ServePath Blog

Did that get your attention? I hope so. Here are the high-level steps:

1. Sign up for an UpStream Networks (USN) plan
2. Download Windows Media Encoder 9 (WME9) from Microsoft and connect a Digital Video Camera, WebCam or similar device
3. Enter in your USN account information into WME9 and start streaming live (or pre-recorded content)

That’s it!

Here are the details of each step, for those of you who are extremely detail-oriented or want a guide on how to do this.

Step One - Signing up for UpStream Networks

1. Visit the UpStream Networks site.
2. Decide on the type of live streaming service you want (Windows Media or Flash Video). USN also offers pre-recording streaming. For these instructions I’m following the Windows Live Media streaming path.
3. Use the “Easy set-up wizard” to determine the proper plan for you.
   
   
4. After selecting your plan, click ORDER and fill out the initial “Personal Information” page (after selecting the plan)
   
5. Fill out the “Billing Information”
   
6. Review your order summary on the “Order Overview” page.
   
7. Receiver your “Order Confirmation”
   
8. Once you get your order confirmation via email (a few days later), you simply log into your account with your credentials.
   
9. Your Active Media Files shows you your account information.
   
10. Once you do some streaming, you can also view statistics for that stream.
    

Now that you have a USN account, you need to configure your device and computer for streaming.

Step Two- Setting up your computer

1. First, ensure that you have the following:
   • Computer with a Windows Operating System
   • A video camera that is compatible with your computer and Windows Media Encoder
   • An Internet connection that is 20% greater than the quality of video in kbps
   • Your Upstream Networks account
   • Windows Media Encoder 9 (see below)
2. Get the Windows Media Encoder9 (WME9) from Microsoft (sorry, Windows only instructions here). There are a few versions. Make your selection here.
3. Install WME9 and ensure that your video device works with it

Step Three - Set your USN account up within WME9

1. Launch Windows Media Encoder 9
2. New Session wizard

From the New Session Wizard, click “Broadcast a live event”.

Click the “OK” Button.


3. Device Options

To stream Video and/or Audio, check the appropriate boxes and select the relevant source device(s). In the example below, a “Creative Live! Cam IM Pro” device is used.

Then click the “Next” button.


4. Broadcast Method

Select “Push to a Windows Media Server (the connection is initiated by the encoder)”.

Then click the “Next” button.


5. Server and Publishing Point

Enter the information received from UpStream Networks.

Server name: live.upstreamnetworks.com
Publishing point: #####-#####

Then click the “Next” button.


6. Encoding Options

Select the Video, Audio and Bit rate options for the Live stream.

Recommendation: Bit rate should be less than your upstream Internet connection.

Then click the “Next” button.


7. Archive File (Optional)

If you want to save a copy of the outbound stream for later use, click the appropriate checkbox and provide a location to store the output.

Then click the “Next” button.


8. Include Video Files (Optional)

If you want to include other pre-recorded videos for inclusion within the stream click “Yes” and follow the instructions. Otherwise, select “No”.

Then click the “Next” button.


9. Display Information (Optional)

Enter (optionally) any information that you want to have displayed during the Live event.

Then click the “Next” button.


10. Settings Review

Review the settings that you have entered. If the items look incorrect, use the “Back” button to go to the settings that need to be corrected.

Then click the “Finish” button.


11. Broadcast Password

When prompted, enter the Broadcast Password for your UpStream Networks account.

User name: [provided by UpStream Networks]
Password: [provided by UpStream Networks]

Then click the “OK” button.


12. Start Encoding

Once your stream has connected to UpStream Networks, click the “Start Encoding” button to enable the Live Stream.

Yes, that is a live stream (snapshot) from my cube!

You are now broadcasting LIVE on the Internet. I realize that this was not exactly 3 steps, but the process can take just a few minutes once you have your USN account. If anyone has a “best practices” for doing this on a Mac (not using Windows through VMware or Parallels), leave a comment!

Yesterday ServePath released a new feature for the Grid Series product called “Snapshot & Restore.” More information can be found on the feature page. If you are familiar with other Virtualization technologies (e.g., Parallels or VMWare), you will know that one of the important features is the ability to take a snapshot of your current environment or server in order to be able to “roll back” or restore from that image should you need to. This ability is now available as a paid feature for our Grid Series product.

Some of the feature highlights:

• “Snapshot” or image of the server’s logical disk
• Remote storage of the image included with price (up to 2 images)
• Ability to restore from an image or snapshot upon request
• Unlimited snapshot and restore requests per month

What are the costs? This feature is a $19.99/month charge and includes storage of up to 2 snapshots. For additional snapshots, there is a monthly charge of $9.99 for each image.

When might you use this feature?

• If you regularly do hard-core development work where you might run the risk of corrupting or mis-configuring your server or environment
• If you server become compromised or hacked in some way
• If you want to test different server configurations
• If you want to protect core data or a particular instance of your environment

Some important notes. A server reboot is required in order to perform a backup. Reboots can typically take up to 5 minutes.

How do I order and use? Follow these easy steps:

1. Contact your Sales representative at: 1-866-321-PATH (1-866-321-7284) and ask for the monthly feature to be added to your Grid Series account.
2. Once enabled, you can request snapshots through your Grid Series portal (https://gridseries.servepath.com) by opening a Case.
3. Snapshot is taken by Support Engineers within 24 hours of the request. Upon completion, you are notified.

You can make unlimited requests for snapshots and restores once you have signed up for the service. Note, ServePath only stores 2 snapshots (unless you pay for more). On your 3rd snapshot, the 1st one will be deleted.

Go ahead, break your server! If you have a snapshot to restore to, we got you covered!