Getting Started With Squeeze Server

Getting Started With Squeeze Server &

Squeeze Server takes the proven Squeeze encoding engine and makes it available on- premise, in the cloud or both, with a robust application programming interface (API) for incorporating Squeeze Server s fast, efficient and highquality encoding functionality into your existing media workflows. In fact, over the long term, most users will interact with Squeeze Server via the API, rather than directly using the program s browser-based controls. However, when you re evaluating Squeeze Server or just starting to use its capabilities, you may wish to encode files using the program s user interface. For these users, this chapter will provide an overview of how Squeeze Server works and then work you through the basics of loading presets, creating jobs and setting up watch folders.

OVERVIEW Squeeze Server s user interface is browser-based as shown in Figure 12-1. After installing the server, you access individual functions using the menu options on the left. For example, to work with presets, you click Presets; to work with watch folders, you click Watch Folders. It s all pretty straightforward. Figure 12-1. Squeeze Server s main screen As you know, Squeeze Server s main role in life is encoding files as quickly as possible to a multitude of formats. Operationally, you create encoding presets in Sorenson Squeeze and then import them into Squeeze Server. Once this is accomplished, you can trigger an encode in one of three ways, which I ll detail further below. First, if the test file is located in the required folder (C:\Squeeze\TestFiles \Source on an on- premise system installed on the C:\ drive), you can click Test in the Presets tab, select the test file or files and click Create Test job(s). Squeeze Server will create the jobs, encode the files and deliver the files to

the Output folder (C:\Squeeze\TestFiles\Output on my system), which is a very convenient mechanism for testing presets. Figure 12-2. Testing a preset Once in production, you create a job to encode a file in the Jobs queue. Each job has three parameters source file, preset and destination(s) with the source file shown in Figure 12-3. As you ll learn, each job can include multiple compression presets, which is very convenient for one-to-many encodes.

Figure 12-3. Creating a job The third option for file encoding is via watch folders. Briefly, watch folders are folders that Squeeze Server watches for new files. When activity is detected, Squeeze Server encodes the files to the designated presets and delivers them to designated destinations. Operationally, you choose the watch folder itself, the encoding presets and the destinations. The watch folder scan interval is set universally in the Application Settings which you access from the Squeeze Server menu. Figure 12-4. Setting up a watch folder

MANAGING PRIORITIES Once operational, it s likely that some encoding jobs will take priority over others. If you have a video you have to post as soon as possible after a broadcast, for example, you might want that job to take priority over a weekly show that just needs to be ready in a day or so. Figure 12-5. Setting up queues To manage your encoding priorities, Squeeze Server monitors job queues for jobs to process. You can define as many queues as your business case dictates, and then assign them to a server or servers, assigning a priority by numerical ranking, with lower numbers processed before higher numbers. You create queues in the Queue window shown in Figure 12-5. Once you create queues, you assign them to a server or servers for processing, as shown in Figure 12-6, which is where you assign the priority. In Figure 12-6, the highest priority would be given to hourly shows, then daily shows, then weekly shows, then all jobs placed in the default queue. If a queue isn t assigned to any server, it won t get processed.

Figure 12-6. Assigning Priorities in Squeeze Server s job queues. For example, assume that Figure 12-6 didn t show the default queue, just the other three queues. If I assigned a job or watch folder to the default queue, it would not get processed. OK, that s the overview. Now let s dig into the details, starting with working with presets. WORKING WITH PRESETS IN SQUEEZE SERVER Squeeze Server comes with multiple presets, but most users will want to create their own. The easiest technique is to export presets from Sorenson Squeeze and import them into Squeeze Server. Let s take a quick look at both operations.

EXPORTING PRESETS FROM SORENSON SQUEEZE Create and customize your preset in Squeeze as normal, then click the Export button and save the preset. Note that the only components of the preset that Squeeze Server will actually implement are the Video, Audio and Filters settings; the Publishing and Notification options will not carry over. Squeeze Server lists all presets alphabetically by name, which is taken from the Name field on the upper left, not what you call the preset when you save it. So if I saved the preset shown in Figure 12-7 as Jans_fab_720.spfx, Squeeze Server would still display and sort by the name H. 264-720p_2_Mbps from the Name field. Figure 12-7. Exporting a preset from Sorenson Squeeze.

