Realproxyg 2 B 1

REALPROXY G2 ADMINISTRATION GUIDE
BETA ONE
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names, and data used in
examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No part of this document may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written
permission of RealNetworks, Inc.
© 1999 RealNetworks, Inc.
RealAudio, RealVideo, and RealPlayer are registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.
The Real logo, RealServer, RealPlayer Plus, RealText, RealPix, RealAudio Encoder, RealVideo Encoder,
RealEncoder, RealPublisher, RealProducer, RealProducer Plus, RealProducer Pro, SureStream, RealBroadcast
Network, and RealSystem are trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.
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Macromedia is a registered trademark and Flash and Shockwave are trademarks of Macromedia, Inc.
STiNG is a trademark of Iterated Systems, Inc.
ACELP-NET codec used under license from Université de Sherbrooke. Sipro Lab Télécom, Inc. Copyright ©1994-
1997. All rights reserved.
DolbyNet is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
Dolby Digital AC-3 audio system manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories.
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Microsoft Corporation.
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Sonic Foundry and Sound Forge are registered trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc.
Other product and corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies. They are
used for explanation only, with no intent to infringe.
RealNetworks, Inc.
1111 Third Avenue, Suite 2900
Seattle, WA 98101 USA
http://www.real.com
CONTENTS
Overview............................................................................... 9
How This Manual Is Organized .............................................. 9
Conventions in This Manual .................................................11
Additional RealSystem Resources..........................................12
Technical Support ................................................................12
1 OVERVIEW 15
How RealProxy Works ..........................................................15
Media Cache Software .....................................................17
Modes of Operation.............................................................18
Passthrough.....................................................................18
Cache Integration ............................................................19
Bitsave.............................................................................21
Pull Splitting ....................................................................22
Requirements for Each RealProxy Mode ............................22
Interaction with RealServer ...................................................22
Controlling Client Access..................................................23
Denying Client Access.......................................................23
Tracking Activity...............................................................23
Cache Requests................................................................23
When RealProxy Will Not Conserve Bandwidth......................24
Additional Features ..............................................................24
Administration.................................................................24
Setting Up Clients ............................................................25
Limiting Network Traffic...................................................25
Chaining One RealProxy to Another ..................................25
Monitoring RealProxy in Real Time....................................26
Tracking RealProxy Activity ...............................................26
Protocols.............................................................................26
2 STARTING AND STOPPING REALPROXY 29

Windows .............................................................................29
Starting RealProxy Under Windows ...................................29
Stopping RealProxy Under Windows .................................32
UNIX ...................................................................................32
iii
Contents RealProxy Administration Guide
Starting RealProxy Under UNIX.........................................33

Stopping RealProxy Under UNIX .......................................34
Configuring MIME Types .....................................................34
License Information .............................................................36
3 CONFIGURING REALPROXY FEATURES 39

Configuring RealProxy Using RealSystem Administrator .........39
Starting RealSystem Administrator....................................39
Using RealSystem Administrator .......................................40
Restricting Access to RealSystem Administrator .................41
Configuration File ................................................................41
Editing the Configuration File with a Text Editor ................42
Common Settings ................................................................43
Port Variables ..................................................................43
Configuring RealProxy Features.............................................43
Passthrough Mode...........................................................44
Bitsave Mode...................................................................44
Cache Mode....................................................................44
Pull Splitting....................................................................44
Multicasting ....................................................................44
4 CONNECTING CLIENTS TO REALPROXY 45

Overview .............................................................................45
Configuring Clients to Send Requests to RealProxy ............45
Using a Router to Send Client Requests to RealProxy .........45
Configuring RealPlayers to Contact RealProxy .......................46
Configuring RealProxy to Listen for Re-Routed Client Messages47
5 ADVANCED FEATURES 51
Running Web Servers and RealProxy on the Same System ......51
Administering Both RealProxy and RealServer ........................52
Reserving IP Addresses for RealProxys Use ............................52
Features Specific to the Operating System .............................53
Windows NT ...................................................................53
UNIX...............................................................................54
6 MANAGING BANDWIDTH 55
Overview .............................................................................55
Maximum Clients.................................................................56
Maximum Bandwidth...........................................................56
Maximum Gateway Bandwidth .............................................57
Low Gateway Bandwidth......................................................57
Limiting Access to Multicast Reception .................................58
iv
Limiting Access by RealPlayer Version....................................59
7 LIMITING ACCESS TO REALPROXY 61

Overview .............................................................................61
Deciding What Rules to Create .............................................62
Numbering the Rules............................................................63
Setting Up IP Access Control ................................................64
8 CHAINING ONE REALPROXY TO ANOTHER 71

Overview .............................................................................71
Setting Up Chaining .............................................................72
Turning Off Chaining ...........................................................73
9 MULTICASTING LIVE STREAMS 75

Overview .............................................................................75
Multicast Methods...........................................................76
Setting Up Multicasting........................................................76
Setting Up the Network for Multicasting ...........................77
Allocating Addresses and Port Numbers in RealProxy.........77
Determining Required Addresses and Port Numbers ..........78
Setting Up Back-Channel Multicasting ..................................78
10 MONITORING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 83

Using RealSystem Administrator ...........................................83
11 TRACKING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 85

Proxy Log.............................................................................85
Reading a Proxy Log.........................................................85
Customizing Information Reported by the Proxy Log..........91
Log File Rolling ....................................................................93
Disabling Log File Rolling .................................................94
Error Log .............................................................................94
A CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX 97

Configuration File Components ............................................97
XML Declaration Tag .......................................................97
Comment Tags ................................................................97
List Tags..........................................................................98
Variable Tags...................................................................98
B CONFIGURATION FILE CONTENTS 101

Editing the Configuration File .............................................101
Elements of the Configuration File ......................................102
Ports .............................................................................102
v
Paths.............................................................................102
RealProxy ......................................................................103
RTSP Redirection ...........................................................105
MIME Types ..................................................................105
File Systems ...................................................................106
IP Binding......................................................................108
Allowance......................................................................109
HTTP Support ...............................................................110
Access Control...............................................................110
Splitting ........................................................................111
Multicasting ..................................................................112
Authentication...............................................................113
Passwords .....................................................................114
Logging .........................................................................114
C FILES INCLUDED WITH REALPROXY 117
vi
vii
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INTRODUCTION
This manual describes a pre-release product. As such, some features may not be
fully implemented; any information here is subject to change.
Welcome to RealProxy, a network server that works with
RealServer to reduce streaming media bandwidth and improve the
viewing experience on your intranet or Internet gateway. This
manual will help you use and optimize RealProxy.
Overview
This manual is aimed at information services administrator who will be
setting up RealProxy.
How This Manual Is Organized

This manual contains the following chapters:
Chapter 1: Overview
This chapter gives the big picture of how RealProxy streams media to a
clients, while conserving bandwidth used.
Chapter 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy

This is a guide to starting and stopping RealProxy. Depending on which
platform your RealProxy runs on, different automatic starting options are
available. The license structure and MIME types are also discussed.
Chapter 3: Conf iguring RealProxy Features

RealSystem Administrator is the web-based console for fine-tuning RealProxy
features.
9
Introduction RealProxy Administration Guide
Chapter 4: Connecting Clients to RealProxy

There are just a few steps you need to take to set up clients to take full
advantage of RealProxy. Or, you can set up RTSP redirection so that this
happens automatically.
Chapter 5: Advanced Features

This chapter discusses differences between RealProxy on the different
platforms, the assignment of IP addresses for RealProxys use, and some
differences between RealProxy and RealServer.
Chapter 6: Managing Bandwidth

RealProxy has several methods of managing the amount of bandwidth it uses.
You can limit the amount of bandwidth in use at one time, and place a cap on
the number of clients who can receive streaming media.
Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy

You can limit which clients use your RealProxy, based on their IP addresses.
Chapter 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another

By employing several RealProxies at once, you can funnel all streaming media
Internet traffic through a single point.
Chapter 9: Splitting Live Streams

Splitting can distribute load over your network.
Chapter 9: Multicasting Live Streams

Take advantage of multicasting when streaming from RealProxy.
Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity

To provide highest quality service, youll want to keep track of how many
people are accessing your RealProxy.
Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity

Youll want to look at trends and see what content is most popular. RealProxy
can report player behavior with a customizable degree of detail. Errors are
reported in their own log, which can help you troubleshoot any problems that
arise.
10
RealProxy Administration Guide Introduction
Appendixes
Appendix A: Conf iguration File Syntax

This appendix consists of a discussion of the XML syntax used by the
configuration file.
Appendix B: Conf iguration File Contents

This is a guide to the configuration file, for those who prefer to edit it directly
rather than using RealSystem Administrator.
Appendix C: Files Included with RealProxy

A list of the files installed by RealProxy.
Conventions in This Manual

Because this manual is aimed at the RealProxy administrator, the term you
refers to the administrator.
RealSystem clients, such as RealPlayer, are referred to generically as clients.
Where information applies specifically to the RealNetworks RealPlayer® or
RealPlayer Plus, this is spelled out. Although most clients in use are
RealNetworks own RealPlayer, RealNetworks also makes a software
development kit that enables other companies to develop their own players
which can also receive streamed data types.
Clips, content, media files, and files are used interchangeably to
indicate the material that RealProxy streams.
The following table explains the typographic conventions used in this manual:
Notational Conventions
Convention Meaning
syntax Syntax of configuration files, URLs, or command-line instructions
are given in this typeface.
value Placeholder words are given in an italic monospaced typeface.
Substitute the appropriate value for your system.
... Ellipses indicate nonessential information omitted from the
example.
[] Square brackets indicate optional material. If you choose to use the
material within the brackets, do not type the brackets themselves.
11
Introduction RealProxy Administration Guide
Additional RealSystem Resources

In addition to this manual, you may be interested in the following
RealNetworks resources, available at http://service.real.com/help/library/
index.html.
RealServer Administration Guide
The basic reference for the RealServer administrator, this manual explains
how to set up, configure, and run RealServer to stream multimedia.
RealSystem G2 Software Development Kit
RealNetworks has developed a Software Development Kit (SDK) that lets
you integrate applications with RealSystem or create new plug-ins for
RealServer or RealPlayer. Knowledge of programming is required to use
the SDK. Register for and download the SDK from
http://www.real.com/devzone/.
Technical Support
For technical support with RealSystem G2, please fill out the form at:
http://service.real.com/contact/email.htm
The information you provide in this form will help technical support
personnel to give you a prompt response. For general information about
RealNetworks technical support, visit:
http://service.real.com/help/call.html
12
RealProxy Administration Guide Introduction
13
Chapter 1: OVERVIEW 1
RealProxy manages clients requests for RealServer content.
RealProxy can also be integrated with third-party cache software,
enabling RealProxy to stream stored media closer to clients and to
conserve gateway bandwidth.
How RealProxy Works

RealProxy is software you install on a network or ISP gateway that aggregates
and handles client requests for media streamed by RealServer. When installed
with streaming media cache software, RealProxy reduces network traffic by
eliminating redundant requests for streaming media.
RealProxy provides two main benefits:
Reducing bandwidth consumption by eliminating redundant data
transmissions.
Improving quality of service by distributing streaming media close to the
user.
Over view of the RealProxy Process

1. Clients request streamed media files via RealProxy.
2. RealProxy forwards the requests to the RealServer where the requested
streamed media files are stored (called the origin RealServer).
RealServer verifies the files existence, and that the clients are authorized
through IP addresses or authentication. If RealServer denies the request, it
does not stream the requested file, and neither does RealProxy. Clients
receive an error message.
15
CHAPTER 1: Overview RealProxy Administration Guide
This initial transaction, in which RealServer examines and authorizes

individual client requests, is called an accounting connection.
Steps in the RealProxy Process
3. If the stream is live, and served from a RealServer that supports splitting,
RealProxy replicates the live stream for each client requesting the stream.
The origin RealServer sends only a single stream to RealProxy.
If the live stream is not available via splitting, RealProxy delivers the data
separately for each client.
Live Content
4. If the stream is on-demand, and RealProxy is set up to use a media cache,

it fills the request from the cache.
If the stream is on-demand, and a media cache is not available, RealProxy
passes a data stream for each client that requested it.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 1: Overview
On-Demand Content (No Media Cache in Use)
Media Cache Software

RealProxy can be configured to work with a third-party media cache, which
will store streamed data for clients requesting these streams later. A media
cache file lowers network traffic by reducing the number of connections to the
source of the requested material, and improves quality by distributing the
streaming content closer to the user. Clients receive improved quality of
service because media streams travel a shorter distance from the cache to
clients, reducing the possibility of network congestion or packet loss.
RealProxy and Media Cache Software Delivering On-Demand Streams
Once configured to work with a media cache, RealProxy sends the clients
request to the origin RealServer. After the request is approved and RealServer
begins streaming, RealProxy looks at the incoming stream to determine
17
whether it is live or on-demand material. If the request is for on-demand

material, RealProxy sends the request to the media cache software. The media
cache software locates the data and streams it to the client.
Modes of Operation
RealProxy has four modes of operation:
Passthrough
Bitsave
Caching
Splitting
In addition, the methods that handle live broadcasts (passthrough, bitsave,

and push splitting) can be configured to transmit via multicast.
RealProxy Modes
Streams on- Streams live Can be Conserves
demand clips clips configured bandwidth
Mode to multicast
Passthrough
Caching
Bitsave
Splitting
In passthrough, caching, and bitsave modes, an accounting connection is

opened between the client and the origin RealServer.
Passthrough
This is the RealProxys simplest method of operation. In passthrough mode,
no special features are activated, but all streaming media traffic passes
through one point. In addition to the usual accounting connection opened
between the client and the origin RealServer, RealProxy creates a data
connection for each client. No bandwidth conservation is appreciated.
18
RealProxy in Passthrough Mode (Handling Live and On-Demand Streams)
Cache Integration
Cache software stores on-demand streams from RealServer. Since cached files
are stored in a proprietary format and cannot be accessed directly, RealProxy
interfaces with the cache to redistribute the stored media to clients.
When caching is enabled, the media cache software stores streamed data when
requested by the first client. When a second client makes a request for a
stream, RealProxy checks with the cache to see if a stored version is already
present. To ensure that the stored version is the most up-to-date version
available, RealProxy checks with the origin RealServer to see if a newer version
exists. After determining that the stored copy is the latest version, RealProxy
streams the stored copy to the second client.
Only on-demand files streamed by RealServer G2 can be cached. Live material
is handled as in the most efficient mode suitablebitsave or passthrough (and
sent via multicast, if available on the network).
19
RealProxy Filling the Media Cache (Handling On-Demand Streams)
RealProxy Serving On-Demand Media from the Cache
To ensure high-quality data at all times, RealProxy monitors the quality of

both the cached data it is streaming and the connection between the origin
RealServer and the client.
Should the data from the media cache become impaired in some way, the
stream halts and clients receive an error message.
If the accounting connection between the client and the origin RealServer is
interrupted, RealProxy terminates the stream, and the client receives an error
message.
20
You wont be able to take advantage of your media cache if clients are
requesting streams from an origin RealServer which has been configured to
prevent caching. Clients will still receive the streams, but the media cache
wont be permitted to store them. When RealServer is installed, all its streams
are cacheable by default.
Even if a RealServer manager opts to prevent caching of some content (such as
advertisements), he or she will probably permit it for most items. Since
RealServers can reach more clients if caching is allowed, managers are
encouraged to leave all content cacheable.
For specific instructions on configuring a third-party media cache, refer to the
documentation included with that software.
Bitsave
Bitsave mode is for use with live material. The first time a client requests a
particular stream, RealProxy contacts the origin RealServer on the clients
behalf and then sends the stream to the client. The second client to request a
live stream will receive it directly from RealProxy, and RealProxy will not have
to obtain another stream from the origin RealServer. The origin RealServer
has only to serve a single stream to every client that uses a particular
RealProxy.
The advantage to the client is that the material is delivered from a local
source. As long as the quality of reception between RealProxy and the origin
RealServer remains good, the client will receive a high-quality live stream, as
well.
RealProxy in Bitsave Mode (Handling Live Streams)
21
Pull Splitting
If you have your own RealServer that broadcasts within your network, you can
configure RealProxy to act as a splitter. RealProxy can then share the
streaming load with the source RealServer.
Requirements for Each RealProxy Mode

