Local Heroes: Solutions for LAN- and WAN-based Streaming (Part 1)

Sidebar: Cisco Video Business Solutions
As your streaming media needs become more complicated, it's clear that a single solution won't get the job done. Additionally, there are several scenarios, including live broadcasts to both Internet and intranet viewers, where beefing up your hardware or software isn't enough; you also have to augment your network capabilities.

In these instances, it pays to look at a customized solution that incorporates multiple technologies and services. This is the premise behind the Cisco Business Video Solution, a custom, multi-vendor approach for designing, implementing and managing integrated live and video on demand streams.

Cisco delivers content authoring and management via the MediaPlatform Enterprise, an integrated software platform from Interactive Video Technologies (IVT), with a web portal interface for production and content management. All content is uploaded to a Cisco Application and Content Networking System (ACNS) that can push the video out through a custom-built network for delivery using both multicast and unicast techniques.

The result is a highly tuned, customized system that leverages Cisco's technology and extensive experience in producing and distributing streams for internal communications. Cisco personnel claim that the system can be up and running in less than 90 days for under $500,000.