IMPORTING PRESETS INTO SQUEEZE SERVER To import the preset into Squeeze Server, click the Presets menu option on the left, then click Upload Preset to Library. Figure 12-8. Uploading a preset to Squeeze Server. Squeeze Server will open the Choose File to Upload dialog, which you ll use to navigate to and select a single file. Then click Open, which opens the dialog shown in Figure 12-9. Click Submit, and if there s already a preset by that name in the library, Squeeze Server will dis- play an error message. You can replace an existing preset, but you have to check the Replace existing preset with the same name checkbox in Figure 12-9 before clicking Submit. Figure 12-9. Navigate to and select the preset, then click Submit.

If there is no conflict, Squeeze will upload the preset and present an informational screen de- tailing the preset name, workflow and XML content. On the lower left side of that screen, click Back to Presets to return to the Presets window, shown in Figure 12-10. Figure 12-10. The new preset in the Preset Library. Figure 12-10 shows the preset in the Preset Library. From here, you can click: Details. To open a dialog with information about the preset. Edit. To open a dialog that lets you edit the preset name and description. Test. To open the dialog shown in Figure 12-2, where you can apply the preset to any file or files located in the Squeeze\TestFiles\SourceFolder, which on my system was on the C:\ drive. Again, you can select multiple files, which will be encoded and delivered to the Squeeze\TestFiles\OutputFolder. This is an awesome mechanism for testing new presets. Delete. To delete a preset. View. To view the XML file in a more structured presentation that s easier to analyze than the view shown in the Details section.

Download. To download the.spfx preset file. WORKING WITH JOBS IN SQUEEZE SERVER Jobs are the focus of Squeeze Server. It s how you marry source files with presets and tell the server to do its thing. This is one area where it becomes clear that Squeeze Server is optimized for access via the programming API rather than user interface controls, since there are few niceties like Browse buttons for locating source files and target folders. Rather, everything is entered the old-fashioned way by typing in a folder and file name or URL. To streamline my testing with Squeeze Server, I created a text file with the names and locations of all files and folders. That way, when it was time to insert a file name or destination, it was a quick copy and paste, rather than a typing exercise where a single miscue could mean a failed test. Not a huge deal, but if you ll be repeatedly testing the same or similar files and sending encoded files to the same target folder, I recommend that you create your own text file. OK, let s jump in. CREATING A JOB IN SQUEEZE SERVER Start by clicking Jobs in the Squeeze Server menu, then Create New Job.

Figure 12-11. Creating a new job. This opens the Create Squeeze Server Job window, which we ll address in three parts, starting with the top as shown in Figure 12-12. Figure 12-12. The top third of the Create Squeeze Server job window.

Let s take this screen from the top down: Job Queue. We ve talked about Job Queue, select the appropriate queue here. Source File URL: Formats. Squeeze Server accepts AVI, DV and QuickTime files in most relevant codecs, including ProRes, H.264 and the Apple Animation codec. You can also input MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 videos along with most associated audio codecs for all video codecs. For a complete list, see the Squeeze Server Operation Manual, which you can find in the Documentation folder created when you unzip the distribution package. Source File URL: Specifying file name and location. Here are the designations for the sources most likely to be used during early product testing, copied from the Operation Manual. Local and network files and folders. Local and network files and folders are specified with the file:// URI scheme. For example: file://c:/path/to/file/file.ext The file:// URI can also be used to reference files on the network. The network share must have permissions set to allow the server to read and write to these files. file://file-server/share/path/file.ext Online files (http:// or https://). http:// is used for single file sources. http:// and https:// are not available for watch folders or destinations. The format for http:// is: http://web-server:optional-port/folder/file.ext