The following table outlines the configuration requirements for each aspect of
RealProxy operation.
Requirements for Each Feature
Mode RealProxy Configuration Your Network Requirements Origin RealServer Requirements
(assumes RealProxy is running)
Passthrough None. None. Broadcasting live and/or
on-demand content.
Caching Cache is enabled; Media cache software Has on-demand content, and
configuration file installed. Refer to media cache is configured to accept
contains media cache documentation. requests from caches.
settings (added by (RealServers are configured
caches setup this way by default.)
program).
Bitsave None. RealProxy is Network allows UDP Broadcasting live content.
configured to do transport between RealProxy Configured for pull splitting
bitsave at installation. and RealServer. (the pull splitting method
allows other RealServers or
RealProxy servers to
rebroadcast live content.)
Pull splitting None. RealProxy is Network allows UDP Configured to allow pull
configured to do transport between RealProxy splitting, with default values.
bitsave at installation. and RealServer.
Multicasting Configured to use Clients and routers are Broadcasting live content.
multicast address multicast-enabled.
range.
Interaction with RealServer

This section describes what happens on the origin RealServer when RealProxy
forwards a client request.
22
Controlling Client Access

Each time it receives a request, RealServer determines whether it can allow a
particular client to receive streams, based on the number of available streams
and bandwidth. In addition, RealServer may be configured to require a user
name and password for certain material. If the requested material requires a
password, the user will be prompted for the password. RealServer does not
begin streaming until it receives the correct password.
Only after RealServer has authorized the clients request will RealServer begin
streaming. Restrictions imposed by the origin RealServers administrator on
client access are always honored by RealProxy. The same is true when a cache
is in useRealProxy waits for RealServer approval of each request before
streaming it from the cache.
Denying Client Access

An origin RealServer may deny a request for the following reasons:
The requested material is secured, and the user does not have permission
to access it
RealServer can restrict access according to IP address, and the clients IP
address is on the restricted access list
No more connections are available on the origin RealServer. The number
of connections is governed by the license, and can be further limited by
the manager of the RealServer.
The client receives a message if it is denied access for any reason.
Tracking Activity
To the origin RealServer, requests made via RealProxy appear identical to
requests made by any other client, and information about quality of service is
logged in the log file, just as it is for any other type of connection. Information
about quality of service comes from the accounting connection between the
RealServer and the client.
Cache Requests
RealProxy only streams media from the cache after opening an accounting
connection to the origin RealServer. If the accounting connection cannot be
23
established, or if it is disrupted, RealProxy will not stream from the cache to

the client.
RealProxy cannot cache content which an origin RealServer administrator has
configured as non-cacheable. Instead, it will use passthrough mode to deliver
the material to the client.
When RealProxy Will Not Conserve Bandwidth

Under the following circumstances, RealProxy will be unable to conserve
bandwidth:
Ifthe origin RealServer is configured to only allow caching on some files,
or not at all. You have no control over this. (For example, a RealServer
administrator might prevent frequently updated material, such as
advertisements, from being cached.)
Ifthe origin RealServer is not configured for pull splitting. RealProxys
bitsave mode takes advantage of splitting on the origin RealServer, and if
the RealServer is not set up to allow splitting, bitsave mode wont work.
In all cases, however, using RealProxy on your network serves to collect all
streaming media traffic at a single point, so that you can better monitor
activity and maintain security.
Additional Features
RealProxy contains additional features that make it easy to configure,
administer, and maintain.
Administration
RealSystem Administrator is a web-based console for customizing RealProxy
features. You can access via a browser anywhere on your network, using either
Netscape Navigator version 4.06 or higher, or Internet Explorer version 4.0 or
higher.
Changes you make using RealSystem Administrator are stored in the
RealProxy configuration file. This text file is based on Extensible Markup
Language (XML) and can be edited directly. Because the structure of this file is
complex, RealSystem Administrator is the recommended tool for making
changes.
24
See Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features on page 39 for specific

instructions on customizing RealProxy.
Setting Up Clients
Once you have configured RealProxy, you will need to arrange for clients (such
as RealPlayer) to send their requests to RealProxy.
There are two ways you can do this:
Configure clients to directly contact RealProxy with their streaming
media requests. You can send instructions for doing this to users.
Configure RealProxy to intercept client requests. This does not require any
special client configuration, but it does require the use of software or
hardware which routes TCP traffic by destination port (such as a layer-4
switch).
For information on setting up either method, see Chapter 4: Connecting
Clients to RealProxy.
Limiting Network Traffic

To limit the amount of bandwidth used by RealProxy, several features allow
you to restrict the number of requests or amount of bandwidth it uses. Clients
that attempt to contact RealServers after RealProxys limits have been reached
receive an error message.
Additional Information
See Chapter 6: Managing Bandwidth.
Chaining One RealProxy to Another

To carefully direct the streaming media traffic on your network, you can
configure RealProxy to direct its clients requests to yet another RealProxy. A
RealProxy that sends its requests to another RealProxy is called a child; the
RealProxy that receives requests from other RealProxies is called the parent.
See Chapter 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another.
25
Monitoring RealProxy in Real Time

RealSystem Administrator includes an HTML page which dynamically
displays the status of your RealProxy.
Refer to Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity.
Tracking RealProxy Activity

RealProxy records information in the access log about all clips it has served.
Errors are noted in the error log.
RealProxy error logs use the same format as RealServer error logs. Access logs
are similar to RealServer logs, but include additional information about the
address of the origin RealServer and the RealProxy operational mode (bitsave,
caching, and so on).
Log files on the origin RealServer do not show that a RealProxy is in use; only
the client data is gathered.
Access and error log information is described in depth
in Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity.
Protocols
RealProxy handles client requests and proxies RealServer streams by using the
Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), the Internet standard control protocol
for streaming multimedia, and PNA, the RealNetworks legacy protocol.
RealProxy does not handle HTTP requests made between clients and origin
RealServer.
Supported Protocols and Data Packet Formats
Control Protocol Control Data Packet Data Packet Supported by
Transport Format Transport RealProxy?
RTSP TCP RDT IP multicast, Yes
(RealNetworks) UDP, TCP
RTSP TCP RTP IP multicast, Yes
UDP, TCP
PNA TCP RDT UDP, TCP Yes
(RealNetworks) (RealNetworks)
(Table Page 1 of 2)
26
Supported Protocols and Data Packet Formats (continued)

Control Protocol Control Data Packet Data Packet Supported by
Transport Format Transport RealProxy?
PNA TCP RTP UDP, TCP Yes
(RealNetworks)
HTTP TCP No
(Streaming)
HTTP TCP RDT TCP No
(Cloaking) (RealNetworks),
RTP
(Table Page 2 of 2)
27
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Chapter 2: STARTING AND STOPPING REALPROXY 2
This chapter gives information on starting and stopping RealProxy
on both Windows and UNIX platforms, setting up MIME types, and
explains the RealProxy license method.
Windows
Instructions in this section describe how to start and stop RealProxy running
under Windows.
Starting RealProxy Under Windows

RealProxy can be started manually or as a service. You can configure each
service to use different configuration files.
Whether you start RealProxy manually or as a service, if you start it without
including a configuration file, RealProxy uses the most recently used
configuration settings.
Star ting RealProxy Manually

You can start RealProxy from the Start menu or from a command line.
➤ To start RealProxy from the Start menu:
On the Start menu, click Programs, then click RealProxy, and finally click
RealProxy G2. This starts the rmserver.exe program. If this is the first time you
have run RealProxy, it loads the default configuration file.
The configuration file is described in Chapter 3:
Configuring RealProxy Features.
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CHAPTER 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy RealProxy Administration Guide
➤ To start RealProxy from a command line:
Move to the RealProxy Bin directory and type the following at a command line:
rmserver ..\rmserver.cfg
To limit the amount of memory that RealServer G2 uses, start RealServer with
the -m parameter:
rmserver ..\rmserver.cfg -m 32
where the number after -m can be any amount of memory in megabytes, 32 or

greater. Each megabyte of RealServer memory accommodates 3 to 4
simultaneous connected users. To allow 200 users to connect, specify 50
megabytes of memory instead of 32. (This parameter is optional.)
Setting Up RealProxy as a Ser vice

RealProxy on Windows NT can be run as a service. An option during setup
configures this automatically. Instructions in this section describe how to add
RealProxy to the services list if you did not instruct setup to do so.
You can load different configuration files into different Windows NT registry
keys, and connect them to different instances of RealProxy running as
separate services. Multiple services of RealProxy can be useful if you want to
switch between a production and a test configuration file, for example.
➤ To install RealProxy as a service:
1. At a command prompt, move to the RealProxy Bin directory.

2. Import the configuration file you want to use into a specific key in the
registry by typing the following:
rmserver.exe -import[:key] configuration_file
where:
keyis the Registry key name you want to use. If you omit it, the default
name Config is substituted.
is the path and configuration file you want to import.
configuration_file
For example, the following command:
rmserver.exe -import:Proxy1 ../rmserver.cfg
imports all the values in the rmserver.cfg file into the following key of the
Windows registry:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\RealNetworks\RealMedia Proxy\6.0\Proxy1
30
RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy
Note
You must supply the path to the configuration file. If
RealProxy cannot find the configuration file, it may not
start.
Tip
You can now start RealProxy using this configuration by
typing the following at a command line:
rmserver.exe registry:Proxy1
3. Install the service by typing the following command at a command

prompt:
rmserver.exe -install[:ServiceName] "parameters"
where:
ServiceName is the name that will appear in the Services dialog box. If you
omit ServiceName , RMProxy is substituted.
parameters is either the name of the configuration file, or the registry and key
name, as entered in Step 2. The format of the registry and key name is
registry:key. Any command line parameters, such as the -m switch, can be
used.
Note
The quotation marks surrounding parameters are
required.
The next time you start RealProxy from the Services dialog box, it will use
the settings specified in parameters , and will be configured to start
automatically.
For example, the following command:
rmserver.exe -install:NewYorkProxy "Proxy1"
installs RealProxy with the service name NewYorkProxy and uses the
settings in the Proxy1 key.
➤ To remove any RealProxy from the services list:
At a command prompt, type the following:

rmserver.exe -remove[:ServiceName]
31
where ServiceName is the optional name of the service. If you omitted a service
name when you installed the service, you can omit it here, and RealProxy will
use RMProxy.
Running Multiple Ser vers on One Windows NT System

You can have configuration files with different names for different
configurations of a single RealProxy, or use different names for different
RealProxy installations.
You can load configuration files into separate registry keys. Then, run
RealProxy as a service, one for each configuration file you loaded.
➤ To import a conf iguration f ile into a specif ic key in the registry:
1. Follow the instructions in Step 2 of Setting Up RealProxy as a Service.

2. Start RealProxy by typing the following:
rmserver.exe registry:key
where:
keyis name you want to use for the configuration. RealProxy places the
configuration information in
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\RealNetworks\RealMedia Proxy\6.0\Key.
In the example from Step 2 of Setting Up RealProxy as a Service, in

which the configuration settings are loaded into the Proxy1 key, the full
key name would be HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Software\RealNetworks\RealMedia
Proxy\6.0\Proxy1.
Stopping RealProxy Under Windows

If RealProxy was started from the Start menu or the command prompt, switch
to the command window and press CTRL+C.
If RealProxy was started as a service, stop RealProxy through the Services
control panel.
UNIX
Instructions in this section describe how to start and stop RealProxy running
under UNIX.
32
Starting RealProxy Under UNIX

Start RealProxy initially with the default configuration file; later, you can
create other configuration files and start RealProxy using those.
➤ To start RealProxy under UNIX:
Run the rmserver program. It is located in the bin subdirectory of the

RealProxy directory, and the configuration file (rmserver.cfg ) is located in the
main RealProxy directory.
Move to the bin directory and type the following:
rmserver ../rmserver.cfg
If you do not start from the bin directory, RealProxy cannot understand the
relative paths in the configuration file.
You can run RealProxy in the background by typing the following from the bin
directory:
rmserver ../rmserver.cfg &
If you have other configuration files, you can substitute their names for
rmserver.cfg and RealProxy will use the settings in the file you name.
To limit the amount of memory that RealServer G2 uses, start RealServer with
the -m parameter:
rmserver ../rmserver.cfg -m 32
where the number after -m can be any amount of memory in megabytes, 32 or

greater. Each megabyte of RealServer memory accommodates 3 to 4
simultaneous connected users. To allow 200 users to connect, specify 50
megabytes of memory instead of 32. (This parameter is optional on FreeBSD
and Linux.)
33
Stopping RealProxy Under UNIX

To stop RealProxy running under UNIX, first obtain the process
identification number, and then issue the kill command with that process
number. The process ID is stored in the rmserver.pid file, which is usually kept
in the Logs directory. The PIDPath variable specifies this location.
You can perform both actions with one command. Move to the directory
which contains the RealProxy PID file, and type the following:
kill cat pidfile
where pidfile is the name of the RealProxy PID file, as shown in the PIDPath
variable. The usual name for this file is rmserver.pid .
Configuring MIME Types

RealProxy works with any Web server that supports configurable MIME types.
Make sure that your Web server has the RealNetworks MIME types defined.
In addition, RealProxy serves its own HTML pages. To this end, be sure that
RealProxy has the correct MIME type information.
➤ To set up MIME types on the Web server:
Refer to the instructions accompanying your Web server to define the

following MIME types on your Web server:
audio/x-pn-realaudio (files with a .ra , .rm or .ram file extension)
audio/x-pn-realaudio-plugin (files with a .rpm file extension)
application/smil (files with a .smi or .smil extension)
application/sdp (files with a .sdp extension)
application/x-pn-realmedia (files with .rp , extension)
text/html (files with a .html or .htm extension)
image/gif (files with a .gif extension)
image/jpg (files with a .jpg or .jpeg extension)
When you install RealProxy, the MIME Types section is present in the
configuration file. You need only examine this list if something happened in
the meantime and you think the list might be incomplete. You can examine
the MIME types section using the following instructions.
See Configuring RealProxy Features for instructions
on using RealSystem Administrator.
34
➤ To set up MIME types used by RealProxy:

