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Scaling and securing streaming media applications with Flash Media Server 3
Lisa Larson-Kelley
Table of Contents
Adobe Flash Media Server 3 (FMS 3) is a scalable, real-time media server that delivers high-quality (up to HD) on-demand and live audio and video with great efficiency, and with superior quality of service. FMS 3 allows you to reach the largest possible audience, regardless of platform. It can deliver prerecorded video, live video, playlists, music, video blogging, video messaging, multimedia chat environments, real-time datacasting, multi-user gaming, and more.
With real-time data, video, and audio content, these kinds of applications have the potential to push a heavy data load. Naturally, media servers have only a finite capacity, so as traffic and throughput increase, streaming media applications need to be scaled to preserve the quality of service to your audience. Below are some of the ways you can address this situation:
- Cluster deployment: You can deploy multiple servers behind a load balancer to distribute application load evenly. Flash Media Server (FMS) clustering enables you to scale an application to accommodate more clients reliably, and creates redundancy, which eliminates single points of failure. This approach is generally best for live or video-on-demand (VOD) streaming, where clients do not need to communicate with one another from within specific application instances. Clustering can be achieved using either Flash Media Streaming Server (FMSS) or Flash Media Interactive Server (FMIS).
- FMS intelligent balancing: With Flash Media Interactive Server, you can intelligently direct traffic to a multiple server cluster using server-side scripting. This option would typically be used for multi-way communication applications that require connections to be routed to a specific server. This option does require development of rather sophisticated server-side ActionScript to manage connections.
- Edge/origin configurations: In the past, Flash Media Server–distributed caching/load balancing was achieved by purchasing the Edge/Origin editions. This functionality is now built into Flash Media Interactive Server. FMIS provides an enterprise-ready architecture designed to simplify load balancing, failover, and clustering to ensure maximum availability over large regions.
This article discusses the flexible options that Flash Media Server offers for gracefully scaling high-traffic applications. I also discuss the security features that Flash Media Server offers to protect your content and server resources in ways that are unobtrusive, intuitive, and convenient to consumers.
About the author
Lisa Larson-Kelley began her career in print design, but was soon lured to digital media by a little application called Flash 4. In addition to hands-on development projects, she enjoys writing and teaching, with a knack for breaking down complex concepts and making them accessible. She has authored technical articles for the Adobe Developer Connection, and editorials and features for StreamingMedia.com; and coauthored the book, Flash Video for Professionals (Wiley, 2007). Lisa has also presented at numerous industry conferences around the world and is an active member of the FlashCodersNY user group. A graduate of Wayne State University in Michigan with a BFA in Graphic Design, Lisa received a New Media Certification from the Rhode Island School of Design/Fraunhofer CRCG in 2003. After spending two years as a freelance designer/developer, she went on to become the technical director and cofounder of go:toGroup, a new-media firm based in New York City specializing in Flash video applications. She now consults, teaches, and develops iFoxCam, a consumer video surveillance product using Flash Media Server. While with go:toGroup, Lisa worked with many video-centric startups as well as companies such as Adobe, Microsoft, and L'Oréal. She shares news and musings about Flash video, web development and life in the big city on her blog, flashconnections.com.
