Video Server Toolkit (VST) is the SGI broadcast-quality video playback, edit, and record engine that unifies SGI Origin servers and digital media components. VST allows application developers to create powerful, high-performance solutions for broadcast playout and editing. This tool enables (supported) automation systems and developer applications to trigger video for playout through (supported) video output devices on an SGI workstation or server.
This manual applies only to revision 1.2 of VST, which runs on Origin 200 GIGAchannel system running IRIX 6.5.4 or later. This revision can also run on the Silicon Graphics O2 workstation for development purposes only.
For more information about using VST, see the Video Server Toolkit Developer's Guide .
This manual describes how to set up the system hardware, how to configure filesystems for VST, how to install and configure the VST software, and how to monitor the VST system.
This document is written for VST system integrators and administrators responsible for installing and monitoring the running of VST. It is to be used in conjunction with the Video Server Toolkit Administrator's Guide. It presumes knowledge of SGI XFS filesystems.
This document contains three parts:
Chapter 1, “Setting Up the Hardware and the System,” explains how to set up your system so that VST can run on it.
Chapter 2, “Setting Up Filesystems for Video Server Toolkit,” describes how to create XFS filesystems for Video Server Toolkit and for the VST clip cache, which holds the VST media assets.
Chapter 3, “Installing Video Server Toolkit,” provides a step-by-step description of installing the VST software.
Chapter 4, “Configuring Video Server Toolkit,” describes the configuration files and settings for VST.
Chapter 5, “Configuring for Redundancy,” describes how to install IRIS FailSafe 1.2, which is a monitoring system that switches system functions from a primary to a secondary server when the primary server fails, and how to set up one or more servers for clip mirroring to reflect the state of the primary server's clip cache.
Chapter 6, “Configuring and Using External Devices,” explains how to install and configure hardware devices and software protocols to work with VST, such as the Sony (P2) protocol, the Louth Automation Controller, and Diaquest software.
Chapter 7, “Configuring and Using Vela and DVB-ASI Devices,” explains how to install and configure the Vela Research MPEG-2 Decoder, and the DVB-ASI adapter board to work with VST.
Chapter 8, “Running VST,” explains starting and stopping VST, using log files and directories, and monitoring the system.
Chapter 9, “Troubleshooting,” lists an assortment of common problems and their solutions.
Appendix A, “Video Server Toolkit Control Summary,” describes the variables called controls that help configure the VST system.
Appendix B, “RS-422 Pinouts,” describes the pinouts for the RS-422 mini-DIN8 to DB-9 adapters for SGI and Apple Macintosh cables.
Appendix C, “Video Server Toolkit Man Pages,” summarizes VST man pages.
An index completes this guide.
HTML versions of the VST guides are installed at these URLs:
http://hostname.domain/VST/VST_AG
http://hostname.domain/VST/VST_DG
The Video Server Toolkit Developer's Guide (part number 007-3620-nnn) contains information about using VST to play and record digital media data; and store the data in, and retrieve it from, an archive system. This manual is included on the VST CD.
Refer to the latest versions of the following documents for supplementary information:
IRIX Admin: Software Installation and Licensing (part number 007-1364-nnn) for information about installing software that runs under IRIX, the SGI implementation of the UNIX operating system
IRIX Admin: System Configuration and Operation (007-2859-nnn) for information about IRIX system administration tasks
IRIX Admin: Disks and Filesystems (007-2825-nnn) for information about general filesystem concepts and system administration procedures for SCSI disks, XFS and EFS filesystems, logical volumes, and guaranteed rate I/O
O2 Workstation Hardware Reference Guide (007-3275-nnn) for information on the O2 workstation
Origin200 and Origin200 GIGAchannel Owner's Guide (007-3708-nnn) and Origin200 and Origin200 GIGAchannel Maintenance Guide (part number 007-3709-nnn) for information about the SGI Origin 200 and Origin 200 GIGAchannel
DIVO Option and DIVO-DVC Option Owner's Guide (007-3524-nnn) for information about the DIVO and DIVO-DVC XIO video option boards
O2 Digital Video Option Installation Guide (007-3616-nnn), for information about the O2 digital video option module
StudioCentral Developer's Guide (007-3246-nnn), for information regarding the StudioCentral archiving system
Digital Media Programmer's Guide (part number 007-1799-nnn) for information about programming digital media
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