1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click MIME Types.
2. The list should match the table below:
MIME Types and Extensions
Names Extensions
audio/x-pn-realaudio .ra
.ram
application/smil .smi
.smil
application/sdp .sdp
application/x-pn-realmedia .rm
.rp
.rt
text/html .html
.htm
image/gif .gif
image/jpg .jpg
.jpeg
You should only modify the list if you will be streaming a data type via
HTTP that is not on the list.
To add another MIME type, click Add. Type the name and extension
in the respective boxes, and click Submit.
To edit anexisting MIME type, select it from the Names list, and click
Edit. Change the name or extension and click Add.
Toremove a MIME type, select it from the Names list, and click
Remove. Click OK.
35
License Information
Information about the license for your RealProxy is stored in a file in a license
directory. License files are written in XML format.
You can read the file with RealSystem Administrator by clicking About in the
left-hand frame. A second browser window appears, displaying the values for
your license file. If you have multiple license files, RealProxy will show the
values for all of them at once.
You can also read the file with any text editor.
If the license file is invalid, RealProxy will report an error message, add the
error to the error log file, and will not start.
If your RealProxy suddenly allows fewer connections or otherwise appears to
be using minimum settings, either your license has expired or RealProxy is
unable to start using the settings youve selected.
The LicenseDirectory variable in the configuration file tells RealProxy where to
look for license information.
To learn about the configuration file, see
Configuration File on page 41.
36
37
Chapter 3: CONFIGURING REALPROXY FEATURES 3
All RealProxy settings are customized through the RealSystem
Administrator. This chapter describes how to use RealSystem
Administrator as well as the basic settings used by all RealProxys.
Configuring RealProxy Using RealSystem Administrator

When the RealProxy installation program completes, it asks if you want to run
RealSystem Administrator. If you choose yes, RealSystem Administrator
displays. To make changes to any feature, click on the appropriate category
listed under Configure. Make the changes and click Apply.
Starting RealSystem Administrator

You can view the configuration of your RealProxy from nearly any browser on
your network. Compatible browsers are Netscape Navigator version 4.0 or
higher and Microsoft Internet Explorer version 4.0 or higher.
➤ To start RealSystem Administrator:
1. Start RealProxy. (See Chapter 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy for

instructions).
2. In a browser, type the following address:
http://realproxy.company.com:AdminPort/admin/index.html
where:
realproxy is the name of the machine on which RealProxy is installed.
company.com is the name of the domain in which RealProxy exists.
Or, rather than typing the name and domain of the system on which
RealProxy is installed, you can type the IP address.
39
CHAPTER 3: Configuring RealProxy Features RealProxy Administration Guide
AdminPortis the port which RealSystem Administrator uses to connect to

RealProxy. You are asked for a port number during setup. Use that port
number here.
The following URL will start RealSystem Administrator if it is typed in the
browser on the same computer as RealProxy (be sure to substitute your
port number for AdminPort) :
http://127.0.0.1:AdminPort/admin/index.html
The following command also works on the same computer:
http://localhost:AdminPort/admin/index.html
3. You are prompted for your user name and password; these will match the
values you entered during setup. Click OK.
RealSystem Administrator appears.
Using RealSystem Administrator

Once you have started RealProxy and then RealSystem Administrator, you can
change RealProxy features with the instructions below:
➤ To customize RealProxy settings:
1. In RealSystem Administrators left-hand frame, click the appropriate

category below Configure.
2. Change the values in the page on the right.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 3: Configuring RealProxy Features
3. When you have finished changing values, click Apply.

RealSystem Administrator makes the changes to the configuration file.
Restricting Access to RealSystem Administrator

When you install RealProxy, RealSystem Administrator is configured to
require user names and passwords for anyone who connects to RealSystem
Administrator itself. You can add permission for additional users, so that
other people in your organization can use RealSystem Administrator to
customize RealProxy.
RealProxy uses a subset of the authentication features
available to RealServer. For more information on
authentication, refer to RealServer Administration Guide.
➤ To add access for additional RealSystem Administrator users:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click Security. Click Authentication.

2. In the Realms list, select SecureAdmin .
3. Click Add a User to Realm. A new dialog box appears.
4. Type the new user name in the Name box.
5. In the Password box, assign a password.
6. Click Add. A message appears; click OK.
Repeat Step 2 through Step 6 for each person who will have administration
privileges.
Configuration File
Changes made with RealSystem Administrator are stored in the configuration
file. It is a text file formatted with tags which are based on XML (Extensible
Markup Language). This language introduces great flexibility to the
configuration file format and allows third-parties to use this file and add to
its functionality. Syntax of this file is given in Appendix A: Configuration File
Syntax.
Be sure that your configuration file is stored where only authorized users can
make changes to it.
41
Tip
Keep a backup copy of the configuration file. You may
need it if you make changes to this file that you later
want to undo or if you accidentally delete the working
copy.
Editing the Configuration File with a Text Editor

You can change the RealProxy settings by opening the configuration file with
any text editor. You can also add variables that arent included in the initial
file, but are listed in this manual in Appendix B: Configuration File Contents.
In addition, third-party plug-ins may require their own parameters and
variables. Use a text editor to add them to the configuration file.
To make changes to existing settings in this file is simple; this manual
provides guidance. If, however, you plan to add new sections, you will need to
understand the syntax of the entire file. The file is organized into sections.
This is not strictly necessary, but helps with clarity. The structure of the
configuration file is described in detail in Appendix A: Configuration File
Syntax.
The default name of the configuration file is rmserver.cfg , but if you have
multiple servers you may want to rename the files so as to easily identify which
server youre working with.
When you edit the configuration file manually, be sure to use correct syntax,
because RealProxy looks for exact spellings and correct use of angle brackets.
RealProxy does not display messages related to syntax errors; instead, it will
ignore those settings it does not understand.
Note
Always restart RealProxy after changing any settings in
the configuration file with a text editor.
RealSystem Administrator shows the configuration file settings of the

RealProxy configuration file in use; use caution if you are switching between
manually editing the file and using RealSystem Administrator to edit it.
Warning
Exit RealSystem Administrator before opening the
configuration file with a text editor or unexpected
changes may result.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 3: Configuring RealProxy Features
Common Settings
Regardless of which features are in use, certain powerful settings apply to
every RealProxy. They are described in this section.
Port Variables
Port settings tell RealProxy where to listen for requests.
If your RealProxy and Web server are on the same machine, you may need to
modify the HTTP Port setting. See Running Web Servers and RealProxy on
the Same System on page 51 for additional information.
➤ To add port settings:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click Ports.
2. Tell RealProxy where to listen for material requested via PNA (these begin
with pnm:// ) by typing the correct value in the PNA Port box. The default
value is 1090.
3. Tell RealProxy where to listen for RTSP requests (these begin with rtsp:// )
by typing the correct value in the RTSP Port box. At installation, the value
is 1091.
4. Tell RealProxy where to listen for RealSystem Administrator connection
requests by typing any unique port number in the Admin Port box.
Note
To use a port lower than 1024 on a UNIX system, you
must be logged on as super-user.
5. When you have finished making changes, click Apply.
Configuring RealProxy Features

To customize RealProxy features, youll need to modify settings with
RealSystem Administrator or by editing the configuration file directly.
43
Passthrough Mode
Passthrough mode is always enabled. It cant be turned on or off.
Bitsave Mode
In bitsave mode, RealProxy redistributes the incoming live streams with all the
clients who request it, rather than requesting additional streams on their
behalf.
Currently, this can only be configured by editing the file directly.
➤ To set up bitsave mode by editing the conf iguration f ile:
Set BitsaveEnable to 1 (this is the default value).
Cache Mode
Refer to the documentation included with your caching software for
instructions.
Pull Splitting
Pull splitting is enabled by default.
Multicasting
Instructions on configuring RealProxy to perform multicasting in Chapter 9:

Multicasting Live Streams.
44
Chapter 4: CONNECTING CLIENTS TO REALPROXY 4
This chapter describes how to make clients send their requests to
RealProxy.
Overview
Even after RealProxy is installed, clients will not automatically contact it. So
that clients (such as RealPlayer) route their requests to your RealProxy, you
must either configure the clients individually, or configure a third-party
router to automatically redirect streaming media requests to RealProxy.
Configuring Clients to Send Requests to RealProxy

Most clients contain an option to contact a proxy rather than sending
requests directly to RealServers. In the client software, the user types the IP
address (or host name) and port number of the proxy software to contact.
If you choose to connect clients to your RealProxy this way, you must either set
up your users client software yourself or send instructions to the users on
how to set up the software themselves.
Choose this option if you have only a few clients or if you dont have a router.
Using a Router to Send Client Requests to RealProxy

Routers intercept all packets of network traffic. Routers examine each packet
and decide where the packets should go next, according to an administrator-
defined set of rules. If the packet contains a request that includes port 554 or
7070 (clues that the request is for streaming media), the router sends it to
RealProxy.
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CHAPTER 4: Connecting Clients to RealProxy RealProxy Administration Guide
After it receives the redirected request, RealProxy contacts the client, and tells
it to contact RealProxy directly.
RealProxy Contacting Client with New Connection Information
Now that the client knows the correct address and port number to use, it re-
submits its streaming media request. Having received the request directly from
the client, RealProxy now handles the requests in the usual manner.
Origin RealServer Connecting to New Instance of RealProxy
For each presentation that the client requests (whether an individual clip or a
SMIL presentation), this process will be repeated.
Configuring RealPlayers to Contact RealProxy

If you choose to configure RealPlayers to connect directly to RealProxy, use
the instructions in this section.
➤ To conf igure RealPlayer:
1. In RealPlayer, select Options > Preferences.

2. Select the Proxy tab.
3. Select the Use PNA proxy box.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 4: Connecting Clients to RealProxy
4. In the box next to it, type the IP address or DNS of the RealProxy
computer.
5. In the Port box, type the number of the RealProxy port number to which
this client should send its PNA requests (usually 1090 ). The number you
type here must match the number in the PNA Port box on the Ports page
in RealSystem Administrator (or the Port variable in the Proxy list in the
configuration file).
6. Select the Use RTSP proxy box.
7. In the box next to it, type the IP address or DNS of the RealProxy
computer.
8. In the Port box, type the number of the RealProxy port number to which
this client should send its RTSP requests (usually 1091). The number you
type here must match the number in the RTSP Port box on the Ports page
in RealSystem Administrator (or the Port variable in the Proxy list in the
configuration file).
9. Click OK.
RealPlayer Proxy Tab
Configuring RealProxy to Listen for Re-Routed Client Messages

Configuring RealProxy to use this method consists of two steps:
1. Configuring the router to redirect streaming media requests to RealProxy.
47
2. Configuring RealProxy to listen for redirected requests and to give correct

address information to the clients.
When you have finished with these steps, clients will know to contact the
RealProxy directly.
Warning
If you are running RealProxy on a UNIX system, the
RTSP redirection feature may not start correctly. It uses
a port number lower than 1024and on UNIX systems,
you must be logged on as super-user for lower port
numbers to be recognized.
If this is happening, you can either log on as super-user,

or change the port number in the configuration file and
restart RealProxy.
➤ To conf igure your router:
Consult your routers instructions and configure it to re-route streaming

media requests to RealProxy. Typically, you would re-route TCP PNA or RTSP
packets. Typically, any TCP packets which are bound for port 7070 or 554.
(PNA traffic usually is associated with port 7070 on the origin RealServer, and
RTSP traffic is associated with port 554.) The router must replace the address
to which the client was sending its address with the address of RealProxy.
➤ To conf igure RealProxy:

2. Identify the port number on which RealProxy will receive the clients
RTSP requests as redirected by the router. This is usually 554. Type this
number in the RTSP Redirect Port box.
3. Type the port number to which clients should send their RTSP requests
(usually 1090 ) in the RTSP Redirect Port box.
4. Type the IP address of RealProxy to which clients should send their RTSP
requests in the RTSP Redirector Address box.
5. Identify the port number on which RealProxy will receive the clients
RTSP requests as redirected by the router. This is usually 7070. Type this
number in the PNA Redirect Port box.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 4: Connecting Clients to RealProxy
6. Type the port number to which clients should send their PNA requests
(usually 1091) in the PNA Redirect Port box.
7. Type the IP address of RealProxy to which clients should send their PNA
requests in the PNA Redirector Address box.
8. Click Apply.
49
50
Chapter 5: ADVANCED FEATURES 5
This chapter covers features which are specific to the operating
system, as well as reserving IP addresses for RealProxys use, and
running RealProxy on the same system as a Web server.
Running Web Servers and RealProxy on the Same System

If you install RealProxy on the same system as your Web server, you may need
to complete additional steps. Most Web servers use port 80 for HTTP requests.
At installation, RealProxys default HTTP Port is 8080, but if you configure
RealProxy to use port 80 (the same port as the Web server), problems may
ensue. You may have to perform the following steps:
Choose a different port for RealProxy to use for HTTP requests and
change links that point to HTTP pages
Reserve an IP address for RealProxy
Change the HTTP Port Value

Because RealProxy can serve requests for HTML pages sent via HTTP (such as
RealSystem Administrator), if RealProxy is on the same system as a Web server,
requests that begin with http:// may be misdirected. When a user clicks a link
that begins with http:// and does not contain a port number, the client
supplies a port number80. When the Web server and RealProxy are on the
same machine, the Web server will attempt to serve the file. If the link points
to whats meant to be a RealSystem presentation, the Web server will not find
the file and will display the error message File not found.
To prevent this problem from occurring, make sure the HTTP Port value is
not the same as the port number your Web server is using. The default value is
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CHAPTER 5: Advanced Features RealProxy Administration Guide
8080 . Most Web servers use port 80. Be sure that you include the port number
in the URL.
Set IP Binding List

You may need to reserve at least one IP address for RealProxys use. See
Reserving IP Addresses for RealProxys Use on page 52.
Administering Both RealProxy and RealServer

If you are the administrator of both RealProxy and RealServer (for example, if
you administer a corporate Web presence for both internal (RealProxy) and
external (RealServer) use, or if your are an ISP host and you offer RealServer
streaming services to your clients), here are some things to keep in mind:
Configuration file the structure of the configuration file is the same;
only certain sections are unique to RealProxy.
Access logRealProxys access log uses the same structure as RealServer,
with additional proxy-specific information appended to the end of each
record.
RealProxys bitsave method is nearly identical to the RealServer method of
pull splitting. The only difference is that RealProxy does not need to
include the origin RealServer in the URL. The Splitter_DoubleURL section
in the RealProxys configuration file is the bitsave/pull splitting method.
MulticastRealProxy has only one method of multicast, which is the
same as RealServers back-channel multicast.
Reserving IP Addresses for RealProxys Use

