to ISO and IETF
for standardization. It is expected to eventually replace
the older AVI format.
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)
A network technology based on transferring data in cells or
packets of a fixed size. The cell used with ATM is relatively
small compared to units used with older technologies. Current
implementations of ATM support data transfer rates of from
25 to 622 Mbps. This compares to a maximum of 100 Mbps for
Ethernet, the current technology used for most LANs. ATM creates
a fixed channel, or route, between two points whenever data
transfer begins. This differs from TCP/IP, in which messages
are divided into packets and each packet can take a different
route from source to destination. This difference makes it
easier to track and bill data usage across an ATM network,
but it makes it less adaptable to sudden surges in network
traffic.
AVI
Audio Video Interleaved. A Microsoft Windows transport format
for digital video and audio. Although AVI movies are compressed,
they tend to be one of the larger video formats and, as a
result, take a long time to download.
Bandwidth
A network's rated throughput, or capacity to carry data. Usually
described in bits per second.
For example, a T1 line has a bandwidth capacity of 1.5 megabits
per second.
Bit
The smallest unit of binary data. A bit can have exactly two
values, 0 or 1. Putting together several bits allows you to
represent more values. For instance, a byte consists of eight
bits and can represent 256 (2 to the power of 8) different
values.
Bandwidth is typically expressed as a number of bits per second
(or kilobits, megabits, or gigabits per second) that can be
transferred from one place to another.
Bit Depth
Refers to the number of bits used to represent each pixel
in a digital image. This relates directly to the number of
different colors an image contains. Common numbers are 8,
16, and 24-bit color depths. Eight-bit files only produce
256 colors, while 24-bit files produce 16 million colors.
Broadband
Broadband transmission can be used to transmit different combinations
of data, voice, and video information along one physical cable
with multiple communication channels of different frequencies.
Although the initial cost is higher than that of narrowband,
broadband networks enable users to lay down a network cable
once and then continually upgrade and expand the services
it provides. Broadband networks provide much higher bandwidth
than narrowband. (See Narrowband).
Bridge
A network device used to reduce network traffic, increase
cable distance, and also to link dissimilar networks. Bridges
link two or more network segments using the same network technology.
The network topologies do not have to be the same, i.e. you
can bridge Ethernet and Token Ring. If the protocols are not
the same on segments, then you've got a router. (See Router.)
The Burstware® Bridge for Windows Media Player makes it possible
for a Windows Media Player to read multimedia files from Burstware®
Servers.
Buffer
A temporary data-storage area on a computer. The Burstware®
buffer is a memory or disk buffer on the client that the Burstware®
system uses to cache media it delivers from the server to
the client. Burstware® Server delivers large bursts of video
and audio data to the client; the server fills the buffer
at a rate faster than the rate of play. The larger the buffer,
the more data that can be stored for later use.
Burst.com
Formerly known as Instant Video Technologies
Burst-Enabled Application
A software or hardware application, such as a media player,
that has been written to take advantage of Burstware®'s delivery
and management of media files. Burst-enabled applications
have access to high-quality media delivered in a reliable
and efficient manner by Burstware® Servers.
Release 1.2 of Burstware® includes two burst-enabled applications:
the Burstware® JMF Player and the Windows Media Player. Other
applications can be burst-enabled using the Burstware® Player
SDK (See SDK).
Bursting
Bursting is the next generation technology for delivering
video and audio across networks in faster-than-real-time.
The Burstware® Server delivers data in large bursts, which
are dropped into a large buffer on the client machine at a
rate faster than what is required to keep video playing on
the client screen. Because clients play out of their local
buffers instead of directly across a network, the client viewing
experience is shielded from network disruptions.(Contrast
with Streaming).
Byte
A standard binary data chunk consisting of 8 bits. A single
byte can represent any value from 0 to 255.
File sizes, and storage capacities of memory and disks, are
typically expressed in bytes or a multiple of bytes (such
as kilobytes, megabytes, or gigabytes). For example, a CD-ROM
has a storage capacity of approximately 650 megabytes. Modern
hard disks typically have a capacity of 4 gigabytes or more.
