Installing and configuring the HTTP Origin Module

The HTTP Origin Module is an extension to Apache HTTP Server version 2.2. The HTTP Origin Module processes F4F, F4M, F4X, .bootstrap and .drmmeta files. For more information about these file types, see Input file formats and output file formats.

The HTTP Origin Module reference implementation available on adobe.com supports on-demand streaming only. You can install this HTTP Origin Module on any installation of Apache HTTP Server 2.2. This document contains information about on-demand streaming only.

Flash Media Server 4.0 includes Apache HTTP Server and Apache modules for live HTTP Dynamic Streaming and on-demand HTTP Dynamic Streaming for content packaged offline.

Flash Media Server 4.5 includes Apache HTTP Server and Apache modules for live and just-in-time on-demand HTTP Dynamic Streaming and HTTP Live Streaming to Apple devices. For more information, see Get started streaming media.

To play a file in the OSMF Player, you provide only the URL to an F4M file. The OSMF Player automatically handles the transactions in steps 4-8.

1. The client sends an HTTP request for media to Apache, for example:

   http://www.example.com/media/http_dynamic_Streaming.f4m

2. Apache passes the request to the HTTP Origin Module.

3. The HTTP Origin Module returns the F4M file to the client.

4. The client receives the F4M file and uses the bootstrap information to translate time code into a segment#/fragment# pair.

5. The client sends a second HTTP request to Apache and asks for a specific fragment from the F4F file, for example:

   http://www.example.com/media/http_dynamic_StreamingSeg1-Frag1

6. Apache receives the request and passes the request to the HTTP Origin Module.

7. The HTTP Origin Module uses the index file (F4X) to translate the request into a byte offset in the F4F file. It sends the contents of this file that correspond to Segment1 and Fragment. This partial content is an F4F fragment, for example:

   http://www.example.com/media/http_dynamic_StreamingSeg1.f4f

8. The client receives the fragment and starts playback based on the bootstrap information provided with the fragment and the information from the F4M file.

The Flash Media Server installer includes Apache HTTP Server. By default, Flash Media Server receives all traffic on port 80 and proxies it to Apache on port 8134. Proxying the traffic can cause performance issues with HTTP Dynamic Streaming because of the high number of HTTP requests at both edge and origin network locations.

To fix this issue, configure Flash Media Server not to use port 80 and configure Apache to use port 80.

Configure Flash Media Server not to use port 80:

1. Open the rootinstall/conf/fms.ini file in a text editor.

2. Remove port 80 from the ADAPTOR.HOSTPORT parameter, as follows:

   ADAPTOR.HOSTPORT = :1935

3. Remove the value from the HTTPPROXY.HOST parameter as follows:

   HTTPPROXY.HOST = 

4. Save and close the fms.ini file.

5. Restart the server. See Starting and stopping the server.

Configure Apache to use port 80:

1. Open the rootinstall/Apache2.2/conf/httpd.conf file in a text editor.

2. Locate the line Listen 8134 and change it to the following:

   Listen 80

3. Save and close the httpd.conf file.

4. Restart the server. See Starting and stopping the server.

1. Install Apache HTTP Server version 2.2 or later.

2. On Windows, download and install Microsoft Visual C++ 2005 Redistributable Package and Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package.

   On Linux, download and install the following libraries: OpenSSL, Expat, and Netscape Portable Runtime (NSPR).

1. Open the Apache \conf\httpd.conf file in a text editor.

2. Locate the LoadModule section and add the following line:

   LoadModule f4fhttp_module modules/mod_f4fhttp.so 

3. Configure the HTTP Origin Module to process HTTP requests that are targeted to a sandbox location. The module is not allowed to access files outside the sandbox.

   Add the following:

   <Location /vod> 
       HttpStreamingEnabled true 
       HttpStreamingContentPath "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs\vod" 
   </Location>

   Substitute your own values for the values in italics.

   Directive	Description
   <Location>	The section of the request URL that maps to the physical location you specify in the HttpStreamingContentPath directive. Do not include an http prefix (such as “http://servername”) in the <Location> path.
   HttpStreamingEnabled	Indicates whether HTTP streaming is enabled (true) or not (false).
   HttpStreamingContentPath	The physical location of the content. Use an absolute path that includes the DocumentRoot. In this example, the HTTP Origin Module can process files in the C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs\vod folder or in any of its subfolders.

4. Save and close the file.

5. Restart Apache HTTP Server.

In the httpd.conf file HttpStreamingContentPath directive, configure a location for physical files on the server. To request a file, a video player uses the Location path + the additional path to the file.

Suppose the following is the Location configuration:

<Location /vod> 
    HttpStreamingEnabled true 
    HttpStreamingContentPath "C:\Program Files\Apache Software Foundation\Apache2.2\htdocs\vod" 
</Location>

This configuration processes any request that contains the path /vod. The HTTP Origin Module maps the request to the HttpStreamingContentPath, for example:

All HTTP access requests are logged in the Apache access_log file in the \logs directory. The HTTP Origin Module doesn’t add any logging directives. All access requests are logged through the standard Apache HTTP Server log module.

All errors are logged in the Apache error_log file in the \logs directory. For information about the response codes that the HTTP Origin Module returns, see Logging for HTTP Dynamic Streaming in the Flash Media Server Configuration and Administration Guide.