Skip to main content
A
Anonymous
May 26, 2009
Answered

Why are there 2 directories for media - 1 under webroot and 1 under applications?

  • May 26, 2009
  • 1 reply
  • 2074 views

Hi,

I have installed FMS and we are evalauating it as a streaming server.

If I understand the documentation correctly, all the media files for streaming need to be stored in this directory:

/..../applications/vod/media

However, if I want the file to be available (downloadable) over http, it needs to be located under webroot.

/..../webroot/

Now my question is, why can't I just create a symbolic link in .../webroot/media to point at .../applications/vod/media.

In general, we'd like to make every file streamable and downloadable.

My thinking is, the sym link allow us to not have to upload every file to two places.

Am I missing something?  Are there security concerns?  What is the idea behind having 2 directories?  I assume that the FMS can handle streaming and downloading of a file at the same time.

Jeph

    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer

    Jay is right.

    The server was configured with two directories because many customers don't want their media available for download over HTTP. The vod/media folder is for RTMP streaming only. Other customers need their media available over HTTP as well as RTMP. The webroot/vod folder is for these files.

    Here's how the configuration works:

    If you look in the fms.ini file (rootinstallationfolder/conf), you'll see two parameters that set the location of vod media files:

    VOD_COMMON_DIR = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Server 3.5\webroot\vod

    VOD_DIR = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Server 3.5\applications\vod\media

    These parameters are used in the <Streams> tag of the Application.xml configuration file in the rootinstallationfolder/applications/vod folder. They tell FMS that it can stream files from either of those locations.

    /webroot is the Apache webroot. The Apache httpd.conf file (rootinstallationfolder\Apache2.2\conf) sets the location of the webroot folder. Anything under this folder can be downloaded.

    For streaming only, put the files in the vod/media folder. For streaming + downloading, put the files in the webroot/vod folder.

    HTH,

    Jody

    1 reply

    A
    Anonymous
    June 2, 2009

    You can create a symbolic link... there's just no built in facilities for FMS to do it automatically. You'd need to do the Apache configuration yourself... but there's n oreason you couldn't make Apache's httproot point to the applications/vod/media folder.

    The thing to understand is that there isn't any real integration between FMS and Apache... FMS just proxies HTTP requests to a given port (configured in fms.ini). Whatever happens to be listening on that port is responsible for handling the request after FMS hands it off.

    As for security concerns, they are the same as any other HTTP server installation.

    A
    Anonymous
    Correct answer
    June 3, 2009

    Jay is right.

    The server was configured with two directories because many customers don't want their media available for download over HTTP. The vod/media folder is for RTMP streaming only. Other customers need their media available over HTTP as well as RTMP. The webroot/vod folder is for these files.

    Here's how the configuration works:

    If you look in the fms.ini file (rootinstallationfolder/conf), you'll see two parameters that set the location of vod media files:

    VOD_COMMON_DIR = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Server 3.5\webroot\vod

    VOD_DIR = C:\Program Files\Adobe\Flash Media Server 3.5\applications\vod\media

    These parameters are used in the <Streams> tag of the Application.xml configuration file in the rootinstallationfolder/applications/vod folder. They tell FMS that it can stream files from either of those locations.

    /webroot is the Apache webroot. The Apache httpd.conf file (rootinstallationfolder\Apache2.2\conf) sets the location of the webroot folder. Anything under this folder can be downloaded.

    For streaming only, put the files in the vod/media folder. For streaming + downloading, put the files in the webroot/vod folder.

    HTH,

    Jody

    F
    fraxdevel
    Participating Frequently
    June 10, 2009

    Jody you are great!!!:)

    But I have another question for you.

    I understand all passage to store file for RTMP protocol and also for HTTP protocol but now I have a simple dubt.

    What is the code to take a file from the application/vod/media and not from webroot/vod.

    Thanks for all answers!

    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement
    Using the community Terms of use Privacy Cookie preferences Do not sell or share my personal information ad choicesAdChoices