Concepts
• Overview
• Glossary
• Insertions
• Workflow
Overview
You can audit which assets your DMPs play... and where... and when... and for how long — across any supported range of dates that you specify. This feature supports a maximum of 200 DMPs.
Proof of play reports are available per DMP, per DMP group, and per
insertion
. We use a dedicated proof of play service to collect these records and generate these reports.
Restrictions
Caution Proof-of-play features fail unless:
• The Syslog Collector IP Address entry in DMPDM points to your DMM appliance.
• The fully qualified domain name of your DMM appliance contains fewer than 30 characters.
Implications of Changing the DMM Appliance Hostname
Will you use AAI to change the hostname of a DMM appliance on which proof-of-play features are enabled
(
CSCtr00731
)
?
There is no common reason to do this. We recommend that you do not. Nonetheless, we will not stop you.
BEFORE YOU CHANGE THE HOSTNAME
-
Export your proof-of-play logs.
AFTER YOU CHANGE THE HOSTNAME
-
Log in to the web interface for DMM at its new hostname, and then immediately reconfigure the proof-of-play feature.
WHY IS THIS NECESSARY?
We assume that your information is confidential and we strive to protect it from unauthorized access. Therefore, DMM self-registration of a feature license considers the combination of the appliance hostname and its hardware serial number.
After its appliance hostname is changed, DMM will reject its prior self-registration of your license to use proof-of-play features. Although the license is still valid and is still correctly associated with your hardware serial number, your DMM appliance cannot load proof-of-play logs from any server whose hostname differs from its own. It cannot read from them or write to them. Likewise, you cannot use proof-of-play features on any host but the one that self-registered the license.
Although you can return a hostname to its original value, doing so still might not be sufficient to satisfy an ongoing requirement for full and uninterrupted access to proof-of-play features and logfiles. Consider this scenario.
1. The hostname is changed from
A
to
B
. Therefore, B cannot use the feature license that A self-registered and cannot use the logfiles that DMM generated on behalf of A.
2. The hostname is then returned to
A
. Therfore, A can access its own data from any time when the hostname was A, including the original instance. However, it cannot use the feature license that B self-registered and cannot use the logfiles that DMM generated on behalf of B.
We recommend that you prevent these complications and disruptions by leaving the hostname in its original state.
Implications of Changing the User Authentication Method
Will you change the user authentication method from LDAP mode to Federation mode (SSO) for a Cisco DMS deployment that includes proof of play
(
CSCtq55094
)
?
Fundamental changes to user authentication are not routine but can be useful occasionally.
However, account records in the new SSO user base might not correspond exactly to account records in the old LDAP user base. It is possible, in fact, that some long-established login credentials might cease to be valid for Cisco DMS users. And so, if the proof-of-play user role assignment in your network is associated with one of these nullified user accounts, the affected user cannot view proof-of-play insertions or run reports for insertions.
In this case, you must assign the proof-of-play role to a user account that exists in the SSO user base.
Implications of Changing Which Assets a Playlist Includes
In this release, proof-of-play reports for a given playlist during a given time range might not be correct (
CSCtr97593
). In some cases, these reports can:
• Omit playback records retroactively for assets that you trimmed from the playlist at a later time. (These assets were once correctly part of the playlist and their playback count from that time is relevant to this report.)
-
Insert playback records retroactively for assets that you added to the playlist at a later time. (These assets were once correctly excluded from the playlist and their playback count from that time is not relevant to this report.)
Glossary
Timesaver Go to terms that start with... [ I | R ].
|
|
|
The campaign or other common goal among any one set of presentations, playlists, and assets that you consider an affinity group.
|
|
|
|
The agency or other entity that requests an insertion or prepares resources for an insertion.
|
Insertions
Cisco Digital Signs includes methods to identify and assemble an affinity group from any combination of presentations, playlists, and assets. We call this affinity group package an
insertion
.
Mingled elements within an insertion all share one clear and unifying purpose. For example, the elements of your first insertion might all advertise a community celebration, even though they use various languages or differ in other, key ways. However, you recognize for your own purposes that at least one significant factor (the community celebration, in this example) unites them as an affinity group.
The benefit of insertions is that you can audit and verify the scope of playback — individually and collectively — for all elements that support one goal, initiative, policy, campaign, or event. On a DMP-by-DMP basis, you can discover and demonstrate exactly which assets:
• Played successfully, and when.
-
Were interrupted or prevented from playing, and when.
Note • Proof of play features in Cisco Digital Signs ignore the playback of assets that Cisco developed — including all samples and templates that you receive with DMM.
-
Syslog data provides the start and stop time stamps for playback. From time to time, some of these time stamps might seem wrong even though they are technically correct. In this case, puzzling results will report a playback duration of 0 min and 0 sec for any insertion element whose start time and stop time were identical — for any reason. The likeliest explanation is that a stop command interrupted playback coincidentally during the same second in which an insertion element was scheduled to start playback (CSCtr57386).
A populated insertion audits the playback of:
• Each asset that you reference
directly
, as a single element regardless of its context.
-
Each asset that you reference
indirectly
, as one element within the context of a playlist or presentation.
Workflow
1. Add assets to your media library.
2. Develop, schedule, and publish presentations and playlists.
3. Define report collection parameters for proof-of-play.
4. Run reports.
Procedures
Enable Syslog and NTP
Procedure
Step 1 Do one of the following.