FTP Sites ftp. ftp:// is used to connect to a standard FTP server. For example: ftp://ftp-server/path/file.ext Secure FTP sites. sftp:// is used to connect to a standard Secure FTP server using username and password. For example: sftp://secure-ftp-server/path/file.ext Check the Operation Manual for details on retrieving from Azure and S3 storage. Watermark Image URL. If you d like to embed a watermark into your video, designate the watermark file and location here. Note that this will only work if the preset you re using incorporates a watermark, which typically you ll add and configure when creating the preset in Sorenson Squeeze. Username/Account/Access Key and Password/Secret Key. When retrieving files from secure storage, enter credentials here. Thumbnail Time. If desired, Squeeze Server will generate three JPG thumbnail images of a frame near the start of the video: one at the actual resolution of the video, one at 320x240 resolution and one at 64x36. If you specify a destination for the thumbnail frame (see Figure 12-14) but no time code in this box, Squeeze Server will create the thumbnail from the frame 2 seconds into the video file. If you specify the time code for a different frame in this box, Squeeze Server will create the thumbnail from that frame. In-Point/Out-Point. If desired, enter the time code for In-Point and Out- Points in the video file.

Now you ll choose your preset or presets. Click to choose a single preset, or hold down the Shift key to choose sequential presets, or Ctrl to choose multiple random presets. If you d like to add different presets to the mix at this late stage, use the appropriate link on the bottom of Figure 12-13. Figure 12-13. The second of three job creation screens, where you ll choose your preset or presets. So, you ve selected the source file and presets; what s left? Telling Squeeze Server where to de- liver the file, of course, and what to name it. We ll cover that in the third and final screen.

Figure 12-14. Naming your file and destinations. Destination Name. This field is optional. At some point, Sorenson may allow you to save destinations, at which point you could designate the destination target by name and Squeeze Server will fill in the location and any credentials. Until this happens, you can complete this field or not, at your option. Destination Folder URI: Location. We covered a lot of this above under Figure 12-12, regarding retrieving files from various folders, FTP sites and the

like. In this case, we re delivering the file, and the same conventions apply, with one major difference, which relates to naming the file. Specifically, you have multiple file-naming options, including naming the file yourself or specifying wild cards to name the file. One convention to remember is that when you specify a location, it has to end in a slash; otherwise, Squeeze Server thinks it s a file name. So file://f:/testfiles/ssoutput/ tells Squeeze Server to save the file in the f:\testfiles\ssoutput subfolder using the default naming convention, while file://f:/testfiles/ ssoutput tells Squeeze Server to save the file in the f:\testfiles\ folder using the name ssoutput plus the default extension. Destination Folder URI: File Name. Point two is that once you decide what to name the file, you have to designate the selected option in the Destination File Naming Method list box toward the bottom of Figure 12-14. There are four options, as follows: Default. Use the selection set in the Squeeze Server Application Setting options to determine the naming method for the file name. Preserve. Force the job to preserve the file name set in the destination. Unique File Name. Force the job to create a unique file name. Wildcard. Force the server to use the destination file name that may contain one or more wildcard tokens. Since I used wildcards in my file name, I chose Wildcard in the list box. For a complete list of wildcards, check the Operation Manual. Destination URI: File Extension. You have multiple options here as well, including setting the extension manually in the file name. For example, when

encoding for Flash delivery, you might use the FLV extension for a file encoded using the H.264 codec, rather than MP4, which is default extension based upon the output format. You can also default to the settings you chose in the Squeeze Server Application Settings. Again, however, you have to tell Squeeze Server which approach you re using by choosing the option in the Destination Extension Naming Method list box, with these three options: Default. Use the selection set in the Squeeze Server Application Setting options to determine the naming method for the extension. Preserve. Force the job to preserve the file extension set in the destination. Auto. Force the job to set the extension based on the output format. I wanted to use the default settings in my Application Settings, so I selected that option. To close the loop, the entry in the Destination URI in Figure 12-14, combined with my selections in the two list boxes, told Squeeze Server to save the file in the f:\testfiles\ssoutput folder, using a name generated by combining the file name and preset name, using the default extension for the preset. Note that if you include just a folder entry like file://f:/testfiles/ssoutput/ in the Destination URI, Squeeze Server will name the file automatically, combining the source file name, job ID and preset name, plus the default extension. Thumbnail URI: as mentioned, if you complete a URI here, Squeeze Server will generate three JPG thumbnail images of a frame near the start of the video: one at the actual resolution of the video, one at 320x240 resolution and one at 64x36. You control which frame gets used for the thumbnail by using the Thumbnail Time field shown in Figure 12-12. See the discussion above for more details.

