Chapter 20: Phase II: Remote Server Deployment

Overview

At this point, the Fabrikam staff has built and upgraded its facilities to enable producers and users to create content for streaming over the intranet. They also implemented a Web-based Media Guide to help users find content. The Fabrikam IT department installed Windows Media server farms at headquarters so on-demand content and limited live content can be streamed locally. In this chapter, the IT department installs servers in remote locations. These servers will enable users anywhere on the corporate network to stream content.

In this phase of deployment, a Windows Media server will also be installed in the company’s perimeter network (also known as a DMZ), located at headquarters in Toronto. The perimeter network server will provide streaming media content to Fabrikam partners on the extranet: those users outside the firewall who connect through the Internet. Installation of this server is very similar to that of an intranet server, except that it will not use network load balancing. Also, tighter security measures will be used, which include two firewalls to protect the server and to prevent unauthorized access to the internal corporate network.

In the networking industry, many new systems for managing bandwidth and content have emerged. Internet users want speed and reliability, and they want their experience with digital media on the Web to be the same as their experience with television, DVDs, and CDs. They have little patience for low-quality video and network problems. They just want it all to work.

Intranet users have the same demands. Windows Media can use the existing network infrastructure to provide enterprise users with a high-quality streaming media experience. But streaming media places heavy demands on the intranet. To maintain the health of the network and support client needs, a system is needed that both manages bandwidth and provides a way to manage streaming media content. Fabrikam achieves both goals by decentralizing the hosting of content through the use of remote servers.