CAC
Connection Acceptance Criteria. The criteria that determines
whether a server will accept a client's connection request.
The Burstware® Server applies optimized CAC to each client
request to determine whether there is sufficient bandwidth
for acceptance. The server accepts the request only if there
is sufficient bandwidth to ensure that all clients will be
able to receive the data they need for uninterrupted, high-quality
viewing through the end of each of their media files. Burstware®
Server's optimized CAC technology enables it to handle more
clients than a standard multimedia server while simultaneously
guaranteeing the highest quality viewing experience.
Cache
A temporary buffer (storage area) within a computer's storage
area, such as RAM, disks, etc., which is specially set aside
to store the information most frequently accessed in a computer
application. For example, when you download a web page, the
data is cached, meaning it is stored temporarily on your computer.
The next time you want that page, instead of requesting the
file from the web server, your web browser just accesses it
from the cache. That way, the page loads quickly. Caches greatly
increase the speed of a computer by storing data that is most
often accessed.
Client
A piece of software that obtains services from another piece
of software (called a server) that is located elsewhere on
the network.The Burstware® Server and Conductor run on server
"machines" at the client site. The Burst-enabled player is
run on a client "machine" that requests services from a "server."
(See Server)
CODEC
COmpression/DECompression. An algorithm implemented
in hardware or software for reducing the size of multimedia
files. Examples include MPEG1 and MP3. Uncompressed video
takes up huge amounts of space (high quality video requires
approximately 90 MBps), which is more data than most systems
can handle. Video compression algorithms make desktop viewing
feasible. Videos are compressed by the removal of redundant
audio and video data. For more dramatic size reduction, less
important data may also be removed, resulting in some sound
and/or image degradation.
Compression
Compression makes large files smaller, by eliminating redundant
information. (See CODEC).
There are two types of compression:
Lossy - Eliminates data to compress it tightly. This can
result in lower-quality video, but is useful for Internet
streaming.
Lossless - Compacts without eliminating data. PKZip is
lossless; it keeps the same data yet compacts the file.
Conductor
The Burstware® Conductor is a software component of the Burstware®
product suite that manages the distribution of Burstware® Player
requests over multiple Burstware® Servers. In addition, it
provides centralized network management services.
DSL
(Digital Subscriber Line), xDSL - A family of digital
telecommunications protocols designed to allow high-speed
data communication over the existing copper telephone lines
between end-users and telephone companies. The first technology
based on DSL was ISDN, although ISDN is not often recognized
as such nowadays. Since then a large number of other protocols
have been developed, collectively referred to as xDSL, including
HDSL, SDSL, ADSL, and VDSL. Entry-level DSL in the U.S. provides
approximately 384 Kbps download speed.
Embedded
Applet
A Burstware® JMF Player can be deployed as a Java applet embedded
in a web page. Customers can configure HTML parameters to
fix the embedded applet in a web page display or allow it
to display in its own free-floating window. (See also Standalone).
Extranet
A private network that uses the Internet protocols and the
public telecommunication system to securely share part of
a business' information or operations with suppliers, vendors,
partners, customers, or other businesses. An extranet can
be viewed as the part of a company's intranet that is extended
to users outside the company.
Failover
The use of redundancy or replication to avoid transmission
failures. Burstware® features reliable, software-tested conductor
and server failover, which means that failures will not impact
users' viewing experiences. If a server or conductor fails
or shuts down, another server or conductor will immediately
assume the tasks of the failed ones.
Faster-Than-Real-Time
Burst.com's patented algorithm for delivering video and audio data
over the network at rates faster than the rate of play. While
the client buffer is depleted in real-time (the rate of play),
Burstware® Server delivers large bursts of data, which fill
the buffer at a rate faster than the rate of play. This patented
transfer rate is a key characteristic of bursting technology.