When RealProxy starts, it uses the first IP address of the first interface card it
detects. If there is more than one IP address on the machine on which
RealProxy is installed, the operating system assigns an address to RealProxy.
Because the operating systems assignments may be random, clients
attempting to connect to your RealProxy may not be able to receive streams.
You can configure RealProxy to always use the same IP addresses by setting up
the IP Binding list. Within this list, you cite individual addresses to use, or you
can reserve all the IP addresses available to the machine on which RealProxy is
installed.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 5: Advanced Features
Instructions on customizing RealProxy can be found in
Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features on page 39.
➤ To reserve IP addresses for RealProxy:

1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click IP Binding.
2. Click the Add button.
3. In the IP Address box, type the address or DNS name that you want
RealProxy to use. Typing an IP address here, rather than the DNS name,
allows RealProxy to be more efficient.
RealProxy will bind to the specified addresses only; it will not bind to
localhost.
4. To capture all addresses for RealProxys use, add the IP address of 0.0.0.0 ,
and delete any other addresses. RealProxy will automatically bind to all
addresses and to localhost.
Warning
Use either 0.0.0.0 or other addresses, but not both. If
you use both, RealProxy will not start.
5. Click Add.
If you leave the IP Address box blank, RealProxy binds to the host IP address
and localhost. It does not bind to any others.
Features Specific to the Operating System

While RealProxy functions nearly identically on both Windows NT and UNIX
platforms, there are a few differences that allow you to take advantage of
unique characteristics of each operating system.
Windows NT
This section describes features unique to RealProxy running on a Windows
NT system.
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CHAPTER 5: Advanced Features RealProxy Administration Guide
Windows NT Ser vice

When you install RealProxy, you have the option to install it as a service. You
can also configure this later. Several instances of RealProxy can be run from
the same machine, with different configuration files.
See Setting Up RealProxy as a Service on page 30.
Windows NT Per formance Monitor

RealProxy comes with a file to use with the Windows NT Performance
Monitor, so that you can use the Windows NT method of monitoring
RealProxy performance.
See Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity on page
51.
UNIX
This section describes features unique to RealProxy running on a UNIX
system.
Process ID (PID)
RealProxy creates a text file that stores the current value of the process ID of
the main RealProxy file, rmserver. The file is stored in the directory indicated
by the PIDPath variable, and is named rmserver.pid at installation. If PIDPath is
omitted from the configuration file, RealProxy stores the information in the
directory specified by the LogPath variable.
SIGHUP
When you make changes to RealProxy using RealSystem Administrator, those
changes are saved and RealProxy is restarted immediately. If you make changes
to the configuration file manually, you will need to restart RealProxy yourself.
This is possible for RealProxy running on a UNIX platform with the SIGHUP
command. Use the following command at a command prompt:
kill -HUP processID
where processID is the RealProxy process number, as shown in the rmserver.pid

file.
54
Chapter 6: MANAGING BANDWIDTH 6
RealProxy has several methods of managing the bandwidth that it
uses. Whether you use just one method, or you use several in
conjunction, you control the amount of traffic on your network.
Overview
When you install RealProxy, the values for each of these settings is configured
to use the maximum available number.
Techniques for managing the bandwidth you use include:
Maximum Proxy Connections limit the number of clients that can
connect at one time
Maximum Proxy Bandwidth limits the bandwidth in use between
RealProxy and clients
Maximum Gateway Bandwidth limits the bandwidth in use between
RealProxy and RealServers
Low Bit Rate Gatewaydeliver appropriate bit rate in SureStream file if
connection between RealProxy and Internet is small
Require Multicast Delivery require clients to connect in Multicast mode
If you establish values for all these features, RealProxy will limit access when
the lower threshold is reached. If a client tries to make a request after a limit
has been reached, the client receives an error message.
In addition, you can require that the only certain client versions can connect
to your RealProxy.
For information on restricting which clients can connect to RealProxy based
on their IP addresses, see Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy.
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CHAPTER 6: Managing Bandwidth RealProxy Administration Guide
Maximum Clients
By using the Maximum Proxy Connections setting (the MaxProxyConnections
variable in the configuration file), you can limit the number of clients who
connect simultaneously. Once this limit is reached, clients that attempt to
connect receive an error message, and will not be able to connect until other
clients disconnect.
➤ To limit access by limiting connections:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click Bandwidth

Management. (Picture to be supplied later)
2. In the Maximum Proxy Connections box, type the number of client

connections you want to allow simultaneously.
This number can be from 1 to 32767, as long as it is less than or equal to
the number of streams permitted by your license. If it is 0 or blank,
RealProxy uses the number of streams specified by your license. The
default value is 0 .
3. Click Apply.
Maximum Bandwidth
The Maximum Proxy Bandwidth setting (MaxBandwidth in the configuration
file) limits the amount of bandwidth RealProxy can use to any number of
kilobits per second (Kbps).
➤ To limit client bandwidth:

Management.
2. In the Maximum Proxy Bandwidth box, type the maximum number of
kilobits per second (Kbps) that should be in use at once.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 6: Managing Bandwidth
For example, to limit the bandwidth to one megabyte, specify maximum

bandwidth usage by setting Maximum Proxy Bandwidth to 1024 .
Maximum Gateway Bandwidth

You may want to limit the amount of bandwidth RealProxy uses to send its
requests to its gateway, whether the gateway is another RealProxy, RealServer,
or the Internet. Limiting gateway bandwidth limits the following RealProxy
functions:
passthrough data connections
pull splitter data connections
initial cache requests
➤ To limit RealProxy-to-gateway bandwidth:

Management.
2. In the Maximum Gateway Bandwidth box, type the maximum number of
kilobits per second (Kbps) that RealProxy should use when it connects to
its gateway.
For example, to limit the bandwidth to two megabytes, specify maximum
bandwidth usage by setting Maximum Gateway Bandwidth to 2048 .
Low Gateway Bandwidth

This feature allows you to take advantage of RealNetworks SureStream
technology if your RealProxy is connected to the Internet at a low bit rate. Use
this feature if all the following are true:
Clients are requesting SureStream files.
A media cache is in use, and the stream is not yet stored in the media
cache.
57
The connection between RealProxy and the gateway is drastically smaller

than the connection between clients and RealProxy.
SureStream files are streaming media files encoded at multiple bit rates; a
client automatically chooses the highest bit rate available for the connection.
Because clients connect to RealProxy through a high bandwidth connection,
they select the best bit rate in the SureStream file for their connection speed.
However, if the connection between RealProxy and the origin RealServer only
permits low bit-rate connections, RealProxy will not be able to obtain the high
bandwidth stream.
With the Low Gateway Bandwidth feature, RealProxy intercepts the clients
request for a high bit-rate stream and requests only the low bit rate stream,
storing it in the media cache.
Although the client receives the low bit-rate stream, the client receives a high-
quality stream because it is arriving from a local source.
This setting has no effect on non-SureStream media.
Tip
Use this feature only if you have a small connection
between RealProxy and the Internet. If you use it when a
high-bandwidth connection is available, clients will only
receive low bit rate streams.
➤ To use low bit rate connections:

Management.
2. From the Low Gateway Bandwidth list, select On .
Limiting Access to Multicast Reception

By setting Delivery Only to Yes in the multicast list, you can require that clients
within a certain range of IP addresses connect only in multicast mode. When
this option is set to Yes , clients that are not able to connect in multicast mode
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 6: Managing Bandwidth
receive an error message. If this option is No , clients that cannot connect in

multicast mode can use unicast mode to receive the presentation.
This feature is described in Chapter 9: Multicasting Live Streams on page 75.
Limiting Access by RealPlayer Version

Two settings restrict access to all RealProxy content, based on the client
version. RealPlayer Plus Only means that only the RealNetworks RealPlayer
Plus software can play presentations. And Minimum Player Version lets you
limit your content to clients of a certain version. This can be helpful if you
know that clients will be viewing complex material or if you want to record
statistics in the access log that are only supplied by later versions.
➤ To limit access to RealPlayer Plus:

Management.
2. In the RealPlayer Plus Only list, select On.
3. Click Apply.
➤ To limit access by player protocol number:
This variable was used in earlier versions of RealProxy and is included here for
backwards compatibility. It must be added to the configuration file directly by
using a text editor. It denies access to players whose version number is less
than the number specified. Use one of the following values for Minimum Player
Version :
0 All clients are permitted to connect to RealProxy
4 RealAudio Player 1.0 and later can connect
10 RealPlayer 4.0 and later can connect
59
60
Chapter 7: LIMITING ACCESS TO REALPROXY 7
RealProxy allows you to restrict access to certain clients based on
their IP addresses.
Overview
You can block or permit access to specific RealProxy ports based on the IP
address of the client and the port to which they are sending their requests.
Clients whose IP addresses are configured with deny receive an error
message indicating that the URL is not valid or that the connection has timed
out.
For example, you can restrict which clients can send requests to your
RealProxy by restricting access to the RTSP Proxy port (usually 1091).
Information about each IP address or range of addresses you want to allow or
restrict is stored in a rule. A rule is a set of instructions to RealServer about the
address range and behavior to allow. Rules are identified by numbers which
you assign.
Before using this feature, you must make decisions about the types of rules
you will create.
Each rule contains the following information:
Access Rule NumberIdentification number for this rule.
AccessWhether the client will be allowed or denied access.
ToRealProxys address.
FromClients address, or a range of addresses. This can also be an
encoders IP address.
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CHAPTER 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy RealProxy Administration Guide
Restricted PortsPort numbers to which access is specified. For general

content viewing, these numbers correspond to settings on the Ports page:
RTSP Port, PNA Port, and HTTP Port. For encoders, these correspond to
the port numbers in the Broadcasting pages.
When a client attempts to play a RealServer presentation, or an encoder
attempts to send material, RealServer compares its address and the requested
port to the addresses and ports listed in the rules. You can create as many rules
as you like. If the clients IP and requested port number do not match any
rules, RealServer denies access.
For example, to allow a content creator to encode live material and send it to
your RealServer, you would create a rule that listed the clients address and the
encoder port (4040 ).
Deciding What Rules to Create

There are two ways you can restrict access, and these determine how you set up
the rules. Create the third rule first, so that you will be able to connect to
RealSystem Administrator and create the rest.
SpecificAddress Denial: Deny a specific group of IP addresses and ports,
and allow access to everyone else.
Specific Address Permission: Allow a specific group of IP addresses and
ports, and deny access to everyone else.
Both methods require that you set up three sets of rules:
1. The first set of rules refers to specific client addresses you are denying or
allowing. There can be several rules that refer to specific addresses or
ranges of addresses.
2. All clients not noted specifically in the first set of rules are allowed access
(in Specific Address Denial) or denied access (in Specific Address
Permission). This second set usually consists of a single rule which uses
the word Any in the From box.
Warning
If you are using Specific Address Denial and you omit
this step, you will deny access for everyone except those
clients mentioned in the first set of rules.
If you are using Specific Address Permission, this set of rules is optional.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy
3. Finally, the last rule allows you to access to the RealSystem Administrator
port.
Note
Even if you are only interested in restricting access for a
single clients requests, you must still create all the rules
necessary for your method.
Numbering the Rules

Rule numbers can be any length, but a number of more than one digit is
recommended in case more lists are added later; with multiple digits, the new
lists can be inserted between existing lists. When you create a rule, you give it a
number. RealServer uses these numbers to sort the rules before it looks at a
clients request.
RealProxy compares the clients IP address and requested port to the sorted
rules, beginning with the lowest-numbered rule. As soon as RealProxy finds a
rule which matches the clients address, it allows or denies access, according to
the rules characteristics.
You do not have to create the rules in a certain order; RealProxy will perform
the sorting automatically.
63
Getting the Expected Connections

Because RealProxy examines the rules in numeric order, you should make the
lowest-numbered rules the most strict. Reserve high rule numbers for the
most lenient rules. This is similar to the schema for firewall addresses.
Suggested Rule Schemes
Specific Address Denial Specific Address Permission
Rule Set Contents of Rules in Each Set
1. Specific client addresses Clients prevented from Clients permitted to connect to
Suggested rule numbers: 100 - 490 accessing RealServer. RealServer.
From setting: specific client From setting: specific client
addresses. addresses.
Access setting: Deny Access setting: Allow
Ports setting: specific ports Ports setting: specific ports
2. All other addresses Clients that can use your Clients not permitted to use
Suggested rule numbers: 500 - 990 RealServer. RealServer.
From setting: Any From setting: Any
Access setting: Allow Access setting: Deny
Ports setting: content ports ( Ports setting: specific ports
This set of rules is optional.
3. Access to RealSystem All clients not listed in either All clients not listed in either of
Administrator of the rules above. the rules above.
Suggested rule number: 1000 From setting: Any From setting: Any
Access setting: Allow Access setting: Allow
Ports setting: Admin Port Ports setting: Admin Port
Setting Up IP Access Control

There are two steps to setting up access control rules, regardless of which
method you chose in Deciding What Rules to Create:
1. Set up general rules which allow you to remain connected to RealSystem
Administrator. You need only perform this set of steps once.
2. Create rules for specific IP addresses and port numbers.
Creating General Access Rules

The steps in this section create a rule that allows you to connect to RealSystem
Administrator, regardless of the restrictions you create in other rules.
Although it appears that you are allowing everyone to access RealSystem
Administrator, the only people who will use it are other administrators who
64
know the Admin Port number (chosen randomly at installation) and who have
a user name and password specifically for RealSystem Administrator.
Warning
If you omit this initial step, you will not be able to
connect to RealSystem Administrator when you restart
RealProxy, regardless of whether you have username-
and-password permission.
To learn how to give access to RealSystem Administrator
based on user name, see RealSystem Administrator
User Authentication on page 129.
➤ To create the required access rule:

2. Make a note of the Admin Port number. (This is the same number as the
port number shown in your browser URL.)
3. In RealSystem Administrator, click Security. Click Access Control.
4. Click Add an Access Rule. A new browser window appears. (Picture to be
supplied later)
5. In the Access Rule Name box, type 1000 .

6. From the Access list, select Allow.
7. In the To box, type Any.
8. In the From box, type Any.
65
9. In the Restricted Ports box, type the Admin Port number you noted in
Step 2.
10. Click OK. You are returned to the Access Control page of RealSystem
Administrator.
11. Click Apply.
You will now be able to access RealSystem Administrator, no matter what
rules you create in the next section.
Creating Specif ic Access Rules

Use the steps in this section to allow or deny access to specific IP addresses or
address ranges.
Warning
Be sure to first follow the steps in Creating General
Access Rules, or you will not be able to access
RealSystem Administrator after you restart RealProxy.
➤ To limit access according to IP number:
1. Determine the port numbers in use. Youll use these in Step 8.

If this rule will refer to users who want to play streaming media, click
General Setup > Ports. Make a note of the values for PNA Port (usually
7070 ), HTTP Port (usually 8080 ), and RTSP Port (usually 554 ).
If this rule will refer to G2 encoders that will be sending content to your
RealProxy, click Broadcasting > G2 Encoder. Make a note of the value for
Port (usually 4040 ).
If this rule will refer to pre-G2 encoders that will be sending content to
your RealProxy, click Broadcasting > Pre-G2 Encoder. Make a note of the
value for Port (usually 5050 ).
2. In RealSystem Administrator, click Security. Click Access Control. (Picture
to be supplied later)
66
3. Click Add an Access Rule.

