Release 3.0: Configuring Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Table Of Contents

Configuring Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Contents

Prerequisites for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Restrictions for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Information About Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Overview of External Trigger Support

HTTP Methods and URLs

Authentication

Input Trigger Actions

Moment of Exclusivity Use Case

Management Dashboard Registry Settings

How to Configure Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Defining an External Input Trigger

Configuring the HTTP Method for External Triggers

Configuring Authentication for External Triggers

Configuring Actions for a Received Trigger

Enabling and Disabling an External Trigger

How to Monitor External Trigger History

How to Configure Advanced External Trigger Settings in the Registry

Feature Information for Cisco StadiumVision Director External Triggers

Configuring Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

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First Published: May 29, 2012

This document is intended for Cisco StadiumVision Director administrators who are responsible for working with third-party developers and system integrators to establish connectivity for external input triggers to initiate certain actions by the Cisco StadiumVision Director software, such as to start an event script to control display of content for a desired "moment of exclusivity" or make an emergency notification at a venue.

Contents

•Prerequisites for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

•Restrictions for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

•Information About Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

•How to Configure Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

•How to Monitor External Trigger History

•How to Configure Advanced External Trigger Settings in the Registry

•Feature Information for Cisco StadiumVision Director External Triggers

Prerequisites for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Before you configure Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers, be sure that the following requirements are met:

•Your backend devices to support contact closure, such as the Crestron QM-RMC Room Media Controller, are installed and properly configured by a qualified system integrator for your third-party devices.

•If the contact closure triggers are coming from hardware, then the physical signal must be converted to an IP-based HTTP request by some conversion device, such as a General-Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) gateway.

•The Cisco StadiumVision Director server is reachable on the Internet Protocol (IP) network where the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) GET or POST by the contact closure application or device is made.

Restrictions for Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

Before you configure Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers, consider the following restrictions:

•Output triggers from Cisco StadiumVision Director are not supported. Cisco StadiumVision Director supports only input triggers, which are external triggers that can be received by the server resulting in one or more actions.

•The Event Trigger Application Programming Interface (API) calls are one-way.

•The script duration, proof of play, and staging registry settings are global and cannot be configured on a per-action basis.

•If new scripts are created for an event, and external triggers apply, then the external trigger configuration also must be completed.

•Both HTTP and HTTPS protocols are automatically available and unable to be individually disabled.

Information About Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

This section includes the following topics:

•Overview of External Trigger Support

•HTTP Methods and URLs

•Authentication

•Input Trigger Actions

•Management Dashboard Registry Settings

Overview of External Trigger Support

Cisco StadiumVision Director Release 3.0 supports an HTTP-based Representational State Transfer (REST) API that a software or hardware contact closure source can use to trigger one or more actions by the Cisco StadiumVision Director software.

Cisco StadiumVision Director has 16 default input trigger IDs that are initially disabled and serve as placeholders for a Cisco StadiumVision Director administrator to define and enable for your system. The user interface options are defined in Extensible Markup Language (XML) code that can be accessed by an application using the Event Trigger API.

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Note If you want to control external triggers from a software application, you can contact your Cisco Systems representative to obtain the Event Trigger API that is made available by special agreement. "TriggerSVD" is an example of a third-party demo application for the Event Trigger API on iOS (supporting Apple iTouch, iPhone, and iPad products) and is available as a free download from the iTunes store.

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Building management and life safety systems as well as the broadcast control room in a stadium typically allow external integration by using dry contact closure and/or GPIO devices. It is expected that networked surveillance cameras, video routers, and other broadcast equipment already have these input/output (I/O) modules built into the hardware.

Figure 1 shows the different sources of contact closure that can be used as external input triggers to an event script on the Cisco StadiumVision Director server.

•The virtual contact closure option represents a software application that can initiate an HTTP request directly and also use the Event Trigger API for retrieval of input trigger configuration from Cisco StadiumVision Director. You can obtain a free sample third-party software application called "TriggerSVD" on the Apple iTunes site.

•The physical contact closure option represents a hardware device, such as those used for life safety or building management systems, which produce an electrical signal that requires another device to convert the signal to an IP-based HTTP request. Figure 1 Option B shows this conversion being done by a GPIO gateway to initiate the HTTP request after receiving the trigger from the physical contact closure device. The Crestron QM-RMC is an example of a third-party hardware device that accepts two-wire signals and sends commands to Cisco StadiumVision Director.

Figure 1 Input Sources of Contact Closure to Cisco StadiumVision Director

HTTP Methods and URLs

The HTTP method used by the trigger device can be a GET or POST, depending on the device requirements. You can configure the inbound HTTP method per input trigger in Cisco StadiumVision Director. The default is GET.

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Note The payload of a POST is ignored by Cisco StadiumVision Director.

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Each time an external system sends an HTTP request to Cisco StadiumVision Director as an input trigger, the set of actions associated with that input trigger are taken. There is a registry key (ExternalTrigger.input.minInterval) that specifies how much time to elapse before Cisco StadiumVision Director processes any succeeding HTTP request to the same input trigger. For more information, see the "Management Dashboard Registry Settings" section and the "How to Configure Advanced External Trigger Settings in the Registry" section.