(See also Streaming))
Fibre Channel
A high speed interconnect technology that allows data transfer
speeds in the Gbps (Gigabits per second) range. Typically
used to connect high-end servers or workstations to very large
and fast storage subsystems. A single Fibre Channel connection
is capable of carrying up to 100MBps. With its large packet
sizes, Fibre Channel is ideal for storage, video, graphic
and mass data transfer applications. (See RAID).
File Format
A format for encoding information in a file. Each different
type of file has a different file format. The file format
specifies first whether the file is a binary or ASCII file,
and second, how the information is organized. Examples include:
BMP - The bit-mapped file format used by Microsoft
Windows.
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) - The bit-mapped
file format used by CompuServe and many other BBSs.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
A standard file format for storing images as bit maps. It
is used especially for scanned images because it can support
any size, resolution, and color depth.
Some file formats - like MPEG1 - are also CODECS. Others -
like ASF and Quicktime - are file formats only. (See also
CODEC).
Firewall
A firewall is a combination hardware and software buffer that
many companies or organizations have in place between their
internal networks and the Internet. A firewall allows only
specific kinds of messages from the Internet to flow in and
out of the internal network. This protects the internal network
from intruders or hackers who might try to use the Internet
to break into those systems.
Frame rate
The rate at which video frames are shown on the screen, represented
in frames per second. US-based television broadcasts are shown
at 30fps and projected movies are shown at 24fps, but not
all computers and video cards are capable of capturing a frame
rate this high. The higher the frame rate, the bigger the
file and the more bandwidth required to deliver it.
Giga
A prefix meaning 1024 * 1024 * 1024, which is 2 to the power
of 30 and is approximately one billion. Example: 10 Gigabytes
is 10 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 bytes, or a little more than 10
billion bytes.
HTML
(HyperText Markup Language)
The computer language used
to create hypertext documents. HTML utilizes a finite list
of tags that describe the general structure of various kinds
of documents linked together on the World Wide Web.
Intellectual
Property
In most countries, any original literary, dramatic, musical,
or artistic work is regarded by law as the intellectual property
of the person who created the work (the author). By law, an
original computer program is also defined as a literary work
and its creator is defined as the author. Copyright or patent
or both usually protect all such work. Burst.com's intellectual
property, specifically its patent portfolio, is one of the
company's key assets.
Internet
The world's largest network. Its computers, located all over
the globe, are connected to each other using the IP network
protocol. Created in the early 1970's by the US Defense department,
the Internet became popular in 1994 after the introduction
of graphical user interfaces and improved content suitable
for the general public.
Intranet
An intranet is a network designed for use within the confines
of a company, university or organization. Intranets are private,
as opposed to the freely accessible Internet. Until recently,
most corporations relied on proprietary hardware and software
systems to network their computers, a costly and time-consuming
process made more difficult when offices are scattered around
the world. By using off-the-shelf Internet technology, intranets
solve this problem, making internal communication and collaboration
much simpler. Intranets use IP to transmit information across
the network.
Information is stored on one or more servers and accessed
with a web browser, such as Navigator or Explorer. A company
intranet is always contained within and protected by its firewall.
(See Firewall)
Java
A platform-independent, object oriented programming language
developed by Sun Microsystems in 1995. Programs written in
Java for use on the web are called applets. Java applets run
on any type of computer that supports a Java-enabled web browser.
Burstware®'s Server, Conductor, and JMF Player are written
in Java.
JMF (Java Media Fraework)
A Java library that provides functionality for video and audio
playback. Burstware® Release 1.2 provides support for both
a JMF-based player (The Burstware® JMF Player) and the Windows
Media Player.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
The graphics file format that uses this compression standard
(See CODEC). JPEG files have a .JPG extension. JPEG's picture
compression is superior to that of GIF (Graphical Interface
Format), which is meant to store graphics of 256 colors or
fewer. MJPEG is used for video formats and can be used in
the Quicktime File Format.