4. In the new window that appears, type a three-digit number for the new
access rule in the Access Rule Number box. RealProxy uses the rule
numbers in numeric order.
Warning
You must type a number in this box. RealProxy will
ignore any rule that is not numbered.
Tip
Technically, you can type any number in this box. But
because rules are sorted numerically, and because the
rule that allows access to RealSystem Administrator
must be the last rule on the list, use a three-digit
number here so the RealSystem Administrator rule
(given as rule 1000 in Creating General Access Rules)
can be the last rule on the list.
5. Indicate whether permission is being granted or refused by selecting Allow

or Deny from the Access list.
6. In the To box, type the IP address of the RealProxy machine.
Note
Avoid using 127.0.0.1 or localhost, unless you will only
be using test links which use that exact text in their
links.
67
Tip
To refer to any IP address on the RealProxy machine,
type Any.
7. In the From box, type the IP address of the client machine, followed by the
subnet mask. The subnet mask indicates whether the restriction refers to a
single IP address an entire range of addresses.
There are two ways of showing the subnet mask:
Place a slash mark after the IP address, and give the number of bits for
the mask.
Place a colon after the IP address, and give the full subnet mask.
For example, the following are equivalent and acceptable in the From box:
172.16.3.0:255.255.255.0 and 172.16.3.0/24 . Both examples specify the
range of addresses from 172.16.3.0 to 172.16.3.254.
To specify the netmask for single IP address, type either :255.255.255.255
or /32 after the IP address.
To specify the subnet for a range of IP addresses, type either a colon after
the IP address followed by the full subnet mask, or type a slash mark after
the IP address, and give the number of bits for the subnet mask (24 , 16 , or
8 ).
Tip
To refer to all clients, regardless of IP address, type the
word Any in the From box, and omit the subnet mask.
8. Finally, list the RealProxy port numbers to which you want to restrict
access. In the Restricted Ports box, type the port numbers, separated by
commas.
Youll probably want to use the numbers for RTSP Port (1091) and PNA
Proxy Port (1090).
To restrict access to all RealProxy content, the port numbers should
match the other port numbers youve instructed RealProxy to listen to;
look at the port numbers for RTSP port, PNA port, HTTP port, and the
port value used by the encoder.
9. Click OK. You are returned to the Access Control page of RealSystem
Administrator.
68
10. Click Apply.
69
70
Chapter 8: CHAINING ONE REALPROXY TO
ANOTHER
8
This manual describes a pre-release product. As such, some features may not be fully
implemented; any information here is subject to change.
Chaining is a way of connecting several RealProxies on a network so
that all client requests for streamed media go through a single
point.
Overview
By redirecting the requests handled by multiple RealProxies to a single
RealProxy, you can funnel all client requests for streaming media to one point.
A RealProxy that has been configured to send its requests to another
RealProxy is called a child RealProxy; the RealProxy that receives the request
is the parent RealProxy.
Chaining: Connecting RealProxies
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CHAPTER 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another RealProxy Administration Guide
In the example above, a client directs its request to a child RealProxy. That
RealProxy, in turn, sends the request to the parent RealProxy. It is the parent
RealProxy that sends the clients request to the origin RealServer. Once the
RealServer has received the request, it establishes the accounting connection
in the usual manner.
Setting Up Chaining
Configure a RealProxy to be a child RealProxy; you do not need to configure
the parent RealProxy, since it will receive the connections automatically.
You can set up this feature for both RTSP client requests and PNA client
requests.
➤ To set up chaining:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click Ports. (Picture to be supplied later)
2. Indicate which the parent RealProxy to which this RealProxy should send
requests by typing the parent RealProxy address in the RTSP Parent Proxy
Address box.
If you want to forward PNA requests also, type the parent RealProxy
address in the PNA Parent Proxy Address box.
3. Type the port number of the parent RealProxy in the RTSP Parent Proxy
Port box.
Note
The port number you type needs to match the parent
RealProxys value for RTSP Proxy Port, usually 1091. (In
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another
the configuration file, match the value for RTSPPort in

the Proxy list.)
If you will be forwarding PNA requests, type the parent RealProxy port
number in the PNA Parent Proxy Port box. This number needs to match
the parent RealProxys value for PNA Proxy Port, usually 1090 . (In the
configuration file, match the value for PNAPort in the Proxy list.)
4. Click Add.
Turning Off Chaining

Using RealSystem Administrator, delete the values you typed for the parent
proxy addresses in Setting Up Chaining.
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CHAPTER 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another RealProxy Administration Guide
74
Chapter 9: MULTICASTING LIVE STREAMS 9
Multicasting helps you conserve bandwidth. It requires a multicast-
enabled network.
Overview
Multicasting is a way of sending a single live stream to multiple clients, rather
than sending a stream to every single client.
Multicasting
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CHAPTER 9: Multicasting Live Streams RealProxy Administration Guide
In contrast, regular unicasting transmission sends a stream to each client that

requests it.
Unicasting
To take advantage of multicasting, both RealProxy and clients, as well as the

routers between them, must be multicast-enabled. For this reason,
multicasting is mostly used with intranets where routers can be configured for
multicasts. Multicast delivery can be done over the Internet where
intermediary network devices have been multicast-enabled.
Multicast Methods
This method of multicasting uses the RTSP protocol to send control
information over a TCP channel. RealProxy maintains a control connection
for each client. The data channel is multicast to all clients.
RTSP multicast provides the following features:
Authenticationuser name and password for secure content is sent
securely.
Connection statisticsRealProxy can receive client connection
information.
SureStreamthese multiply-encoded files are supported.
Note
RTSP multicasting works only with RealSystem G2
clients.
Setting Up Multicasting
Before you set up either type of multicasting, you need to do two things:
Configure the network for multicasting.
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 9: Multicasting Live Streams
Select the addresses youll use for your multicasts.
Setting Up the Network for Multicasting

Before setting up RealProxy, verify the following items with your network
administrator:
Routers in your network are multicast-enabled.
The system running RealProxy is correctly configured for multicast
support.
In addition to network settings, for clients to take full advantage of multicast
transmissions, they must be configured to request multicast transmission of
live material. Consult the clients user guide for information on configuring
the client.
As noted earlier, both RealProxy and clients, as well as the routers between
them, must be multicast-enabled in order for you to distribute presentations
using the multicast features. This section describes only what is required to
enable RealProxy for multicast broadcasting.
Allocating Addresses and Port Numbers in RealProxy

There are two factors to take into account when establishing the addresses
and port numbers that RealProxy will use for multicasting:
Selectaddresses from a legal range of available addresses. Valid ranges are
between 224.0.0.0 and 239.255.255.255. The network administrator
should know which multicast addresses are available on the intranet. On
the Internet, certain ranges such as the addresses between 224.0.0.0 and
224.0.0.255 are reserved for other uses; see RFC 1700, Assigned
Numbers for a complete list of restricted addresses.
You must select enough addresses for the type of file you are multicasting.
See Determining Required Addresses and Port Numbers for
information on selecting the appropriate number. Youll need to know
how many bit rates are included in each file that you are multicasting, and
set aside the appropriate number.
Although the information in this document will help you calculate the
number of addresses and port numbers youll need for multicasting, youll
still need to consult with your network administrator regarding the actual
addresses youll use.
77
Determining Required Addresses and Port Numbers

For each file that you are transmitting via multicast, you must calculate the
number of addresses youll need. The number of addresses is based on the
number of bit rates in the file. For simple RealVideo files, figuring the number
of addresses and port numbers is relatively simple. SureStream files are more
complex, as they can contain several bit rates, each with its own number of
streams.
Unless you can find out the number of bit rates in the files that you are
streaming, youll have to guess. A safe number is six bit rates per file; the
maximum number of bit rates that would be present in a single SureStream
file is 14, yet files prepared for multicasts are likely to include only the higher
encoding rates. A non-SureStream file would have at most one bit rate and
two streams.
Addresses Needed for Back-Channel Multicasts
Bit Rates Addresses
1 1
2 2
3 3
... ...
n bit rates n
Setting Up Back-Channel Multicasting

Follow the instructions below to set up back-channel multicasting. After you
set it up, you will need to create the links that point to your multicasted
events.
78
➤ To set up back-channel multicasting:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click Multicasting. Click Back-Channel.

(Picture to be supplied later)
2. In the RTSP Port box, type the port number to which RealProxy will direct
its RTSP multicast streams. The value in this box refers to the clients port
number. A typical value is 554 .
3. Specify the range of addresses to which you want to multicast streams by
filling in the Address Range box. RealProxy uses the first available address
in this range. If your multicast streams are referenced in SMIL files, you
will need one address for each stream.
Refer to Determining Required Addresses and Port Numbers on page 78
to calculate the exact number of addresses youll need.
4. In the IP Address section, click Add.
5. In the new window that appears, type a description for this list in the Rule
Number box.
6. In the IP Address box, type an address to the domain address of the client
computer or network to which RealProxy will permit multicast
transmissions.
7. In the Netmask box, type a netmask that limits the range to a particular
subnet.
8. Click Add.
79
9. To require that the client addresses you just listed use multicast only, and
not unicast, select Yes from the Delivery Only list. To remove this
restriction and permit unicast for clients unable to connect via multicast,
set it to No .
10. Indicate how far multicast packets can travel over a network by typing a
value in the Time to Live box. Each time a multicast data packet passes
through a multicast-enabled router, its Time to Live is decreased by 1.
When the value is decremented to 0, the router discards the data packet.
The value for Time to Live can range from 0 to 255 . The larger the Time to
Live, the greater the distance a data packet will travel.
The default value of 16 is enough to keep multicast packets within a
typical internal network.
Time to Live (TTL) Values
TTL Value Packet Range
0 Local host
1 Local network (subnet)
32 Site
64 Region
128 Continent
255 World
11. To allow missing packets to be resent to clients that request them, select
True from the Resend list. This setting is optional. It adds some overhead
to the traffic on your network; however, clients receive better quality
multicasts.
12. Indicate which clients will be able to view your multicast presentations by
configuring the User List.
To require that clients with IP addresses in the User List must connect in
multicast mode, set Deliver Only to Yes . This setting means that clients
that are not configured for multicast will not be able to receive the
multicast, and will receive an error message instead. Use this feature when
you want to restrict the multicast to a limited number of clients, or if you
are multicasting a high-bandwidth presentation and do not want unicast
to be an option.
a. In the User List area, select Yes from the Delivery Only list.
80
b. Click Add a User List.

c. In the Rule Name box that appears, type a rule number. The rule
number is used by RealProxy for sorting the address rules.
d. Type the IP Address of the client allowed to receive the multicast in
the IP Address box. To allow any client to access the multicast, type
0.0.0.0 .
e. Type the subnet mask for the client IP in the Netmask box.
To indicate a single IP address, type 255.255.255.254 in the Netmask
box. If you typed 0.0.0.0 in the To box, type the same thing in the
Netmask box.
f. Click OK.
Repeat Step b through Step f for each set of clients that will be accessing
your multicast.
13. Click Apply.
Note
Access Control rules are enacted before User List rules. A
client that is excluded by Access Control will not be able
to connect to any multicasts, regardless of the rules you
create here. (IP Access Control is described in Limiting
Access Via IP Address on page 110.)
81
82
Chapter 10: MONITORING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 10
To manage current activity on your RealProxy, youll want to track
how many clients are being served. RealProxy includes a monitoring
page within RealSystem Administrator. To generate reports of
historical activity, see Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity.
Using RealSystem Administrator

RealSystem Administrator includes a section where you can view RealProxy
activity.
➤ To view RealProxy activity via RealSystem Administrator:
In RealSystem Administrator, click Monitor. The monitor page appears in the

right-hand frame. It dynamically updates to show information about the
number of connections, and so on.
Additional information about the information shown is available on the
monitor page itself.
Monitor in RealSystem Administrator
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CHAPTER 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity RealProxy Administration Guide
84
Chapter 11: TRACKING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 11
This manual describes a pre-release product. As such, some features may not be fully
implemented; any information here is subject to change.
RealProxy can create reports of historical data that let you see trends
and gather information. Track which visitors requested what data
and how well the data was delivered. This information is stored in
the proxy log. Any error messages are recorded in the error log.
Proxy Log
The RealProxy proxy log records the IP addresses of the clients that have
connected, the clips they listened to, the times of day they connected, and
much more. New information is always appended to the end of the proxy log.
Reading a Proxy Log

To read the contents of the proxy log, you must first look up the values of
Logging Style in RealSystem Administrator, as this determines how much
information is present in the proxy log. At installation, Logging Style is set to
3.
Logging Style provides information about RealProxy clip-serving activity.
Read about customizing RealProxy settings in
Configuring RealProxy Features.
Once you know the values of Logging Style, view the proxy log by opening
(Windows) or proxy (UNIX) file in a word processor or text editor.
proxy.log
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CHAPTER 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity RealProxy Administration Guide
Proxy Log Format

RealProxy stores information about each clip it serves in a separate record.
Each record is delimited by a new line. Fields within each record are separated
by spaces.
One record is created for every clip served; if the client requests a presentation
that includes several clips, one record is created for each clip in the
presentation.
The fields that appear within each record depend on the settings for Logging
Style. The complete syntax of each record, assuming Logging Style is
gathering all possible information (Logging Style is 5 ) is shown:
client_IP_address - - [timestamp] "GET filename protocol/version" HTTP_error_code
bytes_sent [client_info] [client_id] file_size file_time sent_time resends failed_resends
[stream_components] start_time server_address average_bitrate packets_sent presentation_id
[proxy_info]
Note
Although in the rest of this manual, square brackets
indicate optional material, the square brackets shown in
the proxy log actually appear within proxy log records.
The following table lists the format for each proxy log record:
Proxy Log Format
Proxy Log Field Description
client_IP_address IP address of client, such as 123.45.123.45
-- Two hyphens for compatibility with standard Web server log
formats.
timestamp Time that client accessed the file in the format:
dd/Mmm/yyyy:hh:mm:ss TZ
where TZ is the time zone expressed as the number of hours
relative to the Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich, England)
and is relative to the server. For example:
[31/Oct/1996:13:44:32 -0800]
GET filename File name (and path) requested by the client. If the client requests
a file that doesnt exist, UNKNOWN appears in place of a file name.
(Table Page 1 of 5)
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RealProxy Administration Guide CHAPTER 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity
Proxy Log Format (continued)

protocol/version Application-layer protocol used to send the clip to the client.
Possible values are:
RTSP
PNA
HTTP
In addition, a letter at the end of the string indicates which
transport type was used:
(blank) UDP connection
T TCP connection
H HTTP connection
M Multicast
For example, PNAT means that the clip was sent using the PNA
protocol over a TCP connection.
The version number indicates the edition of the protocol.

