To configure the WMS Multicast Data Writer plug-in

1. In the console tree, click the broadcast publishing point for which you want to configure the plug-in.
2. In the details pane, click the Properties tab.
3. In Category, click Multicast streaming.
4. In the Windows Media Services snap-in, in Plug-in, click WMS Multicast Data Writer, and then click Properties.

   -or-

   In Windows Media Services Administrator for the Web, click WMS Multicast Data Writer.

   WMS Multicast Data Writer Properties appears.

5. On the General tab, in IP address, type the multicast IP address, and then in Port, type the port number from which you want to multicast.
6. In Time-to-live (TTL), enter the number of routers that your multicast can pass through (also known as the number of "hops") before expiring on the network.
7. If you want to enable players to automatically switch to a unicast stream if they cannot receive the stream through multicast, select the Enable unicast rollover check box, and then do one of the following:

   To	Do this
   Allow the current publishing point to stream content by using the Unicast Data Writer plug-in	Click Use this local publishing point.
   Redirect unicast connection requests to an alternate publishing point	Click Use other publishing point, and then type the URL of the publishing point.

   
   
8. In the Windows Media Services snap-in, click the Advanced tab to perform the following steps.
   • In IP address of the network interface card to multicast from, enter the IP address for the network interface card on your server that can multicast content.
   • In Logging URL, type the URL to the Multicast and Advertisement Logging Agent, for example, http://server_name/folder/wmsiislog.dll.
9. Click OK to close the properties sheet.
10. In the details pane, click Enable.

Notes

• Windows Media Services supports Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). IPv6 is the newest version of the Internet Protocol and was designed to accommodate increasing demand for unique IP addresses. IPv6 increases the IP address size from 32 bits to 128 bits to support more levels of addressing hierarchy and a greater number of addressable nodes. Not all networks are configured to use IPv6, but Windows Media Services will automatically use IPv6 when it is available. For more information about IPv6, refer to the IPv6 page at the Microsoft Web site.
• 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.

Related topics

• Delivering content as a multicast stream
• How multicast works
• To install the Multicast and Advertisement Logging Agent
• Work with plug-ins