Kbps,
KB
Kilobits Per Second (Kbps), Bytes per second (Bps) and Kilobytes
Per Second (KBps) - are all measures used to express the
speed of data transfer. There are eight bits in a byte. A
Kilobit = 1024 bits or 128 bytes. Device communication
is usually measured in thousands of bits per second (Kbps)
or millions of bits per second (Mbps). A 14.4 Kbps
modem transfers data at approximately 14,400 bits per second,
which is about 1.8 kilobytes per second or about 100 KB per
minute. General rule of thumb - bits are represented by a
"b" as in Mbps. Bytes are represented by a "B" as in MBps..
Kilo
A prefix meaning 1024, which is 2 to the power of 10. Example:
56 kilobits is 56 * 1024 bits, or a little more than 56,000
bits.
LAN
(Local Area Network)
A collection of computers and other
devices-such as printers or CD ROM readers-connected to each
other by coaxial or fiber optic wire, twisted pair copper
wiring, or radio frequency devices. LANs usually cover a small
geographical area. LANs allow computers or workstations to
communicate with one another. One of the benefits of a LAN
is that it lets all users to share the same software, printers,
mass storage, and other devices.
License Key
Burstware® employs license keys to ensure that Burstware® products
are used in a manner consistent with the terms of a particular
license agreement. The license key determines the configuration
limits for the Burstware® Conductor, including: maximum bandwidth,
maximum number of concurrent clients, maximum number of servers,
expiration date, and the name of the machine on which the
conductor runs. The Burstware® Conductor enforces the limitations
determined by the license keys.
Licensing Agreement
If a company or person wants to implement technology that
is covered by a valid patent, they must get permission from
the patent holder. This permission is called a licensing agreement.
Permission is usually granted in exchange for something of
value, such as a right to a certain percentage of profits
from sales of the licensee's product.
Linux
An open source UNIX-like operating system originally developed
by Linus Torvalds. LINUX runs on a number of hardware platforms,
including Intel and Motorola microprocessors. Because it's
free, and because it runs on many platforms, including PCs,
Macintoshes and servers and workstations from many vendors,
Linux has become extremely popular over the last couple years.
Companies such as SuSe, Red Hat and Caldera sell Linux packages,
as well as allowing you to download them for free. Linux was
first developed for x86 computers, but now runs on a wide
variety of platforms.
Load Balancing
The distribution of multiple client requests across multiple
servers so that each server is more or less equally used.
Burstware® architecture is designed to balance the load of
multimedia delivery. Burstware® Conductors distribute client
requests to multiple Burstware® Servers, keeping the client
load evenly distributed. The system administrator can easily
scale the system by adding more servers.
Managed
Bandwidth
Amount of bandwidth the Burstware® Server and the Burstware®
Conductor is allowed to use. System administrators configure
this value to limit the impact of video on network performance.
MB, Mbps
Megabyte - Roughly one million bytes. A megabyte is
exactly 1,048,576 bytes (that's 1024 x 1024,). Megabits
per second - aka Mbps. This is a measure of throughput
roughly in millions of bits per second.
Mega
A prefix meaning 1024 * 1024, which is 2 to the power of 20
and is approximately one million. Example: 48 Megabytes is
48 * 1024 * 1024 bytes, or a little more than 48 million bytes.
MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group)
A file format (and CODEC) for compressing video in a format
similar to JPEG. QuickTime and AVI movies can be compressed
into MPEG format with little loss of video quality. Users
can have full-screen video with MPEG while still maintaining
relatively small file sizes.
MP3 (Audio Encoding)
MPEG-1 Audio Layer-3 - A popular audio file format employing
a highly scalable compression algorithm that offers excellent
audio quality, even at low bit rates. At ISDN speed (128Kbps),
MP3 audio matches CD-quality audio.
MPEG1
A popular CODEC used in streaming video. The most common MPEG1
data transfer rate is approximately 1.5 megabits per second,
although you can encode video in MPEG1 at lower or higher
bit rates. The Burst-enabled Windows Media Player supports
several video formats, including MPEG1.
