Setting Up and Configuring a DMM Appliance


Revised: March 16, 2009

This chapter includes the following sections:

Setting Up a DMM Appliance

Configuring a DMM Appliance

Setting Up a DMM Appliance

Before You Begin

Ensure that a DNS entry has been created and published for the DMM appliance.

Ensure that you have obtained the license keys to unlock the software features on your DMM appliance Video Portal appliances. For information about obtaining license keys, see the Read Me First for Cisco Digital Media Manager 5.1 and Read Me First for Cisco Video Portal and Cisco Video Portal Reports 5.1 that shipped with your appliances or on Cisco.com.

Complete the checklist in Chapter 2, "Setting Up and Configuring a Video Portal Appliance." You must know the IP address and instance name for your Video Portal appliance.

Verify that at least one computer on your network is configured for access to other networked devices through TCP ports 80 and 8080.

Enable popup windows in your browser if they are disabled. You can complete the checklist only if popup windows are enabled.

Determine if your network uses dynamic (DHCP) or static IP addresses. If your network uses static IP addresses, obtain the following information:

Learn what IP address to assign to the DMM appliance.

Learn what subnet mask (netmask) to use.

Learn what IP addresses are assigned to the default network gateway, the primary DNS server, and the secondary DNS server.

Procedure


Step 1 Unpack the equipment from its container and verify that all components are present.

Step 2 Plug in the redundant power cables on the back of the appliance.

Step 3 Connect a live Ethernet cable to Port 1 on the back of the appliance.

Step 4 Connect a monitor to the VGA output on the back of the appliance.

Step 5 Connect a standard PS2 keyboard to the purple PS2 port in the back of the appliance.

Step 6 Power on the appliance.

The "Start of First Boot" message displays.


Configuring a DMM Appliance

Use the following checklist to set up a DMM appliance and configure its software:

Task

1. After you can see and read the "Start of First Boot" message, press Enter.

2. Specify the fully qualified, DNS-routable hostname for the DMM appliance. Select Change, then select OK. You can enter either the DNS-routable hostname or the IP address, for example: server.example.com


Caution We recommend that you do not use DHCP to obtain an IP address for your appliance, due to the sometimes unpredictable expiration of IP addresses in DHCP systems and the administrative overhead of reconfiguring other devices to reestablish disrupted connections for deployments. We further recommend that you do not change the static IP address that you assign to the appliance.

3. Enter IP address and routing information.

If your appliance will obtain its IP address from a DHCP server, select Yes.


Caution If DHCP fails, do not choose No when you are prompted for a static IP address. Instead, choose Yes, and verify the network connection before you continue.

If your appliance will use a static IP address, select No, and enter the following static network settings:

Enter the IP address that your appliance should use.

Enter the subnet mask.

Enter the default gateway IP address or DNS-routable hostname.

Enter the primary DNS server IP address or DNS-routable hostname.

Enter the secondary DNS server IP address or DNS-routable hostname.

Select OK.

4. Confirm if you entered the correct network settings. If the settings are correct, select Yes. Alternatively, if they are wrong, select No to go back and correct them.

5. Configure settings for the appliance network interface card (NIC) by completing one of the following steps:

If the NIC for your appliance should auto-negotiate the fastest possible transmission mode when it is  connected to another device, select Yes.

If the NIC should not auto-negotiate, select No, select the NIC speed, select OK, select the duplex method, select OK, and then select Yes.

6. Select the time zone settings, as follows:

a. Use the Up/Down arrow keys to navigate through the Time Zone list.

b. Stop when the correct time zone is displayed, and then select OK.

c. If the settings are correct, select Yes. Alternatively, if they are wrong, select No to go back and correct them.

7. Select the current month, year, and day, as follows:

a. Use the Tab key and the Up/Down arrow keys to navigate and change the selected values.

b. When you are done, select OK.

c. If the settings are correct, select Yes. Alternatively, if they are wrong, select No to go back and correct them.

8. Select the current hour, minute, and second. Use the format for military time (24 hours that increment from 0100 to 2400).

a. Use the Tab key and the Up/Down arrow keys to navigate and change the selected values.

b. When you are done, select OK.

c. If the settings are correct, select Yes. Alternatively, if they are wrong, select No to go back and correct them.

9. Enter a password for the admin account, and select OK. This is the default account to use when you administer the appliance. The password that you enter must contain at least six characters.