-
Would you like to enable these services from Digital Signs?
|
Use elements in Digital Signs to enable these services.
a. Choose
Advanced Tasks > System Tasks
.
b. Create a new system task.
c. Enter a meaningful name in the Name field, such as
Enable PoP access on DMPs
.
d. Choose
Set
from the Request Type list, and then enter this string:
init.syslog=on&init.syslog_collector=<DMM_routable_IP>&mib.save=1&mng.reboot=1
e. Click
Submit
.
f. Click
OK
.
g. Deploy to all DMPs that should support proof of play.
|
-
Would you like to enable these services from DMPDM?
|
Use elements in DMPDM to enable these services
a. Click
Browser
in the Settings list.
b. Enter the routable IP address of your DMM appliance in the Syslog Collector IP Address field.
c. Click
Apply
.
d. Click
NTP
in the Settings list, and then choose
On
from the Enable NTP Service list.
e. Enter pool.ntp.org in the Hostname 1 field, if you have not already done so.
f. Choose your locale from the Time Zone list, and then click
Apply
.
g. Save Configuration
h. Restart.
|
Step 2 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Enable Proof of Play Features in DMM
Procedure
Step 1 Log in as superuser.
Step 2 Choose
Proof of Play > Configuration
.
Step 3 Enter the fully qualified, DNS-resolvable DMM appliance domain name in the DMM FQDN field.
For example:
dmm.example.com
Step 4 Click
Register
.
Step 5 Use fields in the Authentication area to enter the superuser name and password for your DMM appliance.
Step 6 Define settings in the Data Size/Rotation Rules area.
Step 7 Choose an option in the Archiving Rules area to set how many days of playback data to accumulate before archiving it.
Step 8 Click
Update
.
Step 9 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Create Requestors
Procedure
Step 1 Choose
Digital Signage > Insertions
, and then click
Manage Requestors
.
The Manage Requestors dialog box opens.
Step 2 Click
Add New Requestors
.
The Add New Requestor dialog box opens.
Step 3 Enter at least a name but also, optionally, a description.
Step 4 Click
Save
.
Step 5 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Create Insertions
Procedure
Step 1 Choose
Digital Signage > Insertions
, and then click
Create Insertion
.
The Create New Insertion dialog box opens.
Step 2 Enter a name for this insertion.
Step 3 Associate a requestor with this insertion.
Step 4 Choose when this insertion should become active, and then choose when it should stop.
Step 5 Click
Add Content
.
The Select Resources dialog box opens.
Step 6 Use check boxes in the table to mark assets that you might use.
-
Use options on the left to filter what the table shows.
-
Use pagination controls under the table to control how many assets you see.
-
Use the Search function above the table to locate particular assets quickly.
Step 7 Click
OK
to populate your insertion with the assets that you marked.
Step 8 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Run a Report
Procedure
Step 1 Choose
Proof of Play > Reports
.
Step 2 Choose reporting criteria.
-
Report Type options are
Insertion
,
DMP
, or
DMP Group
.
-
Reporting scope options are
Summary
and
Detailed
.
– A summary report counts successes and failures.
– A detailed report counts either successes
or
failures.
-
You must specify the date range.
Step 3 Click
Run
.
Step 4 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Export a Report
Before You Begin
• Complete the “Run a Report” section.
Procedure
Step 1 Choose a format from the Export list.
Step 2 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
View Previous Reports
Before You Begin
• Complete the “Run a Report” section.
Procedure
Step 1 Click
View previous reports
.
Step 2 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Use the Proof of Play Dashboard
Procedure
Step 1 Choose
Proof of Play > Dashboard
.
Step 2 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Use Deployment Reports
You can view, configure, and export additional reports for the presentations and tasks that you have deployed in your digital signage network.
Procedure
Step 1 Choose
Schedules > Reports
.
Step 2 Check the check boxes for the relevant DMP groups.
Step 3 Enter date range values in the From field and the To field.
Step 4 From the Report Type list, select the report type.
Step 5 Click
Go
.
Step 6 Stop. You have completed this procedure.
Reference
• FAQs and Troubleshooting
FAQs
Q. What might prevent proof-of-play features from working at all?
The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for your DMM appliance must not exceed 30 characters.
dmm.example.com VALID for Proof of Play 123456789012345678901234567890
digitalmediamanager.example.com
NOT VALID for Proof of Play
Q. How do insertions differ from presentations and playlists?
They are fundamentally different.
-
Before playback can start for a presentation or playlist, you must target DMP groups and reserve timeslots for playback.
-
After a reserved timeslot has elapsed, you can verify whether playback occurred as scheduled for its programming.
Q. Are insertions required in proof of play?
No. Insertions are just one of three supported report types. You can also obtain proof of play reports per DMP or per DMP group.
Q. Can I associate one asset with multiple insertions?
Yes.
Q. What triggers universal proof of play auditing for an asset?
There are two scenarios in which we validate each instance of playback for an asset.
|
|
|
Your insertions already include all presentations and playlists that use the asset.
|
In this case, because you have not used the asset anywhere outside of an insertion, we verify its every instance of playback.
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This universal verification becomes conditional when you use the asset anywhere outside an insertion.
|
You added the asset explicitly to an insertion.
|
In this case, we audit playback for this asset no matter how or when you play it, or in what context.
|
When you play it as
just one part
of a presentation or playlist that
is not
—
in its own right
— part of any insertion:
-
We
do not
verify playback for the playlist as a whole.
-
We
do not
verify playback for any other assets than the one that you audit explicitly.
|
Q. What triggers conditional proof of play auditing for an asset?
We might validate some instances of playback but not others. We cannot audit playback consistently for an asset whose instances of playback occur sometimes outside any insertion.
Q. What prevents proof of play auditing for an asset?
We cannot validate instances of playback for an asset whose every instance of playback occurs outside any insertion.
Q. What are the implications for emergency events?
See CSCtd23249
Troubleshooting
The log file location for proof of play features is:
/var/apache-tomcat/proofofplay-core.log