MPEG2
A CODEC (and file format) that provides even higher video
quality than MPEG1. MPEG2 provides an image quality that is
as high as existing DVD-quality broadcasts at a data transfer
rate of approximately 5 megabits per second. A two-hour motion
picture stored using the MPEG2 format at 5 mbps would require
approximately 4.5 gigabytes of disk storage.
MPEG4
MPEG4 is a compression/decompression technology that aims
to achive interactivity, efficiency and stability in narrow-band
transmissions. MPEG4 is also designed for low bit-rate communications
devices, such as mobile receivers or wristwatches that can
display video. These devices are usually wireless and can
have different access speeds depending on the type of connection
and traffic. To overcome this problem, MPEG4 supports scalable
content. Content is encoded once and automatically played
back and transmitted at different rates, depending on the
available network connection.
In addition to streaming media over the Internet, MPEG4 also
provides tools for the integration of broadcast video with
high-quality interactive MPEG4 objects. This will pave the
way for broadcast video to be displayed on the WWW.
Multicasting
Video can be transmitted from servers to clients in two ways.
Unicasting sends a video from server to router to client.
If there are multiple clients connected to the router, multiple
copies of the video must be sent from the server to the router,
which consumes much bandwidth. In Multicasting, one copy can
be sent from server to router. The router then sends a copy
to each client, saving the amount of bandwidth required between
server and router. Routers and NIC hardware must support milticasting
in order to be used. Burstware® Release 1 does unicasting not
multicasting. Release 2 will support multicasting as well
as unicasting.
Multi-tier Architecture
Architecture in which clients connect to servers via a central
manager. This contrasts with 2-tier architecture, in which
clients connect directly to servers. Burstware® Conductors
manage client-server interactions in a multi-tiered system,
resulting in a high degree of reliability and system performance.
Multi-tiered architectures offer significant advantages over
two-tiered client-server systems, including improved scalability
and reliability, and centralized management services.
Narrowband
Narrowband networks are less susceptible to noise interference
than high-bandwidth signals and allow for a greater number
of communications exchanges to take place within a specified
band of frequencies. However, less bandwidth translates into
low-quality multimedia transmission. Modem speed is a good
example of narrowband capacity. The term is usually contrasted
with broadband.
Network
A group of computers and other peripheral devices connected
together so that they can communicate with each other. Only
one large computer controls a 'centralized' network, while
a 'decentralized' or 'distributed' network can be spread over
a number of locations.
Network Leg
Also known as a network segment. Section of a network that
is bounded by bridges, routers, or switches.
NIC
Network Interface Card - Often abbreviated as NIC, an expansion
board that is inserted into a computer so that the computer
can be connected to a network. Most NICs are designed for
a particular type of network, protocol, and media, although
some can serve multiple networks.
NT Services
System administrators have the option of running Burstware®
Conductors and Burstware® Servers as NT services. This means
the conductor and server run as background processes and start
up automatically every time the machine is turned on. Additionally,
the conductor or serve will restart if it has exited for any
reason. Running Burstware® conductors and servers as NT services
increases their reliability.
Open
Architecture
Software architecture that promotes portability, easy integration
with other products, and use of industry standard - as opposed
to proprietary - technology.
Burstware® Server, Conductor, and JMF Player are written entirely
in Java. Burstware® uses standard protocols like TCP/IP, and
has a Software Development Kit, permitting integration with
existing applications.
Optimize
To make something function as efficiently as possible. A well-designed
data delivery technology must optimize bandwidth usage and
scale well to the number of users, to get the most "bandwidth
for the buck." Faster than Real Time technology optimizes
bandwidth utilization on networks. Additionally, Burstware®
features an optimized Connection Acceptance Criteria for new
connection requests. This improves scalability by optimizing
the number of clients per server without compromising quality.
Player
A player is a software component that displays both video
and audo media files. Burstware®'s open architecture can interface
with multiple players - which are "burst-enabled" after they
are interfaced with the Burstware® backend. Release 1.2 features
two pre-packaged burst-enabled players - the Java Media Framework
Player and the Windows Media Player.