Tip We recommend that you use a strong password. A strong password has at least eight characters and contains numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols.

10. Enter a password for the pwadmin account, and select OK twice. This is the account to use if you forget your password for the admin account.

After a moment, the appliance reboots, and a login prompt displays.

 

11. To load the administrative interface for DMM (DMS-Admin) in a web browser, use the DMM appliance IP address that you saw in AAI (http://<DMM_IP_address>:8080/).

Alternatively, if you already loaded DMM in your browser for any reason, select Administration from the untitled list at the top far-right of any page.

12. Log in to DMS-Admin by entering the following default username and password; then, click Accept to agree to the terms of the End User License Agreement:

Username: superuser

Password: admin

13. Enter the following information for the superuser account to modify the default information; then, click Save.

Email Address—Enter the e-mail address for the superuser account for system notifications.

Password and Re-enter password—Enter and confirm the password for the superuser account.

The license installation page displays.

14. Install the license keys to activate the DMM modules that you purchased, as follows.

a. Click Browse, find and select the license file where you saved it, and then click Open.

b. Click Install License. The DMM software features and modules that you purchased are now enabled.

15. Enter configuration values for the Video Portal module (DMM-VPM).

Note We recommend that you access DMM-VPM directly only after you complete initial set up for DMM in DMS-Admin.

a. To load the Video Portal Module Installation Configuration page in your browser, go to http://<DMM_IP_address>:8080/DMM/, and enter the following information:

Server Base URL — The routable DNS name for your Video Portal appliance. DMM fills this field automatically, but you can change the URL if it is wrong.

IP or fully qualified domain name — The IP address that you specified in Task 3 in  "Configuring a Video Portal Appliance" section on page 2-2.

Installed Instance Name — The Video Portal appliance instance name that you specified in Task 10 in  "Configuring a Video Portal Appliance" section on page 2-2.

VP AAI Password— The Video Portal appliance password that you specified in Task 11 in  "Configuring a Video Portal Appliance" section on page 2-2.

b. Click Proceed with DMM Installation.

Wait while the database tables are created. The next page says if the database creation succeeded and summarizes the results.

16. Configure values for system variables on your DMM appliance.

a. Click Configure DMM Parameters, and enter the following values for system variables on your DMM appliance:

Application Administrator Contact Email — The email address that receives help requests from users. This field is read only in DMM-VPM, and it contains the e-mail that is specified for the superuser account in DMS-Admin.

Deployment CC Email Recipient — The email address that receives a copy of every deployment and notification message that DMM sends to any user.

Password Retrieval Email — The email address that receives user requests to retrieve and restore  lost passwords.

Metadata Checkout Duration — The duration in minutes that a user can lock metadata for editing.

Scheduled Deployment Interval — The interval (in minutes) between automated cycles when DMM  checks whether there are any scheduled deployments that it should process. This setting pertains only to scheduled deployments; immediate deployments start immediately.

Default Content Provider — The content provider name to assign, by default, to any new program upon  its creation. For example, you might enter the name of your organization.

E-mail Server — The routable DNS name or IP address of the SMTP server through which DMM sends deployment and approval email messages automatically.

Application Server Base — The lowest-level HTTP URL, including the TCP port number, that points to your DMM appliance, for example http://dmm.yourdomain.com:8080.

Upload URL — The HTTP URL (including the TCP port number) that points to the subdirectory where you keep uploaded binary files temporarily on your DMM appliance, for example  http://dmm.yourdomain.com:8080/DMM/temp/video_portal/asset.


Caution Do not change the Upload Path on Local File System value from its default even though the field is editable. Deployments fail if you change it.

Upload Path on Local File System — The complete file system pathname (starting from the root directory) that points to the subdirectory where you keep uploaded binary files temporarily on your DMM  appliance, for example /dm2/apache-tomcat/webapps/DMM/temp/video_portal/asset.

Preview URL — The HTTP URL, including the TCP port number, that points to the private staging area  on your DMM appliance.


Caution Do not change the Preview Path on Local File System value from its default even though the field is editable. Previews fail if you change it.

Preview Path on Local File System — The complete file system pathname, starting from the root  directory, that points to the staging area subdirectory on your DMM appliance, for example /dm2/apache-tomcat/webapps/DMM/temp/video_portal.

b. Click Save Configuration Parameters.

17. Configure values for your Video Portal.

a. Click Setup > Video Portal, and then enter all the following values:

Video Portal Login Prompt—The prompt that displays to users when they log in to the Video Portal.

