The publishing points on your server are listed in the console
tree. By clicking a publishing point in the list, you can modify or
view its settings in the details pane. By clicking Publishing
Points in the console tree, you can view a list of all existing
publishing points in the details pane. You can also perform basic
tasks such as adding, configuring, and removing publishing
points.
When you install Windows Media Services, a broadcast and an
on-demand publishing point are set up automatically. You can use
these initial publishing points as they are provided, modify them
to suit your needs, or remove them and add your own publishing
points. The on-demand publishing point is designated as the
default. A client connecting to a Windows Media server typically
must use the server and publishing point names as part of the
address. If no publishing point name is given, the Windows Media
server will direct the request to the Default publishing point.
The following information is required to add a publishing
point:
Type of publishing point. Broadcast or on-demand. The
type of publishing point you use depends on the scenario you are
implementing.
Name for the publishing point. The name, which will
become part of the URL a client uses to access content. Use a
meaningful name, such as the type of content to be streamed from
the publishing point (for example, MusicCDs). The name is not
case-sensitive.
Source location. The source of a publishing point, which
can be a file, a directory of files, a playlist, a stream from an
encoder, a publishing point on a remote Windows Media server, or a
local publishing point. You must specify the location and name of
the source. For example, you could specify a directory of files as
%systemdrive%\Wmpub\Wmroot or as
\\RemoteServer\Wmpub\Wmroot.
Delivery method. When adding a broadcast publishing
point, you have the choice of unicast streaming or multicast
streaming. Multicast streaming offers a unicast rollover feature
that allows clients to connect to your broadcast even if they are
unable to receive multicast streams.
Windows Media Services provides two methods for adding a
publishing point: the Add Publishing Point Wizard and the Add
Publishing Point (Advanced) dialog box. In addition to
gathering this primary information, the wizard also helps you
configure the publishing point. For example, with the wizard, you
can create an announcement file, create a wrapper playlist, add
media elements to a playlist and immediately start a broadcast
publishing point after the wizard finishes. For advanced users, the
Add Publishing Point (Advanced) dialog box can be a faster
alternative to the wizard when you are creating simple publishing
points. For more information about announcement files, see Streaming from publishing
points.
After adding a publishing point, you can configure publishing
point properties, and modify your publishing point settings
further. The Monitor, Source, Advertisement,
Publish, and Properties tabs contain the tools with
which you can make modifications and view settings. For more
information, see Configuring publishing
points.
You can also perform the following tasks with publishing
points:
Duplicating a publishing point. By duplicating a
publishing point, you create a copy on the same server that
includes all of the settings of the original publishing point, such
as the source path, plug-in configuration, and property settings.
This feature can help you set up your system more efficiently. For
example, if you are planning to implement the same policies on all
of the publishing points on your server, but want to specify
different sources for each, you can make copies of your basic
setup, then change the sources on each of the copies.
Renaming a publishing point. The publishing point name
is part of the address that the client uses to connect to the
publishing point. If you rename a publishing point, keep in mind
that announcement files and Web pages that referenced the old name
will need to be updated.
Removing a publishing point. When a publishing point is
no longer needed, it is a good idea to remove it in order to avoid
clutter and confusion with more current publishing points. When you
remove a publishing point, only the publishing point and its
settings are deleted. Source content such as files, directories,
playlists, and any related data such as announcement files and log
files are not removed or changed.
When naming a publishing point, avoid names that
are identical to those of directories on your Windows Media server.
A publishing point with the same name as a directory may interfere
with another publishing point that sources from that
directory.
The server does not use your user account to
access folders and other resources; it uses the Network Service
account by default. If you are sourcing from a location other than
C:\WMPub and its subdirectories, make sure that the folder is
shared and that the Network Service account has at least read
permissions for the folder. If the Network Service account does not
have permissions for a folder, the server will not be able to
stream content from it. For more information about rights and
permissions, see Understanding
rights.
Multicast streaming and the WMS Multicast Data
Writer plug-in are available only if Windows Media Services 9
Series is running on the following editions of the operating
system: Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition and Windows Server
2003, Datacenter Edition. If you are running Windows Server 2003,
Standard Edition, these features are not supported.
Notes