Thumbnail Pattern: Here s where you designate the file name for the thumbnail, using any of the wildcards available for the file name. Note that Squeeze Server will always use wild cards here, regardless of the method used for the file name. The server won t insert the.jpg extension for you, however, so make sure you include that in your file name. Username/Account/Access Key and Password/Secret Key. When delivering files to a secure storage location, enter credentials here. Add destination. You can deliver files to multiple locations. To do so, click Add destination near the bottom of the screen shown in Figure 12-14 and enter the required information. Create job in Hold state. This creates the job, but doesn t start encoding until you enter the job queue and restart the job. When you re done, click Finish, and Squeeze Server adds the job to the Job queue (Figure 12-15). Note that jobs are presented by Queue order, so if you selected Daily shows for the Queue when you created the job, you have to set the Job Queue to Daily Shows to view those jobs. If you create a job and it doesn t appear in the Job Queue, check the other queues to see if you assigned it to a different queue. Figure 12-15. The Job window where you track your jobs. Once you queue a job, Squeeze Server will first download the file, then start

encoding. Note that with Squeeze Server 1.5 and earlier versions, the server won t update the status of the en- code, so you ll have to refresh your browser window to track the encoding progress. Once the file is complete, Squeeze Server will transfer the file to the Archived jobs folder (Figure 12-16). Figure 12-16. The Archived jobs list, where all good files go after encoding. Click Details to access any encoding-related details, like destinations, file names, presets, etc. That s it for creating jobs; now let s look at creating and using watch folders. WORKING WITH WATCH FOLDERS IN SQUEEZE SERVER Watch folders are folders that Squeeze Server watches for new files. When activity is detect- ed, Squeeze Server encodes the files to the designated presets and delivers them to designated destinations. You can create watch folders for S3 buckets, FTP and SFTP directories, local and network file shares, and Microsoft Azure containers, but not HTTP file locations. Creating watch folders is very similar to creating jobs, except that you can designate a preset or presets within the user interface or drop a preset into the watch folder itself, which Squeeze Server will use to encode the files. As with jobs, you assign watch folders to specific queues that are processed according to the priority system discussed above.

Figure 12-17. Creating a watch folder. Click Watch Folders to get started, and then click Create New Watch Folder. This takes you to a screen that s very similar to the Job creation screen, with all key differences in the top third of the screen, which is shown in Figure 12-18 Figure 12-18. Configuring your watch folder.

Note that when you re creating a watch folder, you specify a folder rather than a file. You can specify a Deep Folder Scan that will include the designated watch folder and all sub folders within the directory structure, as opposed to just the folder itself. In addition, you don t insert parameters like thumbnail time and in and out points. As mentioned, rather than choosing a preset, you also can drop an.spfx preset file into the folder, and Squeeze Server will encode files dropped into the watch folder using that preset. Other than these differences, you can work through the instructions shown for Figures 12-12 through Figure 12-14 for guidance on creating a watch folder. Figure 12-19. Editing your watch folder. After clicking Save to save the watch folder, click Watch Folders in the Squeeze Server menu to return to the screen shown in Figure 12-19. To change any settings, click Edit, and you ll return to the watch folder creation screen shown in Figure 12-18. Other than the controls discussed above, the most critical watch-folderrelated control is how frequently Squeeze Server scans the watch folder for new files. You control this using the Watch Folder Scan Interval in the Applications settings screen, where it s the last option on the bottom.

OTHER SQUEEZE SERVER RESOURCES Sorenson has done a great job documenting the API in a PDF white paper titled Squeeze Server - API, which totals 192 pages. This is included in the Documentation folder after you unzip the distribution package. Three other PDF documents are included in the Documentation folder, including Squeeze Server - Writing a.net Client, Squeeze Server - Installation and Configuration, and the aforementioned Squeeze Server - Operation Manual. I hope you ve found the foregoing helpful. Let s move on to Chapter 13, which details techniques you can use to accelerate encoding with Sorenson Squeeze on multiple-core workstations.