HTTP_status_code Return code using HTTP standard error codes. Usually returns
200 .
bytes_sent Number of bytes transferred to the client.
(Table Page 2 of 5)
87

[client_info] Describes the version and type of client being used. Client
information appears in the following format,
[platform version client type dist_code language CPU]
If client information cant be gathered (the request came from a
client that chose not to send statistics, or from a browser
connecting to RealSystem Administrator pages), UNKNOWN
appears within the brackets.
Field Description
platform Operating system RealPlayer runs on-Win16,
WinNT, Mac, and so on.
version Operating system version number.
client Version number of RealPlayer.
type Type of RealPlayer.
dist_code Distribution code of RealPlayer.
language Language setting in RealPlayer.
CPU Type of processor on which the client is running. If
the processor does not have a hardware Floating
Point Unit, the string "no-FPU" is appended to
the end of the CPU field with no delimiter. For
example:
Win95_4.0_3.0.0.19_play32_PN01_EN_586
RealAudio Player version 1.0 shows only two fields for
[client_info ]. They are platform and client .
[client_id] Unique ID generated during RealPlayer installation that enables
you to track details for individual clients.
If client information cant be gathered (the request came from a
client that chose not to send statistics, or from a browser
connecting to RealSystem Administrator pages), UNKNOWN
appears within the brackets.
Included when Logging Style is set to 2 or higher.
file_size Total amount in bytes of media data in the media file. This
number is less than the size of the media file because it does not
include the file header and other non-media information stored
in the file. For live broadcasts, file_size is always 0.
file_time Total length, in seconds, of media stored in the media file. For
live broadcasts, file_time is always 0.
(Table Page 3 of 5)
88

sent_time Total length, in seconds, of the media sent to the client.
resends Number of packets successfully resent because of transmission
errors.
failed_resends Number of packets not successfully resent in time to correct
transmission errors.
[stream_ Type of material sent, indicated in the following pattern:
components] RealAudio RealVideo Event RealImage
1 shows that the stream includes this type, 0 indicates that it
does not. Thus, a stream that included RealVideo and RealAudio
but no events or RealImages would appear in the proxy log as:
1 1 0 0.
start_time Timestamp of start time.
server_address IP address where clip came from. This may be the origin
RealServer, a RealServer which is acting as a receive splitter, or
another RealProxy which is acting as a receive splitter.
average_bitrate Average bitrate of clip.
packets_sent Number of packets sent.
presentation_id Number used by other clips in a SMIL presentation. All elements
from the same presentation use the same number. The SMIL file
itself is also included in the log, and shares the number as well.
The number is assigned by RealProxy at the time of
transmission.
Included when Logging Style is 5 .
(Table Page 4 of 5)
89

[proxy_info] Displays information about the type of proxied stream (always
included):
Value Meaning
Demand The proxied stream was an on-demand clip, and it
Pass- was sent in passthrough mode.
Through
Live Pass- The proxied stream was a live clip, and it was sent
Through in passthrough mode.
Live Split The proxied stream was a live clip, and it was sent
via push splitting.
Demand The proxied stream as an on-demand clip, and
Cache Hit RealProxy served it from the media cache.
Unknown Clip type and delivery were of unknown type.
(Table Page 5 of 5)
LoggingStyle Results
The format of the proxy log under each of the different Logging Style values is
shown in the table below:
Logging Style Effect on Proxy Log
Logging Style
value Individual record format
0 client_IP_address - - [timestamp] "GET filename protocol/version"
HTTP_status_code bytes_sent [client_info] [client_id]
[proxy_info]
HTTP_status_code bytes_sent [client_info] [client_id] file_size
file_time sent_time resends failed_resends [proxy_info]
file_time sent_time resends failed_resends [proxy_info]
file_time sent_time resends failed_resends [stream_components]
start_time server_address [proxy_info]
(Table Page 1 of 2)
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Logging Style Effect on Proxy Log (continued)

Logging Style
value Individual record format
start_time server_address average_bitrate packets_sent
[proxy_info] [proxy_info]
start_time server_address average_bitrate packets_sent
presentation_id [proxy_info]
(Table Page 2 of 2)
Customizing Information Reported by the Proxy Log

To gather information with the proxy log, you must first decide what types of
information you want to gather. Then make the appropriate changes to
Logging Style.
Placing the Proxy Log

At installation, RealProxy is configured to place log files in the Logs
subdirectory of the main RealProxy directory and Logging Style is set to 3 .
➤ To indicate where to store the proxy log f ile:
1. In RealSystem Administrator, click General Setup. Click Logging.

2. Type the name you want to use in the Proxy Log Path box. The default
name of the proxy log file is proxy.log (Windows) or proxy (UNIX), and it is
usually placed in the Logs subdirectory of the main RealProxy directory.
The directory (if any) typed here can be absolute or relative to the base
path of the main mount point.
The name of the access file will be different if Log File Rolling is enabled;
see Log File Rolling on page 93.
3. When you are finished, click Apply.
If Proxy Log Path is blank, RealProxy records access information in the
proxy.log or proxy file located in the same directory as the RealProxy executable
file.
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Gathering Information with Logging Style

To configure RealProxy to collect access information, configure Logging Style.
There are six options, styles 0 through 5. Each logging style includes
information of the logging styles with lower numbers. Thus, Logging Style 3
collects the information thats collected by styles 0, 1, and 2, as well as the
material gathered by style 3. If you omit this variable, RealProxy uses the
default style of 0 .
A list of information gathered by each value is given below.
Logging Styles 0, 1, and 3 contain some additional information, as described
in Proxy Log Format on page 86.
Information Collected by Logging Style
To gather this information... ...set LoggingStyle to this value
Bytes sent 0
Clip name including path 0
Client IP address and platform information 0
Timestamp 0
File size (in bytes) 1
File time (total file length in seconds) 1
Packets successfully and unsuccessfully resent 1
(Table Page 1 of 2)
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Information Collected by Logging Style

To gather this information... ...set LoggingStyle to this value
Protocol (RTSP or PNA) 1
Send time (total media sent in seconds) 1
Transport method (TCP, UDP) and version 1
Client ID 2
Server IP Address 3
Stream components 3
Timestamp for start time 3
Average bitrate 4
Packets sent 4
Common presentation identifier 5
(Table Page 2 of 2)
Log File Rolling

Proxy log files can grow indefinitely as they accumulate data. To keep log files
to a manageable size, you can limit the proxy log to a weekss worth of
information or a certain file size, and RealProxy will begin a new log file when
the limit is reached.
Log file rolling applies only to proxy log files.
➤ To set up log f ile rolling:

2. Indicate where log files should be stored by giving the path and file name
in the Access Log Path box. This is described in Placing the Proxy Log on
page 91.
3. Decide whether to limit the log files by time period or by size.
To limit by time period, choose the period from the Log Rolling
Frequency list. You can save by the hour, day, week, or month.
In the Log Rolling Interval box, type the number of time periods. For
example, if you chose Days from the Log Rolling Frequency list and
typed 4 in the Log Rolling Interval box, RealProxy will start a new
proxy log every 4 days.
To limit by file size, type a number in the Log Rolling Size box. Specify
the size in megabytes.
93
If you have values in all three boxes, RealProxy will use the size or time
period that is reached first.
4. When youre done, click Apply.
Rolled log files are named with the following format:
name.log.datestamp
where:
name Name of the regular log file. The name for proxy logs is taken
from the LogPath setting (usually rmaccess ).
log The log file extension.
datestamp The date stamp, in the following format:
YYYYMMDDHHMMSS
where:
YYYY Year.
MM Two digits of the month.
DD Date, in two digits. January would be 01.
HH Hour
MM Minutes
SS Seconds
Disabling Log File Rolling

Choose Never from the Log Rolling Time Period list, and type 0 (zero) for the
Log Rolling size.
Error Log
The error log contains both information and error messages about server
operation. By looking for patterns of errors, you can troubleshoot and correct
possible problems on your site.
View the text of the error log using a word processor or text editor.
The error log is an excellent tool for troubleshooting any problems that may
arise with your RealProxy. An entry is made to the error log only when an error
occurs. If no errors occur, this file will not exist.
Error messages relating to RealProxy activity appear in the error log. The error
log is created when the first error occurs.
94
For a list of error messages that can appear in this file and what to do about
them, visit the RealNetworks technical support page at http://
service.real.com. If you have an entry that refers to a fatal error, contact the
RealNetworks Technical Support Department for assistance.
➤ To customize where RealProxy creates the error log:
2. In the Error Log Path box, type the path and name you want to use for the
error log. The default location is the Logs directory of the main RealProxy
directory, and the default file name is rmerror.log .
Error Log Format

The error log records client connections and RealProxy errors. Each time an
error is generated by RealProxy, a record is created in the error log. The error
log path is stored in the same directory as the proxy log, indicated by the
LogPath variable.
Syntax of the file is as follows:
***date time servername(process_ID): error_message
where entries are defined below:

Error Log Syntax
Entry Meaning
*** Three asterisks indicate an error. Informational
messages are not preceded by asterisks.
date Date on which the error occurred. Given in the
form d-Mmm-YY.
time Time the error occurred, according to RealProxy.
Given in the form HH:MM:SS:TT.hhh
servername(process_ID) The server name, followed by the process ID in
parentheses.
error_message Text of error message
Example Error Log

A sample error message looks like this:
***15-Nov-96 14:13:30.488 myserver(1556): 6220: No such user: joe
95
96
Appendix A: CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX A
This appendix describes the structure of the configuration file.
Configuration File Components

The configuration file is constructed entirely of tags. There are four types of
tags in this file: the XML declaration tag, optional comment tags, list tags,
and variable tags.
Of these four types, only two make up the instructions to RealServer: lists and
variables. Lists are used for instructions that have several parts, such as the
MIME types or the multicast instructions. A list tag is followed by one or more
list tags or variable tags.
All values for lists and variables are enclosed in double quotation marks.
XML Declaration Tag

The XML declaration tag indicates which version of XML is in use. RealProxy
uses XML version 1.0. The declaration tag looks like this:
<?XML Version="1.0" ?>
Comment Tags
Comment tags are used in the configuration file to identify the functions of
tags, but the comments arent required. XML comment tags are just like those
in HTML: they begin with  . RealProxy ignores these tags;
they are for your benefit.
For example, this comment tag lets the administrator know that the
parameters after it refer to the path settings:

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APPENDIX A: Configuration File Syntax RealProxy Administration Guide
Tip
To disable a feature, convert the features tag or tags to a
comment. Rather than converting each tag to a
comment, edit only the features first opening tag and
last closing tag.
Do not nest comment tags within other comment tags.
List Tags
The list tag uses the following syntax:
<List Name=name>
...
</List>
where name is the list title. Using the correct capitalization for name is
important.
Other lists or variables follow the list. The </List> tag signifies the end of the
list. If other lists are inside the original list, they must also have closing </List>
tags. The MIMETypes list is an example of a list that contains other lists.
Tip
Indenting list items is not required, but is recommended
for clarity.
Variable Tags
Variable tags use the following syntax:
<Var name=value/>
where name is the variable title, and value is a string or a number, depending on
the variable. Capitalization for both name and value is important.
Unlike lists, variables do not have a closing tag; instead, a forward slash mark
(/ ) appears before the closing angle bracket (> ).
Tip
If youve restarted RealProxy and its not responding to
a change youve made to a variable, make sure the
variable has a closing forward slash mark, and that there
is no space between them.
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RealProxy Administration Guide APPENDIX A: Configuration File Syntax
Variables can be independent elements (such as LogPath ) or they may appear

inside a list. When variables appear within a list, their meaning is determined
by the value of the list name, although they may be apparently identical in
syntax to variables that are not inside lists. If there are multiple variables
within a list that do similar things, their names must be unique. For example,
the Extension variables within each MIMETypes list must have different names;
this is accomplished by adding a number to the end of each (Extension_01,
Extension_02 , and so on).
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Appendix B: CONFIGURATION FILE CONTENTS B
This appendix gives brief information about the contents of the
configuration file for those administrators interested in editing it
directly.
Editing the Configuration File

For those RealProxy administrators who prefer to modify features by editing
the configuration file directly, this appendix shows sample configuration file
contents with brief descriptions. Detailed descriptions can be found in the
chapters that describe each subject.
If you are going to modify the configuration file directly, please read the
following sections:
Appendix A: Configuration File Syntaxexplains the structure of this file
Configuring RealProxy Features in Chapter 3contains instructions on
modifying the configuration file with a text editor
It is recommended that you first use RealSystem Administrator to make
changes, and then examine the configuration file to learn how changes are
made. Noticing how lists are created and changed will be especially instructive.
Warning
Exit RealSystem Administrator before opening the
configuration file with a text editor or unexpected
changes may result.
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APPENDIX B: Configuration File Contents RealProxy Administration Guide
Elements of the Configuration File

Settings are grouped into like categories. Variables that are not part of lists
can appear anywhere in the configuration file, but are grouped here for clarity.
Most configuration file variables closely match names in RealSystem
Administrator. Differences are noted here.
Ports
Port settings are described in Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features.
MonitorPort is described in Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity.
<Var MonitorPort="9090"/> The port which monitors (such as G2 Java
Monitor) connect to RealProxy.
<Var AdminPort="7845"/> Port number for RealSystem Administrator
connection.
Paths
LogPath and ErrorLogPath are described in Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy
Activity. PIDPath is described in Chapter 5: Advanced Features. PluginDirectory
is described on Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features. LicenseDirectory is
given on Chapter 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy.
Windows Variables
Path variables, along with typical paths used in Windows NT and Windows
NT, are shown here.
<Var LogPath="C:\Program Files LogPath indicates where and with what
\Real\RealServer\Logs\proxy.log"/> name the proxy log will be stored. If omitted,
RealProxy places proxy.log in the Logs
directory.
<Var ErrorLogPath="C:\Program Files ErrorLogPath gives the path and name of the
\Real\RealProxy\Logs\proxyerr.log"/> error log file. If this setting is omitted,
RealProxy places proxyerr.log in the Logs
directory.
<Var PluginDirectory="C:\Program Files Shows where the plug-in files are stored.
Real\RealProxy\Plugins"/>
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RealProxy Administration Guide APPENDIX B: Configuration File Contents
<Var LicenseDirectory="C:\Program File Gives the location of the license files.

\Real\RealProxy\License"/>
<Var SupportPluginDirectory= Shows location of the Lib directory
C:\Program File\Real\RealProxy
\Lib/>
UNIX
One additional setting is found on RealProxy running on a UNIX system:
PIDPath .
<Var LogPath="/usr/bin/RealServer LogPath indicates where and with what

/Logs/proxy.log"/> name the proxy log will be stored. If omitted,
RealProxy places proxy.log in the Logs
directory.
<Var ErrorLogPath="/usr/bin/ ErrorLogPath gives the path and name of the
RealProxy/Logs/proxyerr.log"/> error log file. If this setting is omitted,
RealProxy places proxyerr.log in the Logs
directory.
<Var PluginDirectory="/usr/bin Shows where the plug-in files are stored.
/RealProxy/Plugins"/>
<Var LicenseDirectory="/usr/bin Gives the location of the license files.
/RealProxy/License"/>
<Var PidPath="/usr/bin/RealProxy In UNIX systems, the location of the process
/Logs/rmserver.pid"/> id file.
<Var SupportPluginDirectory="/usr/bin Shows location of the Lib directory
/RealServer/Lib"/
RealProxy
Three sections refer specifically to RealProxy.
If you establish values for MaxProxyConnections, MaxProxyBandwidth ,
MaxGatewayBandwidth , and LowBitRateGateway, RealProxy will limit access when
the lowest threshold is reached.

