Mediasite Administrator Update, July 2015
As part of an ongoing effort to keep Mediasite administrators on campus informed, we created this DELTAwire article specifically for you! For help with any Mediasite questions, please contact us at mediasite-help@ncsu.edu.
This article includes information on the following topics:
Testing Software Updates
Mediasite testing was brought up in our most recent Wolfware Content Capture Steering Committee meeting. We encourage testing by our campus partners and maintain a testing environment for that purpose. As you may recall, we upgraded the test environment to Mediasite 7 last year and asked all of you to thoroughly test your respective workflows prior to the upgrade, because only you can tell if your workflow is operating to your satisfaction.
Over the course of the year we’ve updated the test environment with every Mediasite 7 “dot release” prior to updating the production server. The test environment is always available for you to test your workflows and inform us of any concerns prior to our updating the production server.
Test Instances
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Every Mediasite Instance is on the test server. The URL is instancename-testing.online.ncsu.edu/online/manage
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For example the Veterinary Medicine is https://cvm-testing.online.ncsu.edu/online/manage; Humanities and Social Sciences is https://chass-testing.online.ncsu.edu/online/manage, Textiles https://textiles-testing.online.ncsu.edu/online/manage and so on.
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You have access to your test Instance, 24/7, unless it’s being updated or is otherwise down for maintenance.
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Every 7.0.xx upgrade has been loaded on the test environment for testing prior to the production server upgrade.
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Publishing presentations to the test environment is just like production publishing, once you’ve connected a recorder (instructions below).
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If for some reason you can’t log in, or someone on your team can’t log in, contact us immediately and we’ll correct it.
Connecting recorders for testing
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It’s simple to connect a recorder to your test instance. You just add a new connection to the recorder and select it.
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Go to the recorder interface, then Settings – Mediasite Settings – Add a new connection
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Add your testing instance URL. Name it so it’s very clear which connection is testing and which is production.
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Select the testing instance URL and go from there.
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Remember to set your connection back to your production instance when done with testing.
- If you want to be extra cautious, you can delete the testing instance connection from the recorder when done with testing, so there’s no way to accidentally publish to the test instance when in production.
Mediasite Recorder/SSL Update
As you are aware, our servers have been converted to HTTPS (Secure). This conversion was completed so users could embed presentations and catalogs into Moodle. Since each instance now runs over HTTPS, we also need the recorders to run as HTTPS. If the recorders are not setup properly, the status of the recorder(s) in the Management Portal does not display correctly. Note that recorders will still function (record/publish/run schedules) and you can still go directly to the recorder UI page, but if you setup up your recorders as HTTPS you will ensure a seamless integration into the Management Portal. The setup requires an SSL certificate to be installed on each recorder and the security settings have to be changed. We are currently testing the process and developing documentation. Look for a message via the listserv next week with detailed instructions on how to request a certificate and install it on the recorder.
From a technical standpoint, current browsers do not allow for mixed secure modes. Meaning a web page running HTTPS will not display any content that is not in HTTPS. In addition for the need for all content to be transferred over HTTPS, it is also necessary to validate that the content over HTTPS is truly secure. That validation is done with web certificates.
Sonic Foundry will have engineers on site at NC State, July 20-24, to assist users with any upgrade needs and installing certificates. Please enter your contact information in the google spreadsheet if you would like to have Sonic Foundry assist you with this process.
Carolina Chapter Mediasite/NC State MUG Meetings
Please mark your calendars for our second Mediasite Community Carolinas Chapter meeting on Monday, August 3, hosted at North Carolina State University from 10 a.m. — 2 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
Detailed information will be distributed via the many Mediasite channels in July including our online community Mediasite User Group Community website. Join Mediasite users from North and South Carolina to share ideas and collaborate!
In combination with the Carolinas Chapter meeting, please plan to attend our NC State Mediasite User Group meeting from 8:45-9:45 am also on August 3, 2015 in 130 Park Shops.
Mediasite Monthly Server Maintenance
The monthly Windows Updates for the Mediasite servers will be installed on July 11 between 5 a.m.—6 a.m. The servers will be rebooted one at a time. There will be a brief outage when the database and file servers are rebooted, but no other interruptions are expected.
The Mediasite 7.0.24 server hotfix 20150623 will be applied to the servers on July 11 between 6 a.m.—7 a.m. The servers will be offline and users will not be able to login to the management portal for a short period while the work is being performed. While we don’t anticipate using the entire window, the longer period is reserved for unforeseen circumstances.
This hotfix will resolve the following known issues:
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Fixed the problem in Catalog where initially downloading a presentation was not creating the standalone zip package or publish to go.
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Fixed the problem in Management Portal where the status of Recorders in the Recorder list continuously switched between Idle and Unreachable.
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Fixed the problem in Management Portal where the version of Recorders upgraded to 7.0.24 was not correctly displayed in Recorder list.
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Fixed the problem in the recorder interface where the in and out windows do not displaying properly
Next Software Release
Sonic Foundry is scheduled to release version 7.0.25, a server and recorder software update, the week of July 6. If the software is released as scheduled and testing at NC State does not prevent us from installing the update, we plan to push this update to the production servers during the July 24 maintenance window. If we are unable to install the update during the July 24 maintenance window, we will plan to install the update during the August 3 maintenance window. We will continue to communicate information regarding this update to the mediasite listserv to keep everyone informed.
For further information and updates, please see Updates & Maintenance schedule.
My Mediasite Student Pilot
On May 19, 2014, My Mediasite was made available to all NC State faculty and staff. DELTA has established a workgroup to evaluate the parameters around a pilot for student use of My Mediasite. The pilot is set to begin in the Fall of 2015 with a full roll out of production-level services in Spring 2016. Some of the parameters we are evaluating and discussing are:
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Quota Limits
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Retention
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Opt-in Process
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Support Model
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Policies
The pilot will employ the same opt-in process we used for faculty and staff as well as provide us data to isolate variables and establish benchmarks while adding users and functions to the service.
If you have faculty who are interested in students using My Mediasite as part of the class, please have them send email to mediaite-help@ncsu.edu. We will continue to keep the Mediasite user group informed as we move through the planning stage.
Captioning Grant Applications due July 24
NC State’s Captioning Grant assists faculty in creating captions for videos, including Mediasite. The grant provides funding for captioned video when:
- a student with a disability requiring this accommodation registers in a course using video; or
- an instructor wants to proactively create captions for a video.
To date, over $54,000 has been awarded. To apply for the grant, faculty should complete the Captioning Grant Application Form available via http://go.ncsu.edu/captioning-grant.
For the current award period, grant applications are due by 5 p.m. Friday, July 24. Applications can be for courses taught in any future semester. Awards will be given in time for captioning work to be
completed for the Fall 2015 semester.
Please contact me at it-access@ncsu.edu if you have any questions.
More Information
To learn more about Mediasite at NC State, or to see other topics covered in our next update, please contact Laura Stephenson at laura_stephenson@ncsu.edu. Your suggestions are always welcome.
Please send Mediasite help requests to mediasite-help@ncsu.edu.
Subscribe to Mediasite updates by sending the message “subscribe mediasite” to mj2@lists.ncsu.edu.
a.m.—