Cisco StadiumVision supports both HTTP and HTTPS API calls using the following sample URLs, where svd-server-ip is the IP address of your Cisco StadiumVision Director server, and id is the number of the input trigger:

•http://svd-server-ip:8080/StadiumVision/ws/rest/trigger/input/id

•https://svd-server-ip/StadiumVision/ws/rest/trigger/input/id

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Note To further protect access using these URLs, you can configure authentication by both password and IP address. For more information, see the "Authentication" section.

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Consider the following when using HTTPS:

•Cisco StadiumVision Director uses self-signed certificates. Depending on how the API consumer application is designed, it might require automatic acceptance of the certificate.

•The standard HTTPS port 443 is used.

Authentication

Cisco StadiumVision supports two forms of authentication that you can configure per input trigger:

•Username and password

•IP address list

For added security, both forms of authentication can be enabled.

Input Trigger Actions

Cisco StadiumVision Director can perform certain script actions or TV controls upon receipt of an input trigger. Each input trigger can be configured to have multiple actions.

You can configure the following script actions to occur upon receipt of an input trigger:

•Start a script.

•Stop a script.

•Change to an ad-hoc state.

•Leave the current ad-hoc state.

•Go to the next sequential state.

•Go to the previous sequential state.

You can configure the following TV control actions to occur upon receipt of an input trigger:

•Turn TVs off by group, zone, or device.

•Turn TVs on by group, zone or device.

Moment of Exclusivity Use Case

Figure 2 shows the use case of a single button that can be used when a goal occurs during the match that can trigger multiple display changes at once, including a Cisco StadiumVision Director event script change to an ad-hoc state that displays new content on multiple TVs in the venue.

Figure 2 Moment of Exclusivity for a Goal During Match

Management Dashboard Registry Settings

Table 1 describes the registry keys in the Cisco StadiumVision Director Management Dashboard that support the External Trigger feature.

Table 1 Default Registry Settings for External Triggers

Registry Key	Default	Description
ExternalTrigger.input.count	16	Number of allowable input triggers. The range is 1-64.
ExternalTrigger.input.history.days	7	Maximum number of days that the input trigger history is kept before it is purged.
ExternalTrigger.input.minInterval	5	Minimum length of time (in seconds) that must transpire between receipt of two input triggers of the same ID to avoid processing as a duplicate.
ExternalTrigger.input.script.duration	0	Script duration in seconds. The default is zero, which specifies that the script plays forever.
ExternalTrigger.input.script.pofp	true	Proof-of-play setting when a script starts due to an input trigger. The values are true or false. The default is true, which enables proof of play.
ExternalTrigger.input.script.staging	true	Content staging setting when a script starts due to an input trigger. The values are true or false. The default is true, which enable content staging.

How to Configure Cisco StadiumVision Director for External Triggers

This section includes the following tasks:

•Defining an External Input Trigger (required)

•Configuring the HTTP Method for External Triggers (optional)

•Configuring Authentication for External Triggers (optional)

•Configuring Actions for a Received Trigger (required)

•Enabling and Disabling an External Trigger (required)

Defining an External Input Trigger

By default, Cisco StadiumVision Director supports 16 placeholder triggers that are undefined (unmapped) in the user interface. To support an external trigger, you need to define one of the unmapped triggers and enable it.

You can change this number of supported triggers in the Management Dashboard registry.

To define an external input trigger, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 Log into the Cisco StadiumVision Director server as an administrator.

Step 2 From the main menu click Control Panel > Setup.

Step 3 Click External Triggers.

Step 4 In the trigger list, select a trigger number.

The trigger that you selected is highlighted and the trigger configuration is shown in the Details panel on the right.

Step 5 In the Name box, type a name for the external trigger.

Step 6 (Optional) Configure the HTTP method.

For more information, see the "Configuring the HTTP Method for External Triggers" section.

Step 7 (Optional) Configure authentication of the trigger source.

For more information, see the "Configuring Authentication for External Triggers" section.

Step 8 Configure the actions for the trigger.

For more information, see the "Configuring Actions for a Received Trigger" section.

Step 9 Enable the trigger.

For more information, see the "Enabling and Disabling an External Trigger" section

Step 10 Click Save.

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Configuring the HTTP Method for External Triggers

The default HTTP method is a GET operation in Cisco StadiumVision Director. A GET operation is also required for external devices that use the Event Trigger API to get the list of defined triggers.

Cisco StadiumVision Director ignores any payload updates that might be included in a POST operation. Therefore, you only need to configure the HTTP method if your device only supports the POST HTTP method, or if for some reason you prefer to support a POST.

To configure the HTTP method for external triggers, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 From Control Panel > Setup > External Triggers, select a trigger number in the trigger list.

The configuration for the trigger that you selected appears in the Details section.

Step 2 In the Inbound HTTP Method drop-down box, click the arrow to display options and select GET or POST.

Step 3 Click Save.

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Configuring Authentication for External Triggers

You can authenticate an external input trigger by user name and password, and/or IP address.