Port
1. In TCP/IP and UDP networks, a port is an endpoint to a
logical connection. The port number identifies what type of
port it is. For example, port 80 is used for HTTP traffic.
2. To move a program from one type of computer to another.
To port an application, you need to rewrite sections that
are machine dependent, and then recompile the program on the
new computer. Programs that can be ported easily are said
to be portable.
Quicktime
QuickTime is a video file format. QuickTime files end in .mov.
The QuickTime video format uses JPEG, Cinepak and many other
CODEC's. (See JPEG and CODEC).
RAID
(Redundant Array of Inexpensive Drives)
A technology that allows the combination of several hard drives
for use as one. The benefits can be either an increase in
speed or fault tolerance - so that if one drive dies or crashes,
data is not lost, or a combination of both. Burst.com recommends
that server machines running the Burstware® Server employ RAID
disk systems or other high-speed disk systems - (see Fibre
Channel) for high-speed, reliable access to video data
Resolution
The detail of an image produced on a monitor or output from
a printer onto paper or film. It is usually expressed in dots
per linear inch (DPI) or in a certain number of pixels, for
example 1024 X 768. In monitors, the resolution depends upon
the number of picture elements (pixels) that can be displayed
on the screen. The higher the number of pixels, the sharper
the image, and the higher the resolution.
Router
A network layer device or software component that uses one
or more metrics to determine the optimal path along which
network traffic should be forwarded. Routers forward packets
from one network to another based on network layer information.
SAN
Storage Area Network (SAN) is a high-speed subnetwork of shared
storage devices. A storage device is a machine that contains
nothing but a disk or disks for storing data.
A SAN's architecture works in a way that makes all storage
devices available to all servers on a LAN or WAN. As more
storage devices are added to a SAN, they too will be accessible
from any server in the larger network. In this case, the server
merely acts as a pathway between the end user and the stored
data.
Because stored data does not reside directly on any of a network's
servers, server power is utilized for business applications,
and network capacity is released to the end user.
Scalable
Able to easily scale to large numbers of users. For example,
a database that completely locks out every other user when
someone is using it is NOT scalable. The computer system that
runs ATM and bank transactions must be highly scalable. Burstware®'s
architecture is highly scalable. Multiple Burstware® Conductors,
Servers, and Burst-enabled Players can be easily added. Small
systems can scale to enterprise-class deployments as user
needs grow.
SDK
Short for Software Development Kit. Burst.com has developed software
development kits that provide Java and C++ application programming
interfaces (API's) to create a burst-enabled custom player.
This enables developers to deliver multimedia files stored
on Burstware® Servers to their own client applications, such
as third party players.
Server (Burstware® vs. machine)
The Burstware® Server is a software component of the Burstware®
product suite. Burstware® Server stores multimedia files, delivers
the files to players on client machines, and manages client
buffers. A server "machine" is a computer that runs one or
more server software packages and provides services to "clients."
(See Clients)
Set Top Boxes
A generic phrase used to describe digital hardware that can
be hooked up to a television set for Web viewing and enhanced
television programming. A cable box is a simple example of
a set top box. Other examples include Web TV and Direct TV.
Simulator
The Burstware® Network Simulator simulates the delivery of
multimedia content over networks, using both bursting and
streaming algorithms. The Burstware® Simulator is useful for
comparing the performance of the two approaches and to help
students understand performance characteristics of bursting
and streaming architectures. The simulator is also useful
as a sales demonstration tool.
Solaris
A Unix -based operating environment developed by Sun Microsystems.
Originally developed to run on Sun's SPARC workstations, Solaris
now runs on many workstations from other vendors. Burstware®'s
Conductor and Server run on Solaris-based systems, as well
as others.
Standalone
The Burstware® JMF Player can be installed as a standalone
application on a Windows 95, 98 or NT platform. The user can
launch and run the program from the desktop icon. The opposite
of this is the "embedded" player, which is a Java applet.
