Setup of a stand alone Podcast Producer setup

There have been several request of how to setup PcP (known as Podcast Producer, not the animal tranquilizer).  These instructions are for a system that is not connected to the internet but is a stand alone system like the portable PcP system I built for another college at the university.  Here goes:

1. Install the OS X Server software, at least 10.5 and preferably higher.

2.  When the Setup Assistant ask you what you want to do for setup of the IP address use these settings.  10.1.1.1 - Server IP, 255.255.0.0 subnet mask, router 10.1.1.1, DNS Server 10.1.1.1, and Search Domains "yourserver.com".  Make up any name for your server, since it is not on the internet it will not matter what you call it as long as it is a FQDNS.

3.  In Server Admin when it ask if you would like to setup services pick the following, AFP, DNS, NFS, Open Directory, Podcast Producer, Quicktime Streaming

Web, and Xgrid.

4.  Start out configuring DNS.  Select Zones, Add Primary Zone Master.  In the Primary Zone Name field enter your domain name for the network, if your server is "pcpserver.network.com" then use "network.com."  Remember to put the period at the end of the name.  In admin field enter an address for the server admin.  The Namesaver field should have the full name of the server i.e. "pcpserver.network.com." entered.  Also add the the server name in the Mail Exchangers box and give it a priority of 10.

5.  Expand the "network.com" zone, change the "ns" field to the FQDNS of the server i.e. "pcpserver.network.com." and give it the IP address of 10.1.1.1.

6.  If you are going to have more then one computer on the network such as a capture client or an extra Xgrid agent then click on Add Record, Add Machine.  Give your computer a DNS name such as "client1.network.com" and an address of 10.1.1.2.  Repeat this as many times as machines you will have connected to this network.

7.  Finally go back to DNS, Settings and delete the localnets setting.

8.  Start DNS after saving your settings.

9.  Configure your clients and agents with the IP addresses, Subnet Mask, Router, DNS and Search Domains that you used for each machine. Test to make sure DNS is working by using Network Utility and ping each address and also do a lookup of each address.  If this works then you are ready to configure more of the server.  If these are not working then figure out what is wrong and correct it.  Setting up DNS right is probably the most important part of this server when used with PcP.

10. Now select Open Directory, Settings, General.  Change the role to Master, click to continue, use the default network admin username and supply a password.  Review your settings and click continue.  When it is finally setup you will click again on close.  Check the Overview to make sure that all of the services are running, especially Kerberos.  If Kerberos is not running, restart the server, login again using Server Admin and check the Open Directory, Overview to see if Kerberos started this time.  If it isn't running you can demote Open Directory to Standalone and then once again to Master.  Most times you won't have any problems with Kerberos.

11.  Now you are ready to setup Users using Workgroup Manager.  Make sure you are in the /LDAPv3/127.0.0.1 directory and login using the Directory Admin name and password.

12.  You don't have to use Apple's usernames but it is good to use them if you are just starting out.  The users are pcastadmin, gets admin rights, Mail enabled, and under Info add the email address pcastadmin@pcpserver.network.com.  The user account is pcastuser, Mail enabled, and under Info add the email address pcastuser@pcpserver.network.com.  The last user account is for Xgrid.  So the username is pcastxgrid, Home is /var/empty under Full Path.  No mail is needed for this account.

13.  Next Web needs to be configured.  You might not need to use the Web since the system is a closed system, but it does help for troubleshooting to see if a podcast is being placed in a blog.  Click on Web, Sites and enter the fully qualified domain name of the server.  Click on Wiki and Blog under services for Group and also click on Blog if you want to have User blogs.  If you click on Web, Settings, Web services you can pick what the default blog will use for its theme.  Start Web and then using a browser type in http://pcpserver.network.com and see if you have the Web configured correctly.

14.  I use Mail on this setup so that emails about the status of jobs can be sent to the server admin.  Under Mail, General enter the Domain name, the host name(the server FQDNS), enable POP, IMAP, and SMTP.  Allow incoming mail.  Under the Relay tab some settings should have already been added so make sure there is a check mark next to them.  Start Mail.

15.  On the PcP server open /Applications/Utilities/Directory.  Go to the preferences and change authentication to password.  Create a new group, add pcastadmin as the owner and email.  Members should be pcastadmin and pcastuser.  Pcastxgrid is not needed in this group. Click the wiki and blog services and change the read and edit to whatever you want.  Click save.  You should now be able to click on the arrow next to Wiki and Blog and it will take you to the web page for that group.  If it does then login as pcastadmin and click on the Wiki link at the top of the page.  Then click on settings and then the pencil, click "Create podcast for this group's weblog".  Also enter a category.