<List Name="Proxy">
<Var RTSPPort=1091/> Port number where RealProxy listens for
RTSP requests.
<Var PNAPort=1090/> Port number where RealProxy listens for
PNA requests.
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<Var CacheEnable="0"/> When value is 1 , RealProxy looks for media

cache information in the configuration file
and forwards requests for on-demand
material to the cache file system. (See the
next section.)
<Var BitsaveEnable="1"/> When value is 1 , RealProxy streams all live
requests, rather than opening separate data
channels between the origin RealServer and
the client.
If you disable this setting, RealProxy will not
be able to perform pull splitting.
<Var BitsaveMountPoint=/split//> Used for bitsave mode.
<Var BitsavePort=3030/> Used for bitsave mode.
<Var MaxProxyConnections="1000"/> Limits the number of connections that
RealProxy will proxy simultaneously. Must
be less than or equal to the number of
streams in your license. Range is 1 to 32767.
If omitted or set to 0 , RealProxy uses the
number in your license.
<Var MaxProxyBandwidth="0"/> Limits the amount of kilobits per second
which RealProxy will use when clients
connect
<Var MaxGatewayBandwidth=0/> Limits the bandwidth in kilobits per second
that RealProxy will use when connecting to
its gateway.
<Var LowBitRateGateway=0/> When set to 1 , uses minimum bit rate for
SureStream requests. Normally, clients can
shift through available bit rates in a
SureStream file. This feature automatically
requests only the lowest bit rate available. In
RealSystem Administrator, this is called Low
Gateway Bandwidth.
<Var LoggingStyle=5/> Determines how much data about clips
served is gathered in the access log. See
Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity for a
list of options.
<Var RTSPParentProxyAddress= When a value is included, chains this
"RTSPProxyHostIP"/> RealProxys RTSP requests to a parent
RealProxy, as identified by the IP.
<Var RTSPParentProxyPort="1091"/> Parent RealProxys RTSP port number.
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<Var PNAParentProxyAddress= When a value is included, chains this

"PNAProxyHostIP"/> RealProxys PNA requests to a parent
RealProxy, as identified by the IP.
<Var PNAParentProxyPort="1090"/> Parent RealProxys PNA port number.
</List>
RTSP Redirection
The RTSPRedirector list is used to instruct clients to contact RealProxy directly.
It requires that you use a third-party hardware or software router to redirect
the client requests to RealProxy. See Configuring RealProxy to Listen for Re-
Routed Client Messages on page 47 for more information.
<List Name="RTSPRedirector">
<Var Port="554"/> Port number where the redirect plugin
should listen for RTSP redirections from the
router.
<Var RedirectToAddress= RealProxy address to which the clients
"RedirectIPGoesHere"/> should directly address their requests.
<Var RedirectToPort="1091"/> RealProxy port number to which the clients
should directly address their requests.
</List>
<List Name="PNARedirector">
<Var Port="7070"/> Port number where the redirect plugin
should listen for PNA redirections from the
router.
<Var RedirectToAddress= RealProxy address to which the clients
"RedirectIPGoesHere"/> should directly address their requests.
<Var RedirectToPort="1090"/> RealProxy port number to which the clients
should directly address their requests.
</List>
MIME Types
Setting up RealProxy to send correct MIME type information with clips is
described in Chapter 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy.
<List Name="MimeTypes">
<List Name="audio/x-pn-realaudio">
105
<Var Extension_01="ra"/>
<Var Extension_02="ram"/>
</List>
<List Name="application/x-pn-realmedia">
<Var Extension_01="rm"/>
</List>
<Var Extension_01="rt"/>
</List>
<Var Extension_01="rp"/>
</List>
<Var Extension_01="smi"/>
</List>
<List Name="application/sdp">
<Var Extension_01=smi/>
</List>
<List Name="text/html">
<Var Extension_01="html"/>
<Var Extension_02="htm"/>
</List>
<List Name="image/gif">
<Var Extension_01="gif"/>
</List>
<List Name="image/jpg">
<Var Extension_01="jpg"/>
<Var Extension_02="jpeg"/>
</List>
</List>
File Systems
The FSMount section of the configuration file gives the names of all the
configurable file system plug-ins in use. The plug-ins themselves are stored in
a directory indicated by the PluginDirectory variable.
106
All requests of the RealProxy are processed by plug-ins. Plug-ins control which
features are available. The modular plug-in design means that new features
can be programmed and easily substituted for the existing plug-ins. New plug-
ins may require different list arrangements and variables; check with the
developer of the plug-in for this information.
RealSystem G2 SDK Developer's Guide provides developers
with the public interfaces used to extend and customize
RealSystem G2 to stream new datatypes, create new
clients, or to customize RealProxy by building a new
plug-in.
ShortName Variable
Each list within FSMount gives a short name for the plug-in. The short name is
also stored within the plug-in file itself, and RealProxy uses this to identify the
correct file to use. To add a plug-in to your RealProxy, you must know the
name to use in the FSMount section; this name is supplied by the developer of
the plug-in. The short name is referenced with the ShortName variable in each
file systems list.
RealNetworks Plug-in Names
ShortName Windows Filename UNIX Filename Description
pn-local smpl3260.dll smplfsys.so.6.0 Local File System
pn-admin admi3260.dll adminfs.so.6.0 Admin File System
pn-splitter pull3260.dll pullplin.so.6.0 Pull Splitting File System
RealSystem Administrator
Two files systems work together to operate RealSystem Administrator: the
local file system and the administration file system.
The administration file system accepts the initial URL for RealSystem
Administrator. It requests the HTML files from the local file system. Once the
local file system delivers the HTML files, the administration file system looks
up your RealProxys values and displays them at the appropriate points in
RealSystem Administrator.
Three variables are used for the RealAdministrator list: ShortName , MountPoint ,
and BasePath .
107
Five variables are use in the RealAdministrator_Files list: ShortName , MountPoint,

Authorized_User_Group , Authentication , and Realm .
This tool is described in Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features.
<List Name="RealAdministrator_Files">
<Var ShortName="pn-admin"> RealSystem Administrator uses the pn-
admin plugin.
<Var MountPoint="/admin/"/> The default value for MountPoint is
/admin/ . If you change this, you will need to
type a new URL to connect to RealSystem
Administrator.
<Var BaseMountPoint= This special form of mount point reflects

"/localadmin/"/> the mount point of the RealAdministrator
list.
<Var Realm=AdminRealm/> The Realm variable identifies which
AuthenticationRealm settings will be used
with requests sent to the RealSystem
Administrator mount point.
<Var Authentication=True/> Indicates that authentication is in use.
</List>
<List Name="RealAdministrator">
<Var ShortName="pn-local"/> RealSystem Administrator uses the local file
system.
<Var MountPoint="/localadmin/"/> Mount point, used when
RealAdministrator_Files list requests files
from this plugin. The default value is
/localadmin/ . If you change this, be sure to
change the RealAdministrator_Files lists
BaseMountPoint to match.
<Var BasePath="C:\Program Files Location of the RealSystem Administrator
\Real\RealProxy files.
\RealAdministrator"/>
</List>
IP Binding
The ability to reserve specific addresses for RealProxys use is explained in
Chapter 5: Advanced Features. This list uses variables numbered sequentially:
108
Address_01, Address_02 , and so on. Use one for each IP address you want to set
aside for RealProxy. Use the RealProxys IP address or DNS name for each
variable; however, the IP address allows RealProxy to be more efficient.
RealProxy will bind to the specified addresses only; it will not bind to
localhost.
If you dont use any values for the variables in the IPBinding list, RealProxy
binds to the host IP address and localhost. It does not bind to any others.
<List Name="IPBinding">
<Var Address_01="0.0.0.0"/> Each variable gives an address to reserve for
use by RealProxy. To reserve all addresses,
set the address variable to 0.0.0.0 and
remove all other address variables from the
list.
</List>
Allowance
Settings in this section refer to the allowance plug-in. They are described in
Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy.
When set to On , ValidPlayerOnly sends a message to any clients other than
RealNetworks RealPlayer version 5.0 or RealNetworks RealPlayer G2 directing
them to upgrade to the latest version of RealPlayer. If set to Off , all clients can
receive all clips.
<Var ValidPlayersOnly="True"/> Allows only RealPlayer version 5.0 and
RealPlayer G2 to access content. Any other
clients attempting to view or listen to
content display a message directing them to
upgrade to the latest version of RealPlayer. If
ValidPlayerOnly is set to Off , all clients can
receive all clips. In Basic Server and Basic
Server Plus, this is set to On and cannot be
changed.
<Var MinPlayerVersion=2/> Sets the minimum RealPlayer version that
can access the content. To limit to version
2.0 and later, set MinPlayerVersion to 2 , and
so on. To allow only RealPlayer G2, set it to
6.
109
<Var MinPlayerProtocol=0/> Limits access by protocol number. Use one

of the following values for MinPlayerVersion :
1 RealAudio Player version 1.0
4 RealPlayer version 4.0
5 RealPlayer version 5.0
6 RealPlayer G2
<Var PlusOnly=False/> When set to True , PlusOnly allows only
RealPlayer Plus to play content.
HTTP Support
This feature, which indicates the virtual directories whose content can be
streamed via HTTP, is explained in Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy.
Each Path variable gives the name of a virtual directory whose content can be
streamed via HTTP.
Be sure that Admin is on this list; Admin refers to RealSystem Administrator,
which is served via HTTP. And push splitting uses HTTP for the initial
connection conversation; add the push splitting mount point to this list,
usually farm .
<List Name="HTTPDeliverable">
<Var Path_01="/admin"/> Each Path variable gives the name of a
<Var Path_02="/localadminfs"/> mount point, directory or virtual directory
whose content can be streamed via HTTP.
<Var Path_03="/ramgen"/>
</List>
Access Control
Restricting access to RealProxy content via the requesting clients IP address is
described in Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy. For every address or
address range to which you want to restrict access, create a list with a unique
number. The number can be any length, but a number of more than one digit
is recommended in case more lists are added later; with multiple digits, the
new lists can be inserted between existing lists.
Each list is called a rule. Rules are processed in numerical order. RealProxy
searches the list of rules to find the first rule that matches the address.
Because RealProxy searches the list of rules in numerical order, make your
broadest categories first.
110
Within each list, the following settings are used: Access , Transport , To , From , and
a list named Ports .
<List Name="AccessControl">
<List Name="100">
<Var Access="Allow"/> Whether access is allowed or denied: set to
Allow or Deny.
<Var Transport="TCP"/> Transmission method being accessed. TCP is
the only option for this list.
<Var To="127.0.0.1"/> Address of the host RealProxy or network
card of hosting machine. Use specific
address or Any.
<Var From="any"/> Address of the client computer whose access
you are limiting. Use specific address or Any.
To specify a range of IP addresses, either
place a colon after the IP address and give
the full subnet mask, or place a slash mark
after the IP address and give the number of
bytes for the subnet mask. For example, the
following are equivalent values to use in the
From variable: 172.16.3.0:255.255.255.0
and 172.16.3.0/24 . Both examples specify
the range of addresses from 172.16.3.0 to
172.16.3.254.
<List Name="Ports"> List of ports to which access is restricted.
<Var Port_01="554"/> The port number should match the port
<Var Port_02="4040"/> numbers which RealProxy is using for other
features, such as RTSPPort .
<Var Port_03="5050"/>
<Var Port_04="7070"/>
<Var Port_05="8080"/>
<Var Port_06="9090"/>
</List>
</List>
</List>
Splitting
Only three variables appear in the pull splitting section: ShortName ,
MountPoint , and Port . The source RealProxy and the source splitter have the
same information in their Splitter_DoubleURL sections, but each system is
111
interested in different information: the RealProxy looks at the Port value, and
the splitter looks at the mount point.
Warning
If you change these settings, RealProxy will not be able
to operate in bitsave mode.
<List Name="Splitter_DoubleURL">
<Var ShortName="pn-splitter"/> Short name of the pull splitting plugin.
Default is pn-splitter.
<Var MountPoint="/split/"/> Mount point. Used in URLs that reference
pull splitting streams. Default is /split/.
<Var Port="3030"/> Port number to which the source RealProxy
will listen for pull splitting requests.
</List>
Multicasting
Back-channel multicasting is described in Chapter 9: Multicasting Live
Streams.
Settings used with this list are AddressRange, DeliveryOnly, RTSPPort , Resend ,
and TTL .
<List Name="Multicast">
<Var AddressRange=""/> Range of addresses to which you want to
send streams, in the form of address -address .
RealProxy uses the first available address in
this range. If you are using other types of
multicast, be sure that the address ranges are
different and do not overlap. If your
multicast streams are referenced in SMIL
files, you will need one address for each
stream.
<List Name="ControlList"> The ControlList list gives the addresses of
clients allowed to receive multicast
transmissions.
<Var Allow= Address and netmask, separated by a colon,
"164.16.2.24:255.0.0.0"/> of clients allowed to receive multicast
</List> transmissions. Uses same format as From
variable in AccessControl list.
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<Var DeliveryOnly="False"/> Requires clients listed in ControlList to

receive only multicast transmissions from
RealProxy. When DeliveryOnly is False,
clients on ControlList can receive both
multicasts and unicasts.
<Var RTSPPort="554"/> Port on client machines to which RealProxy
sends RTSP streams. Default value is 554 .
<Var TTL="16"/> Time To Live for multicast packets travelling
over the network.
<Var Resend="True"/> Allows or denies requests from clients for
resends of missing UDP packets.
</List>
Authentication
Authentication is used to verify the identity of users who access RealSystem
Administrator. It ensures that only the people youve authorized can make
changes to RealProxy.
RealProxy uses a subset of the authentication features
available to RealServer. For more information on
authentication, refer to RealServer Administration Guide.
Authentication Realms
A realm is a way of associating a group of users and the protocol used to verify
their credentials.
Each sublist of AuthenticationRealms gives properties for a different realm.
Every realm has a name (identified by the Realm variable), and a list that
identifies what type of authentication is used in that realm. Depending on
which authentication type you choose, different variables are required within
the sublist.
<List Name="AuthenticationRealms">
<List Name="SecureAdmin"> A realm.
<Var Realm="AdminRealm"/> Name of this realm.
<List Name=BasicAuthenticator/>
<Var PluginID=rn-auth-basic/> Security type.
<Var DatabaseID=Admin_Basic/>
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</List>
</List>
</List>
Databases List
The databases list stores usernames and passwords of authorized users.
Within the list, sublists associate database plugins with location information.
The options available to each sublist are PluginID, Path, DBName ,
DBLoginPassword , and DBLoginPassword . The last two are only required if the
PathToDBPlugin is set to ppvm3260 or ppvo3260 .
<List Name="Databases">
<List Name="Admin_Basic">
<Var PluginID="rn-db-flatfile"/> Name of plugin that will interact with the
database.
<Var Path="C:\Program Files Location where the database files are stored
\Real\RealProxy\adm_b_db"/> or will be stored.
</List>
Passwords
MonitorPassword is described in Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity.
<Var MonitorPassword="letmein"/> Password used by G2 Java Monitor in
connecting to RealProxy.
Logging
Logging and reporting features are described in Chapter 11: Tracking
RealProxy Activity. Variables which control the locations of the access and
error log files are described in Paths on page 102 of this chapter.
Disable log file rolling by changing the LogRollFrequency and LogRollSize
variables to 0 .
114
<Var LogRollFrequency="4W"/> Creates a new access log for each period

