VBrick Systems ETV v3.1 Server User Manual


 
48 © 2005 VBrick Systems, Inc.
4. After checking the Groups privileges, the ETV Portal Server will check for any individual
user privileges above the group privileges.
5. The user will be presented with the information appropriate to their privileges. Note that
the ETV Portal Server uses the least restrictive settings when providing access to the
system.
If Authentication and Authorization is enabled, but the STB is not defined in the system, then
Access Management works based on a User PIN. This PIN is defined on a Per User (not Per
STB) basis, so Users need to be setup in the system for this to work. When the user accesses
the ETV Portal Server through the STB, they will be prompted for their PIN. The user simply
enters the PIN with the remote control or the wireless keyboard, and can then access the
video for which they have privilege. This implementation is appropriate for environments
where multiple users with different privileges will be accessing the same STB. An example of
this would be a shared classroom, where multiple teachers are accessing the STB at different
times.
Authentication by IP Address
The ETV Portal Server determines the content that the STB can view based on its IP
Address or Host Name. No user interaction is required. The user simply turns on the STB,
and only the content that the STB user can view displays. This implementation is similar to a
Cable Television setup – for example, if the plan does not include HBO, then that channel
cannot be viewed. This implementation is easiest from the end user perspective because end
users do not have to remember user names or PINs. This implementation is appropriate for
environments where multiple people can access the same STB.
The following steps provide best practices for properly configuring the Access Control
section of the ETV Portal Server.
1. Setup and Configure the EtherneTV System
The following products need to be setup and properly configured prior to configuring Access
Control.
1. ETV Portal Server – The ETV Portal Server needs to be properly setup and configured
on the network. The following items should be configured in the Portal Server interface:
– If there is a VoD server(s) in the system, the proper addresses for these servers need to
be entered into the Portal Server Administrative pages and connectivity to those servers
should be ensured.
– The folder structure on the VoD server should be defined (even if there is no content
in these folders) as folders are how the Access Control functionality provides access to
end users to view VoD content, publish content, and record content. When setting up the
folder structure, the Administrator should be thinking about how they plan to provide
access to different groups of users. For example, if a corporation wanted to provide
certain content to the Engineering group and certain content to the Marketing group,
then they would want to set up an Engineering folder and a Marketing folder on their
VoD server.
– If there are live streams on the network, then those streams should be provided a
channel number if the Administrator wants to provide access to live streams via channel
number.