Video Portal FQDN —The same DNS-resolvable hostname for your Video Portal appliance that you defined on your DNS server and Video Portal appliance in its version of AAI.

Video Portal Instance— The instance name of the Video Portal that you defined in its version of AAI.

Video Portal Password —The same instance name that you defined for your Video Portal appliance in its version of AAI. Do not use Cisco as the instance name.

Video Portal Web Server Base — The top-level HTTP URL of the server on which your audience can find your Video Portal.

The URL to the live video portal — The HTTP URL that points directly to your public Video Portal.

Default Audio Only Image — The SWF or non-progressive JPEG image to show as the thumbnail for every audio file. You must specify a file that is 100 pixels wide and 75 pixels high or any multiple of  that size.

Default Preview Image — The SWF or non-progressive JPEG image to show as a placeholder thumbnail  image when no other preview image is available for a video file. You must specify a file that is 100 pixels  wide and 75 pixels high or any multiple of that size.

Supported Media Formats — The formats to support. Select any combination of Flash Video, Windows Media, Real, and MPEG4/H.264.

Media Preferences by Browser— The order in which the Video Portal and Embedded Video players try to play the given media types.

b. To save and commit your entries, click Save Portal Parameters.

18. Configure Video Portal deployment settings. You must deploy files to at least one remote location because you cannot present them to audiences directly from your DMM appliance.

Note You cannot edit the values that pertain to Video Portal Metadata files.

a. To specify the deployment locations,  which can differ for the different supported file types,  select Setup > Deployment Locations, and then enter all of the following values for every supported file type that you selected in Task 17. Invalid entries will cause deployments to fail.

Connection type — The protocol or method for file transfer. The options are FTP, SFTP, and SCP.

Host address — The DNS-routable hostname or IP address of the remote server where you will deploy files of the relevant file type.

Login name — A user account name that has the required privileges to access the remote server.

Login password — The assigned password for the login name that you specified. If you select the SFTP option for deployments to your Video Portal appliance, the password that you enter must be exactly the  same as your Video Portal admin password.

Root file directory — The absolute directory path to files that you will deploy.

Root URL Path — The absolute URL, where the Video Portal will host and reference your files.

b. To save your selections and let them take effect for every file type, click Save Deployment Locations.

c. Select Video Portal > Deployments, and then click  Schedule New Deployment.

d. Select the Video Part 1 check box in the "Video Part Selection" area.

e. To deploy the pre-loaded content and metadata immediately, check the Schedule Immediately check box in the "Deployment Time" area.

f. Click Create Deployment.

g. To ensure that the content and metadata deployed appropriately, use another computer on your network to access the Video Portal that you installed.

19. Discover the DMPs in your network. If you purchased a DMM-DS license to centrally manage multiple Cisco Digital Media Player (DMP) devices, DMM can auto-discover your DMPs and organize them into groups for simplified and remote management of your DMPs anywhere globally.

a. Select Digital Signage from the untitled list at the top far-right of any page.

b. Select Digital Media Players > Advanced Tasks.

c. From the Application Types list, select DMP Discovery, and then click Add New Application.

d. Enter the following required values:

Name — A short and meaningful group name that applies equally well to every DMP in the specified  range. For example, you might indicate that devices in this group are all located in Boston or Singapore.

Description — (Optional) A longer description of the group, its purpose, its policies, or anything else.

Discovery IP range — The range of IP addresses in which DMM should auto-discover DMPs.

e. To save and commit your entries, click Submit, or to discard your entries, click Cancel.

20. Configure your DMP devices to recognize the authority of your DMM appliance. Do the following for each centrally managed DMP in your digital signage network:

a. To log in to the embedded device management software, point your browser to the DMP IP address.

b. At the login prompt, enter the username and the password that you configured for the DMP.

c. In the Settings area, click DMM, then enter the required values:

DMM Host — The IP address of your DMM server appliance.

Timeout (Seconds) — The maximum number of seconds that your DMP should wait for a response from your DMM appliance.

d. To confirm your entries and to implement them until you change them or until you restart the DMP, click Apply.

e. To make your configuration changes permanent even after you reboot your DMP, click Save Configuration, and then, after you see the Save Configuration page, click Save.

f. Click Reboot DMP, and then, after you see the Reboot DMM page, click Reboot.


Setup and software configuration are now complete.