Strategic Partners
Companies that work together to promote their products by
leveraging each other's unique market position. For example,
Burst.com's partner, Virage, markets a multimedia indexing system
called VideoLogger, which enables the end user to search for
a particular section of video containing a specific image
or text phrase. Virage and Burst.com have coupled VideoLogger and
Burstware®, using Burstware® as the multimedia delivery mechanism.
Streaming
Streaming is a media delivery protocol that delivers data
just in time for display. Real-time streaming technology was
developed to overcome the long waiting times that end users
endured when downloading large multimedia files. By allowing
the client to play a multimedia file before the entire file
is delivered, streaming reduces the initial waiting time,
enabling the delivery of much longer programming. Streaming
is currently the most prevalent form of video and audio delivery,
although it is not well suited to the broadband environment.
(Contrast with Bursting.)
System Integrators
System integration is the progressive assembling of system
components into an entire system. Companies use integrated
systems to provide full-service solutions for their customers.
(See also Strategic Partner and VAR)
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol)
A suite of network protocols that allows reliable communication
between groups of dissimilar computer systems from a variety
of vendors. There are other protocols that do similar things,
but TCP/IP has the lowest overhead and is supported by almost
every type of network. TCP/IP also guarantees reliable delivery
by verifying packets to the sender as received by the receiving
station (See UDP). Burstware® is implemented using TCP/IP to
ensure portability, easy integration with other products and
applications, and reliability.
Throughput
Any measure of speed for data transmission. The Buffer Dataflow
Panel in the JMF Burstware® Player reports the rate at which
data is flowing from the server into the client buffer and
from the client buffer onto the screen, in kilobytes per second
(KBps). The Burst-enabled Windows Media Player reports the
same in kilobits per second.
Traffic Shaping
The use of software buffering tools to limit surges that can
congest a network.
Burstware® Server limits bandwidth usage to the maximum allocated
bandwidth decided upon by network system administrators. Allowable
bandwidth is never exceeded unless the Server is reconfigured.
Burstware® Conductor provides a central management service
for setting and changing the number of users according to
network stability. During peak use hours, system administrators
can control impact on the network by re-configuring the Conductor
to stop new video requests.
Burstware®'s "good network citizen" traffic shaping tools
bring control and flexibility to network configuration policies.
UDP
(User Datagram Protocol)
UDP is an unreliable network protocol (part of the IP protocol
suite) used by a wide variety of applications where reliable
delivery is less important than timely delivery. Under UDP,
no packets are verified by the receiving station (see TCP/IP).
Real time streaming systems use UDP, resulting in lower quality
video and audio experiences. Burstware® uses the reliable TCP/IP
protocol, resulting in higher-quality audio and video delivery.
UNIX
UNIX is the trademarked name of the multi-user, multitasking,
time-sharing operating system developed at AT&T's Bell Labs
in 1969. Its main use is as a multi-user server environment.
Many websites are maintained on UNIX systems. While technically
the name UNIX refers to only a few trademark-licensed versions,
it is often used to refer to the many versions currently available
on the market. The differences to the user are relatively
minor.
VAR's
(Value Added Resellers)
Similar to strategic partners, but with a twist. VAR's add
and combine product/s from other companies in with their own
to provide full service solutions for their customers. Burst.com
is developing a strong network of VAR's and system integrators
who are authorized to resell Burstware®.
Vertical Markets
A particular industry or group of enterprises in which similar
products or services are developed and marketed using similar
methods. Some examples of vertical markets are: insurance,
real estate, banking, heavy manufacturing, retail, and government.
Corporate training, telecommunications, and finance are examples
of vertical markets for which Burstware® is suited.
VPN (Virtual Private Network)
A network that is constructed by using public wires to connect
private nodes. For example, there are a number of systems
that enable you to create networks using the Internet as the
medium for transporting data. These systems use encryption
and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized
users can access the network and that the data cannot be intercepted.
WAN
(Wide Area Network)
A communications network that covers hundreds or thousands
of miles, using microwaves or telephone lines (private or
public). A WAN usually consists of data terminal equipment
owned or controlled by the user, together with data communication
equipment provided by a common carrier.
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