Adding and removing publishing points

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

When you install Windows Media Services, an on-demand publishing point and a broadcast publishing point are set up automatically. You can use these default publishing points as they are provided, modify them to suit your needs, or remove them and add your own publishing points. The on-demand publishing point is designated as the default. A client connecting to a Windows Media server typically must use the server and publishing point names as part of the address. If no publishing point name is given, the Windows Media server will direct the request to the default publishing point. For more information, see About the default publishing points.

The following information is required to add a publishing point:

  • Publishing point type. Broadcast or on-demand. The type of publishing point you use depends on the scenario you are implementing.

  • Publishing point name. The name, which will become part of the URL a client uses to access content. Use a meaningful name, such as the type of content to be streamed from the publishing point (for example, MusicCDs). The name is not case-sensitive.

  • Content source location. The source of a publishing point, which can be a file, a directory of files, a playlist, a stream from an encoder, a publishing point on a remote Windows Media server, or a local publishing point. You must specify the location and name of the source. For example, you could specify a directory of files as %systemdrive%\Wmpub\Wmroot or as \\server\Wmpub\Wmroot.

  • Delivery method. When adding a broadcast publishing point, you have the choice of unicast streaming or multicast streaming. Multicast streaming offers a unicast rollover feature that allows clients to connect to your broadcast even if they are unable to receive multicast streams.

Windows Media Services provides two methods for adding a publishing point: the Add Publishing Point Wizard and the Add Publishing Point (Advanced) dialog box. In addition to gathering this primary information, the wizard also helps you configure the publishing point. For example, with the wizard, you can create an announcement file, create a wrapper playlist, add media elements to a playlist, and immediately start a broadcast publishing point after the wizard finishes. The Add Publishing Point Wizard does not support creating a publishing point that obtains content from a remote publishing point or from a dynamic playlist generated by an ASP page or Common Gateway Interface (CGI) script. To add a new publishing point that uses those content sources, use the Add Publishing Point (Advanced) command to configure the publishing point properties manually.

For advanced users, the Add Publishing Point (Advanced) dialog box can be a faster alternative to the wizard when you are creating simple publishing points.

You can also perform the following tasks with publishing points:

  • Duplicate a publishing point. By duplicating a publishing point, you create a copy on the same server that includes all of the settings of the original publishing point, such as the source path, plug-in configuration, and property settings. This feature can help you set up your system more efficiently. For example, if you are planning to implement the same policies on all of the publishing points on your server, but want to specify different sources for each, you can make copies of your basic setup, then change the sources on each of the copies.

  • Rename a publishing point. The publishing point name is part of the address that the client uses to connect to the publishing point. If you rename a publishing point, keep in mind that announcement files and Web pages that referenced the old name will need to be updated.

  • Remove a publishing point. When a publishing point is no longer needed, it is a good idea to remove it to avoid clutter and confusion with more current publishing points. When you remove a publishing point, only the publishing point and its settings are deleted. Source content such as files, directories, playlists, and any related data such as announcement files and log files are not removed or changed.

Note

When naming a publishing point, you should avoid using names that are identical to those of directories or subdirectories on the Windows Media server. A publishing point with the same name as a directory may interfere with another publishing point that sources from that directory.

See Also

Concepts

Start the Add Publishing Point Wizard
Add a publishing point using the advanced method
Remove a publishing point
Streaming from publishing points