This document is used to instruct on deployment of the Swank Disconnected License Caching Server for use in combination with Swank Streaming Server. Additional instructions are needed to access API for use with third party streaming solutions.
Minimum System Requirements:
- 1 vCPU
- 1 GB vRAM
- 8 GB Storage
Downloading the Modular License Server
We have made the Modular License Server available via our Aspera download portal. Below is the URL and login credentials:
URL: |
|
User ID: |
SwankMP-VMs |
Password: |
DcaTgLnhpHCUYfyY20PA |
Once logged in you will be presented with the Aspera portal. The Modular License Server is “DashDiscoLicServ.zip” (highlighted below):
Note: Once clicked you will be challenged for the password again in this dialog:
Past the password in again and click OK.
You should now see the file downloading in the Activity Window:
DashDiscoLicServ.Zip Contents
Included in the zip are the OVF and VMDK file you will need to import the server into your VMWare infrastructure. You will be prompted to supply the static IP address of the server as part of that import process.
Note: This server will require Internet access for Activation and License Server updates from Google.
DNS Requirements
Due to SSL requirements of the Modular License Server a subdomain DNS record for the swankmp.net domain is required to associate to the Modular License Server deployment.
Example:
192.168.1.220 A yourdomain.swankmp.net
This allows for access to the server to be performed over SSL and match the certificate installed on the server:
https://yoursubdomain.swankmp.net/services/api/v1/licenses?portalId=[guid]
Portal ID
Each deployment of the Modular License Server is assigned a unique identifier referred to as Portal ID. The Portal ID is required as a part of the API calls to the license server and its use is described in more detail in the activation process described below.
Deploying Swank License Server
Step 1 - Importing the OVF
In the VMWare Console, Select Deploy OVF Template.
1 – Select and OVF Template:
Here we will select the files from the expanded DashDiscoLicServ.zip file downloaded from the Aspera portal.
1a - Zip File Contents:
2 - Select the Name and Folder:
Enter Virtual Machine Name, Select Folder to deploy to and click Next.
3 - Select a Compute Resource:
Select VM Host and Click Next.
4 - Review Details:
Click Next.
5 - Select Storage:
Click Next
6 - Select Networks:
Select the Destination Network for the VM. The network you choose should have access to the Internet to enable the license server to download updates and will also be required for activation.
Note: The vm is setup as DHCP initially so if you connect to a network with Internet access the server may start downloading software updates on initial boot.
7 - Ready to Complete:
Review Changes and Click Finish
The OVF deployment process should begin and once complete proceed to power on the vm in the VMWare Console to set the IP address.
Step 2 – Powering on the Virtual Machine
In the VMWare console, locate the imported VM and open the Remote Console. If the vm is in the process of downloading updates, let these complete before proceeding with setting the IP address.
Example screen shot of software updates in progress:
The System will reboot on completion.
Customer Login
From the Remote Console, login with the customer account. Password will be transferred securely to the deployment team.
Determining DHCP IP Address
From the command prompt, type:
ifconfig ens32
Setting the IP Address
Once logged in run...
sudo ./setip.sh
...to set a static IP.
Enter the IP, Netmask, Gateway, DNS1 and DNS2:
Once completed, the script will set the IP and restart the vm.
Note: To switch back to DCHP, just run the script again and provide blank values for all entries.
Confirming IP Address
From another machine on the network you can confirm the ip address by pinging the address selected.
You can also visit the Web UI of the server:
Note: There is a security error in the browser due to the SSL certificate. You will need to setup a swankmp.net subdomain in your local DNS so you can access the server without this warning.
Ex: ls001.swankmp.net A 10.82.240.232
Use with Swank Streaming Server will require a local DNS Entry directing the calls for wvlsmod-local.swankmp.net to the local IP address of the License Server.
Activation
The license server image must be activated prior to use. Activation requires an internet connection. Swank will provide an activation code separately from the License server. Each license server a unique activation code. Activation can be performed in one of two ways
- A user interface is available via a browser at https://yoursubdomain.swankmp.net/activation/.
- API activation is available via the example curl command shown below. Replace YOUR_URL_ENCODED_ACTIVATION_CODE with the provided activation code.
curl 'https://yoursubdomain.swankmp.net/activation/api/v1/activate' -H 'content-type: application/json' -X POST --data '{activationCode: "YOUR_URL_ENCODED_ACTIVATION_CODE"}'
When using the API a successful response is in the following form:
{ "success": true,
"errorMessage": null
}
In the event of an error, the value of "success" will be "false" and "errorMessage" will contain a message describing the failure. Do not base the success of the API call on the status code as all activation requests are returned with an HTTP 200 status code, including responses that are not successful.
REQUIRED URLS
The license server requires access to the following urls on a periodic basis. Please make sure all firewall rules are in place for this access.
- https://discolicservact.swankmp.net – Required for server activation (tcp:443).
- https://discolicservsync.swankmp.net – Required for receiving content licenses over the internet (tcp:443).
- https://sdk.widevine.com/stats/setsdkstats – Required for sending statistics back to Google (tcp:443).
- ren.swankmp.net (tcp:33001, SSH) and jcat.swankmp.net (tcp:80) are required for system software updates. It is recommended to allow access to all subdomains on swankmp.net in case more are added or changed at a future date.
- stimpson.azurecr.io is our Docker registry and also required for system updates (tcp:443)
-
stimpson.northcentralus.data.azurecr.io is the data endpoint for Azure (tcp:443)
Note: DNS resolution is required for for these domain names on the local license server. If your operating in a disconnected mode you may be required to host local DNS records for the urls above.
To test access to these urls you can use nslookup and telnet from the license server under the customer account. Use nslookup to confirm dns resolution and telnet to confirm firewall access (ip/port/protocol) in your environment
Examples:
nslookup discolicservact.swankmp.net
telnet discolicservact.swankmp.net 80
Press Ctrl+C to break connection.
Customer Support
The license server has a limited account that can be used by the customer to help with troubleshooting if there is a problem. This account also allows them to setup the network configuration.
To setup the network SSH into the server using the username “customer”, contact Swank Motion Pictures for the password, run the bash shell script called setip.sh. You will be prompted to enter the following details:
***** Network Configuration *****
Enter IP:
Enter Netmask:
Enter Gateway:
Enter DNS1:
Enter DNS2:
Once the information is entered and verified the network configuration setup will be complete.
There are several logs on the server that can be accessed if an issue is suspected. These can be found in the /var/log/swank directory.
- activation.log – contains information regarding server activation.
- services_ingest.log – contains information regarding ingests that have been done on the server.
- licenses_widevine.log – contains information written by the service that manages the issuing of Widevine licenses.
- license_server_services.log – contains information written by other swank services. One such service is the syncing of license data from the Swank cloud to the server.
If an issue is suspected on the server the customer may be asked by Swank support to send one or more of these logs. One easy way to do this is to login with scp command line tool or a program such as WinSCP, copy the files to your local machine, and then email them to Swank Motion Pictures.
Note: One important thing to note, every few minutes the activation service will check the MAC address to make sure it hasn’t changed since activation. If the MAC address is changed the box will no longer function and will require re-activation. Once the server is reactivated it will function normally again.
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