16.  If you are going to be creating streaming podcasts then just turn on QTSS.  You can test it by typing in the browser rtsp://pcpserver.network.com/sample_100kbit.mov.

17.  Configure Xgrid by clicking on the Xgrid service in Server Admin.  In the Overview click on "Configure Xgrid Service".  You want to Host a Grid, authenticate using the Directory Admin username and password.  Close the configuration assistant.  If you check the Xgrid Overview now you should have Xgrid Service and Controller running and Agent available.

18.  Well we are getting close to being done.  Only thing left to do is configure Podcast Producer and setup a Shared File System.  Decide now if you want to use another hard drive for your share file system or just a folder on the boot hard drive.  If possible use another hard drive.  In Server Admin, File Sharing pick your hard drive or folder and click on Share.  Then under Share Point select the share, Share Point at the bottom, enable Automount and then edit.  Pick the NFS protocol, custom mount point and give it another name then your hard drive or share point name.  Make sure that the path has a "/" before the mount name.  Click OK and then authenticate.  Then under Protocol Options turn off all of the protocols other then NFS.  Configure NFS by click on Export this item.. and pick World, Mapping to Root to Root.  Leave everything else as it is.  Make sure NFS is now running under the Services.

19.  Pick Podcast Producer in Server Admin, General.  Choose the Shared File system, it will have the custom mount name.  Type in the name of the controller, it should be the address of the server.  Pick pcastxrid as the Xgrid user and supply the password.  Save and now move on to Properties.

20.  Here are the values that you want to apply to the default properties:

Administrator Short Name      pcastadmin

Approval Email List                  pcastadmin@pcpserver.network.com

Audience Email List       pcastadmin@pcpserver.network.com

Group Short Name       whatever the group you created in Directory

Groups Admin Password       pcastadmin's password if that account is the owner

Groups Admin Username        pcastadmin 

there are other obvious properties that can  be filled in but are not needed unless you

are connected to the internet.  Start Podcast Producer.

21.  If you now look into the Shared File System you should see these items:

Approval folder

Archive folder

Caches folder

Podcasts folder

Recordings folder

Streams folder

pcastserverd.plist

If all of those items are there then you are ready to submit some podcasts.  

21.  If you are using another computer as an agent you need to do some more configuring but this time on the agent computer.  Using /Applications/Utilities/Directory Utility create a directory service using your server address, under Services double click the the server, select the server and edit.  You have to bind the Agent computer to the server so you will have to use the Directory admin username and password.  Then in System Preferences select Sharing/Xgrid/Configure pick the server from the drop down list(Use a specific controller) and Agent acceots tasks: always.  Click on Xgrid Sharing and if it is working then there should be a green button next to Xgrid Sharing: On.

Good luck and happy podcasting.

Mac Mini Podcast Producer setup

Part of my job at the university is to do digital media for an engineering grant dealing with water.  At conferences I have been capturing the Power Point presentation with the audio of the presenter.  For two weeks after the conference I take the captured video, edit it on Final Cut Pro and export it to be encoded in Compressor in either podcast or streaming video.

Now we are wanting to have the podcasts at the end of each day of the conference.  To accomplish this we have created a setup with three Mac Minis, one running server, the other two are an agent and client.  The client will capture the video and send it to the server for processing.  Instead of using Podcast Capture we are using Quicktime Pro and an Automator script.  The script starts the capture, creates a metadata plist using the current day and time for the name of the podcast, pauses waiting for a click to end the capture and send it to the server.

Quicktime Pro is being used because it automatically saves the file.  If there is some failure on upload to the server, at least there will be a copy of the presentation that can be processed at a later date.

This setup has not been used at a conference yet.  It will be used at a conference in the middle of April in San Francisco.  In real time testing the setup works well.  

The equipment being used are three Mac Minis, one Airport Extreme, 1G miniStack hard drive Epiphan VGA2USB LR, video splitter and a portable rack of audio equipment.  The minis, airport and hard drive are also going to be incorporated in a 6U rack case that has wheels and a pull out handle.  This should make it easy to take the equipment on as carry on luggage when flying instead of shipping to the site.  I am hoping this works when in the field because we will be traveling to conferences all over the world where there are problems with clean water.