Cisco® AnyRes Video on Demand (VoD) helps expand the revenue potential of video content for service providers, media distributors, and content providers by generating high-quality VoD assets that are compatible with any device. By eliminating the manual bottlenecks typically involved with high-volume, file-based transcoding workflow, which prepares video files for set-top boxes, PCs, and mobile devices, Cisco AnyRes VoD helps lower operating expenses (OpEx). It also produces high-quality assets for every screen with exceptional performance, maximizing advertising opportunities without compromising the viewing experience.
The server is the foundation of Cisco AnyRes VoD. As the master controller, the server stores all data, templates, and events; coordinates and manages load balancing and failover; and distributes jobs associated with the pre-encoding analysis, encoding, and post-encoding functions. It also acts as the Cisco AnyRes VoD license server, allowing other nodes to be installed more easily, even virtualized. The server can also perform an automated upgrade of your entire platform, saving hours of painstaking operations.
The Cisco AnyRes VoD server is a required node that ships with the Cisco AnyRes VoD client application. The server acts as an overlay in this distributed encoding architecture. The separate Cisco AnyRes VoD client is used to configure the templates and workflows that are stored in the server. Finally, the server provides the representational state transfer (REST) API that's used to provision the entire platform.
Features and Benefits
The Cisco AnyRes VoD server:
• Enables file-based transcoding operations to scale to exceptional volumes
• Manages and monitors grid utilization
• Load balances jobs for optimal CPU utilization, maximizing your ROI
• Provides a failover solution, protecting you in case of a hardware failure
• Logs and generates reports associated with every job, including customer tracking, encoding times, job history, and error messages
• Provides routine backup and trimming of server data, automating record keeping and helping to ensure business continuity
• Supports a high-availability model for unhindered redundancy
• Provides a REST API for provisioning
• Acts as the license server for the entire Cisco AnyRes VoD platform
Platform Support and Compatibility
Cisco AnyRes Video on Demand is optimized for use on Cisco Unified Computing System™ (Cisco UCS™) hardware, such as on the B200 M3 blade server. This provides customers with a single system that encompasses:
• Network: Cisco Unified Fabric
• Industry-standard x86 computing
• Storage with access options
• Virtualization optimization
• Unified management model
• Dynamic resource provisioning
• Efficient scaling
• Lower cost, with fewer servers, switches, adapters, and cables
• Lower power consumption
• Fewer points of management
Licensing
License requirements for Cisco AnyRes Video on Demand vary by node, as outlined in Table 1.
Table 1. License Requirements
Node
License Requirements
Client
Unlicensed, but required initially for setup and to operate Cisco AnyRes VoD; can be bypassed by the Cisco AnyRes VoD server API
Server
Required for all installations; one license per server or blade
Encoding
Transcoding and digital rights management (DRM)
Analysis
Pre-encoding analysis and "decision logic"
Post-encoding
Quality check, offline packaging, and delivery
Enhanced transport stream
Generates CableLabs®-compliant files
AC-3 Dolby
Encoding AC-3 files; pass-through does not require license
Common format indexing
Generates files compatible with Cisco Videoscape™ Distribution Suite Origin Server (VDS-OS) on-demand packaging
IP mode
Puts Cisco AnyRes VoD into "online enhancement" mode for Cisco VDS Optimization Engine (VDS-OE) solution
System Requirements
Table 2 lists system requirements for the Cisco AnyRes Video on Demand Server.
Cisco Services brings together the people, processes, tools, and partners to accelerate service providers' success by using their IP Next-Generation Network (IP NGN) architectural platforms. Cisco Services is focused on promoting business outcomes through network, services, and operational transformation. Through a collaborative approach and tailored engagements, Cisco Services can help accelerate time to market, mitigate risk, reduce cost through improving operational efficiencies, and help assure the user experience.
Cisco Services' approach and differentiation in services comes from a heritage of network capabilities and a wealth of experience in providing solutions to service providers in all sectors around the world. That is reflected in over 20 years' involvement in the market with services and solutions that are strategically aligned with those of the service provider. Cisco Services has also made a massive research and development commitment to the service provider community, developing innovative roadmaps and solutions to keep the sector ahead of the competition.