specified. The period is indicated in the
format xD , xW, or xM , where x is a number.
See also LogRollSize . For example, 4D will
keep 4 days of information in the log file.
<Var LogRollSize="50"/> Creates a new access log when the indicated
file size is reached. See also
LogRollFrequency. If you include both
LogRollFrequency and LogRollSize ,
RealProxy uses the variable it finds first.
115
116
Appendix C: FILES INCLUDED WITH REALPROXY C
This appendix lists the files used by RealProxy.
RealProxy Directories
Directory Description
adm_b_db For authenticating RealSystem Administrator users,
this directory stores names of authenticated users.
Bin Utility programs are stored here. (More information is
shown below.)
Content Sample media presentations are stored in this
directory; you can view them from RealSystem
Administrator by clicking Samples.
Lib Support libraries.
License Contains license file(s). (More information is shown
below.)
Logs Reports of RealProxy will go in this directory. (More
information is shown below.)
Plugins Plugins, which perform RealProxy functions, are stored
here.
RealAdministrator HTML and other files required by RealSystem
Administrator.
The table below shows the files stored in the main RealProxy directory.
Main Directory
Windows UNIX Description
rmserver.cfg rmserver.cfg The configuration settings for RealProxy.
readme.txt readme.txt Last minute updates and changes.
117
APPENDIX C: Files Included with RealProxy RealProxy Administration Guide
Bin Directory
mkpnpass.exe mkpnpass Password tool (used for changing passwords
of RealSystem Administrator users)
rmserver.exe rmserver RealProxy executable
Lib Directory
proxylib.lib proxylib.lib RealProxy Support Library
encn3260.dll encn.so.6.0 Broadcasting Support Library
License Directory
proxy.key proxy.key License file.
Logs Directory
proxy.log proxy.log Proxy access log
log.txt log.txt Log text file
proxyerr.log proxyerr.log Error Log
Plugins Directory
admi3260.dll adminfs.so.6.0 RealNetworks Admin File System
allo3260.dll allow.so.6.0 RealNetworks Basic Allowance Plugin
audp3260.dll audplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks Renderer Plugin
auth3260.dll authmgr.so.6.0 RealNetworks Authentication Manager
(Table Page 1 of 3)
118
RealProxy Administration Guide APPENDIX C: Files Included with RealProxy
Plugins Directory
basc3260.dll bascauth.so.6.0 RealNetworks Basic Authenticator
dbmg3260.dll dbmgr.so.6.0 RealNetworks Database Manager
dbwr3260.dll dbwrap.so.6.0 RealNetworks 5.0 Database Wrapper
farm3260.dll farmplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks Farm Split Broadcast Plugin
ntau3260.dll ntau.so.6.0 RealNetworks NTLM Authenticator
ntlo3260.dll ntlo.so.6.0 RealNetworks NT Logger
perf3260.dll perf.so.6.0 RealNetworks RMA Performance Monitor
plog3260.dll plog.so.6.0 RealNetworks Proxy Logging Plugin
plus3260.dll plusplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks PlusURL File Format Plugin
ppvb3260.dll ppvbasic.so.6.0 RealNetworks FlatFile Database Plugin
ppvmsql.so.6.0 RealNetworks mSQL Database Plugin
pxcb3260.dll pxcbmp.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealPix BMP Codec Plugin
pxcg3260.dll pxcgif.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealPix GIF Codec Plugin
pxcj3260.dll pxcjpeg.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealPix JPEG Codec Plugin
pxcs3260.dll RealNetworks RealPix STNG Codec Plugin
pxff3260.dll pxff.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealPix Format Plugin
pxfx3260.dll pxexfx.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealPix External Effect Sam
pxgf3260.dll pxgf.so.6.0 RealNetworks GIF File Format Plugin
pxjf3260.dll pxjf.so.6.0 RealNetworks JPEG File Format Plugin
redi3260.dll redipln.so.6.0 Real Networks RTSP Redirector Plugin
rmff3260.dll rmffplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealMedia File Format Plugi
rn5a3260.dll rn5auth.so.6.0 RealNetworks RN5 Authenticator
rprx3260.dll rprxypln.so.6.0 RealNetworks RTSP Proxy Plugin
rtff3260.dll rtffplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks RealText File Format Plugin
sdpp3260.dll sdpplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks SDP Stream Description Plug
smlf3260.dll smlffpln.so.6.0 RealNetworks SMIL File Format Plugin
smon3260.dll smonplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks System Monitor
smpl3260.dll smplfsys.so.6.0 RealNetworks Local File System
splt3260.dll spltplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks Splitter Broadcast Plugin
swff3260.dll swff.so.6.0 Shockwave Flash Format Plugin
vidp3260.dll vidplin.so.6.0 RealNetworks Renderer Plugin
(Table Page 2 of 3)
119
APPENDIX C: Files Included with RealProxy RealProxy Administration Guide
Plugins Directory
vivf3260.dll vivff.so.6.0 VivoActive File Format Plugin
exca3260.dll excache.so.6.0 Example cache plugin
miip3260.dll miiplin.so.6.0 Media Import plugin
sbmo3260.dll sbmonpln.so.6.0 Splitter Monitor plugin
(Table Page 3 of 3)
120
INDEX
A Access C CacheEnable variable, 104

in RealSystem Administrator, 67 comment tag, 97
variable, 111 configuration file
Access Control components, 97
in RealSystem Administrator, 65, 66 editing with text editor, 42
list, 110, 111 starting with, 33
Access Rule Name
in RealSystem Administrator, 65, 67 D daisy-chain See chaining, 71
Address DBLoginPassword
in RealSystem Administrator, 86 variable, 114
Address Range DBName
in RealSystem Administrator, 79 variable, 114
variable, 112 Delivery Only, 58
Address_01 variable, 109 in RealSystem Administrator, 80
Admin Port variable, 112, 113
in RealSystem Administrator, 43 disabling features
variable, 102 log file rolling, 94
adminfs mount point, 107, 108
Allow variable, 112 E error log, 94, 103
allowance plugin, 109 format, 95
Authentication Error Log Path
variable, 108 in RealSystem Administrator, 95
Authentication Realm variable, 102, 103
variable, 113 error messages
Authentication variable, 108 "File not found", 51
Authorized_User_Group variable, 108 Extensible Markup Language (XML) See XML
Extension_01 variable, 99, 106
B Base Path
variable, 107 F "File not found" error message, 51
in RealAdministrator list, 108 file systems, 106
BaseMountPoint From
variable, 108 in RealSystem Administrator, 65, 68
BitsaveEnable variable, 44, 104 variable, 111
BitsaveMountPoint variable, 104 FSMount list, 106, 107
BitsavePort variable, 104
121
Index RealProxy Administration Guide
G G2 Java Monitor, 102 LowBitRateGateway variable, 104

GET, appearance in proxy log, 86
M MaxBandwidth variable, 56
H HTTP Deliverable MaxGatewayBandwidth variable, 104
list, 110 Maximum Gateway Bandwidth, 57
HTTP Port, 43, 51 Maximum Proxy Bandwidth, 56, 57
in Access Control list, 68 Maximum Proxy Connections, 56
Web server and RealProxy on same sys- MaxProxyBandwidth variable, 104
tem, 51 MaxProxyConnections
variable, 56
I IP Address MaxProxyConnections variable, 104
in RealSystem Administrator, 79 MIME Types
IP Binding configuring on Web server, 34
list, 52, 109 in RealSystem Administrator, 34, 35
list, 98, 99, 105
L License Directory Min Player Version
in RealSystem Administrator, 36 variable, 109, 110
variable, 36, 102, 103 Minimum Player Version, 59
list tag, 98 Minimum RealPlayer Version, 109
localadminfs mount point, 108 MinimumPlayerProtocol, 59
log files MinPlayerProtocol
media cache log, 26 variable, 110
Log Path, 94 MinPlayerVersion variable, 109
variable, 54, 95, 99, 102, 103 Monitor Password
Log Roll Frequency variable, 114
variable, 114, 115 Monitor Port
Log Roll Size variable, 102
variable, 114, 115 multicasting
Log Rolling, 94 requiring use of, 58
Log Rolling Frequency, 93
Log Rolling Interval, 93 P password
Log Rolling Time Period, 94 for RealSystem Administrator users, 40
Logging Style Path variable, 114
default value, 85 Path_01 variable, 110
format, 90 PathToDBPlugin
options, 92 variable, 114
LoggingStyle variable, 104 Pid Path
logs variable, 34, 54, 102, 103
error log, 94 PidPath variable, 103
proxy log, 85 Plugin Directory
customizing, 91 variable, 102, 103, 106
format, 86 Plugin ID
rolling, 93 in Databases list, 114
Low Bit Rate Gateway, 57, 58
122
RealProxy Administration Guide Index
Plus Only customizing, 91

in RealSystem Administrator, 110 rolling, 93
variable, 110 Resend
PNA Port in RealSystem Administrator, 80
in RealSystem Administrator, 43 variable, 112, 113
pn-admin, 107, 108 Restricted Ports, 68
PNAPort variable, 103, 112 rmserver.pid, 54
pn-local, 107, 108 RTSP Port
pn-splitter, 107, 112 in Access Control list, 68
Port in RealSystem Administrator, 43, 79
variable variable, 111, 113
in pull splitting list, 111, 112 in Multicast list, 112, 113
in Splitter_DoubleURL list, 112 RTSPPort variable, 103
Port_01 variable, 111 Rule Number
Ports in RealSystem Administrator, 79
list, 111
Ports variable, 111 S server.cfg, 117
Process ID, 54 shaining, 71
proxy log, 85, 93 ShortName variable
customizing, 91 described, 107
displaying player statistics, 59 in RealAdministrator list, 108
format, 86, 90 in RealAdministrator_Files list, 107, 108
purpose, 85 in Splitter_DoubleURL list, 111, 112
reading, 86 SIGHUP command, 54
rolling, 93 SMIL file
Proxy Log Path in proxy log, 89
in RealSystem Administrator, 91, 93 multicasting and, 79, 112
proxy.log file, 102 split mount point, 112
proxyerr.log file, 102 Splitter_DoubleURL list, 112
starting RealProxy, 29
R RealAdministrator list, 108 statistics, collecting in proxy log, 85
RealAdministrator_Files list, 108 stopping RealProxy
Realm UNIX, 34
variable Windows NT, 32
in AuthenticationRealms list, 113 SureStream
in RealAdministrator_Files list, 108 multicasting, 76
RealPlayer Plus, 59
RealPlayer version, 59 T To
RealProxy, 15 in RealSystem Administrator, 65, 67
RealSystem Administrator, 39, 107 variable, 111
starting, 39 Transport
reports in RealSystem Administrator, 111
error log, 94 variable, 111
proxy log, 85 TTL variable, 80, 112, 113
123
Index RealProxy Administration Guide
U unicasting, 76
UNIX
PID, 54
SIGHUP, 54
special features, 54
starting RealProxy, 33
stopping RealProxy, 34
V Valid Player Only, 59

variable, 109
ValidPlayerOnly variable, 109
variable tag, 98
W Web server
and RealProxy, 43, 51
log format, 86
MIME types on, 34
Windows NT
Performance Monitor, 54
running multiple instances of RealProxy,
32
special features, 53
stopping RealProxy, 32
X XML
configuration file, 41, 97
license files, 36
XML declaration tag, 97
124

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REALPROXY G2 ADMINISTRATION GUIDE

2 STARTING AND STOPPING REALPROXY 29

Starting RealProxy Under UNIX.........................................33

3 CONFIGURING REALPROXY FEATURES 39

4 CONNECTING CLIENTS TO REALPROXY 45

Limiting Access by RealPlayer Version....................................59

7 LIMITING ACCESS TO REALPROXY 61

8 CHAINING ONE REALPROXY TO ANOTHER 71

9 MULTICASTING LIVE STREAMS 75

10 MONITORING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 83

11 TRACKING REALPROXY ACTIVITY 85

A CONFIGURATION FILE SYNTAX 97

B CONFIGURATION FILE CONTENTS 101

C FILES INCLUDED WITH REALPROXY 117

How This Manual Is Organized

Chapter 2: Starting and Stopping RealProxy

Chapter 3: Conf iguring RealProxy Features

Chapter 4: Connecting Clients to RealProxy

Chapter 5: Advanced Features

Chapter 6: Managing Bandwidth

Chapter 7: Limiting Access to RealProxy

Chapter 8: Chaining One RealProxy to Another

Chapter 9: Splitting Live Streams

Chapter 9: Multicasting Live Streams

Chapter 10: Monitoring RealProxy Activity

Chapter 11: Tracking RealProxy Activity

Appendix A: Conf iguration File Syntax

Appendix B: Conf iguration File Contents

Appendix C: Files Included with RealProxy

Conventions in This Manual

Additional RealSystem Resources

How RealProxy Works

Over view of the RealProxy Process

This initial transaction, in which RealServer examines and authorizes

Steps in the RealProxy Process

4. If the stream is on-demand, and RealProxy is set up to use a media cache,

On-Demand Content (No Media Cache in Use)

Media Cache Software

RealProxy and Media Cache Software Delivering On-Demand Streams

whether it is live or on-demand material. If the request is for on-demand

In addition, the methods that handle live broadcasts (passthrough, bitsave,

In passthrough, caching, and bitsave modes, an accounting connection is

RealProxy in Passthrough Mode (Handling Live and On-Demand Streams)

RealProxy Filling the Media Cache (Handling On-Demand Streams)

RealProxy Serving On-Demand Media from the Cache

To ensure high-quality data at all times, RealProxy monitors the quality of

RealProxy in Bitsave Mode (Handling Live Streams)

Requirements for Each RealProxy Mode

Interaction with RealServer

Controlling Client Access

Denying Client Access

established, or if it is disrupted, RealProxy will not stream from the cache to

When RealProxy Will Not Conserve Bandwidth

See Chapter 3: Configuring RealProxy Features on page 39 for specific

Limiting Network Traffic

Chaining One RealProxy to Another

Monitoring RealProxy in Real Time

Tracking RealProxy Activity

Supported Protocols and Data Packet Formats (continued)

1. Follow the instructions in Step 2 of Setting Up RealProxy as a Service.

In the example from Step 2 of Setting Up RealProxy as a Service, in

1. In RealSystem Administrators left-hand frame, click the appropriate

Consult your routers instructions and configure it to re-route streaming

Reserving IP Addresses for RealProxys Use

The connection between RealProxy and the gateway is drastically smaller