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Note The trigger user name and password has no relationship to any Cisco StadiumVision Director user accounts. You can define any ASCII set of characters for an external trigger user name and password.

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You can configure multiple IP addresses to be accepted using a semi-colon separator between addresses, and also using an asterisk (*) as a wildcard symbol to match any number that appears in the position where the asterisk is specified.

For example, 10.10.10.* accepts an external input trigger from any IP address in the range 10.10.10.0 through 10.10.10.255.

To configure authentication for external triggers, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 From Control Panel > Setup > External Triggers, select a trigger number in the trigger list.

The configuration for the trigger that you selected appears in the Details section.

Step 2 To authenticate the external trigger by username and password:

a. Select the Verify trigger credentials checkbox.

b. In the User Name box, type the user name that you want to allow.

c. In the Password box, type the password for the specified user name.

Step 3 To authenticate the external trigger by IP address:

a. Select the Verify IP Addresses checkbox.

b. In the Address List box, type one or more IP addresses separated by a semi-colon (;).

Step 4 Click Save.

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Configuring Actions for a Received Trigger

Cisco StadiumVision Director can perform certain script actions or TV controls upon receipt of an input trigger. Each input trigger can be configured to have multiple actions.

The script and device controls available for selection are based on what is already configured in the Cisco StadiumVision Director Control Panel.

To configure the actions for a received trigger, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 From Control Panel > Setup > External Triggers, select a trigger number in the trigger list.

The configuration for the trigger that you selected appears in the Details section.

Step 2 Click Action.

The Action dialog box opens.

Step 3 At the top of the dialog box, select the drop-down list and choose one of the following actions and associated sub-options shown in the figure below and described in Table 2:

Table 2 External Trigger Script Actions and Sub-Options 

Action Name	Sub-Options	Description
Change Script State	•Script—Select the script name for the action. •State—Select the state to which to change. Example:	Change to an ad-hoc state of a specified script.
Leave Script State	Script—Select the script name for the action. Example:	Leave the current ad-hoc state of a specified script.
Next Script State	Script—Select the script name for the action. (See Leave Script State example).	Go to the next sequential state of a specified script.
Previous Script State	Script—Select the script name for the action. (See Leave Script State example).	Go to the previous sequential state of a specified script.
Start Script or Stop Script	Script—Select the script name for the action. (See Leave Script State example).	Start or stop a specified script.
TV Off or TV On	•Target type—Select whether you want to specify Devices, Groups, or Zones. •Select—Choose one or more checkboxes beside devices, groups, or zones to which the action applies. Example:	Turn TVs off or on by device name, group, or zone.

Step 4 Click Add.

The action that you added is shown under the Actions section of the External Triggers screen.

Step 5 Repeat from Step 2 to add multiple actions for the trigger.

Step 6 When you have finished adding actions, click Save.

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Enabling and Disabling an External Trigger

You can define external triggers in Cisco StadiumVision Director, but independently enable or disable them from operation. By default, external triggers are disabled.

To enable and disable an external trigger, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 From Control Panel > Setup > External Triggers, select a trigger number in the trigger list.

The configuration for the trigger that you selected appears in the Details section.

Step 2 In the Details section, do one of the following:

•To enable the external trigger configuration, select the Enabled checkbox.

A checkmark appears in the box when the option has been enabled.

•To disable the external trigger configuration, select the Enabled checkbox to clear the checkmark.

Step 3 Click Save.

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How to Monitor External Trigger History

You can view a log of activity for a particular external trigger using the History feature. There is currently no way to see a global set of events that occurred.

To monitor external trigger history, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 From Control Panel > Setup > External Triggers, select a trigger number in the trigger list.

The configuration for the trigger that you selected appears in the Details section.

Step 2 In the Details section, click History.

The "History for trigger:" box opens displaying the logged messages and times for the selected trigger.

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How to Configure Advanced External Trigger Settings in the Registry

You can change some of the default settings for external triggers in the Cisco StadiumVision Director registry. Be certain that you understand the purpose and impact of the registry values before changing.

Refer to Table 1 for a description of the registry keys and their default values.

To configure advanced external trigger options in the registry, complete the following steps:

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Step 1 Log into Cisco StadiumVision Director server as an administrator.

Step 2 From the main menu, click Management Dashboard.

Step 3 Using the Management Dashboard drawers, go to Tools > Advanced > Registry.

Step 4 In the Registry Data box, find the keys that begin with "ExternalTrigger."

Step 5 In the Value box for the ExternalTrigger key that you want to change, type the new value that you want to apply.

Step 6 Click Apply.

Step 7 Click OK when the "Registry values saved (success)" message appears.

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Feature Information for Cisco StadiumVision Director External Triggers

Table 3 lists the release history for this feature.

Table 3 Feature Information for Cisco StadiumVision Director External Triggers 

Date	Releases	Feature Information
May 29, 2012	Release 3.0.0-247	Initial release for Cisco StadiumVision Director Release 3.0.

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Any Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and phone numbers used in this document are not intended to be actual addresses and phone numbers. Any examples, command display output, network topology diagrams, and other figures included in the document are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any use of actual IP addresses or phone numbers in illustrative content is unintentional and coincidental.
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