Flash Media Server

Managing Flash Media Server > Managing the Server > Using the management console

Using the management console

The management console for the Flash Media Server 2 release has been redesigned to ease the workflow for administrators. It is also enhanced with many new features. From the graphical user interface, you can administer servers running Flash Media Server, monitor their processes, and debug their applications.

For example, a designer debugging an application wants to view the content of a particular stream. The administrator logs in to the Flash Media Administrative service through the management console, selects the application and then clicks its Streams tab. They select the desired stream from the list and can replay it within the management console by selecting the Play Streams option.

Another user debugging a different application wants to review the contents of a shared object implemented in their application and examine the properties in this shared object. The user logs into the management console and selects the application. The user moves to the Shared Objects tab and selects the shared object. The management console displays the object's data properties in the adjoining window.

The management console is a Flash application (fmsconsole.swf) that Macromedia created with public APIs (application programming interfaces). When you install Flash Media Server 2 on Windows or Linux systems, the installer places fmsconsole.html in the Flash Media Server 2\directory [the root of the installed directory]. If you have Flash Player installed, you can monitor and control the server's activity by launching the management console and connecting to the server.

To run the management console from a computer other than the computer where the server is installed, copy fmsconsole.html and fmsconsole.swf to the other computer, or make sure that this file is in your webroot directory so it can be accessed remotely. In both cases, you'll need to make sure that the Allow and Deny tags in the Users.xml file allow the connection from the other computer's IP address.

For more information, see Server administration over HTTP.

With the management console you can perform the following tasks:

• Check the status of the server and the applications running on it.
• Shut down or restart the server, a virtual host, or individual client applications.
• Add and edit administrators.
• View server performance data such as client connections, bandwidth, CPU, and memory usage.
• View application logs.
• View logs of server connections and other server events.
• View streams and inspect shared object data.
• View and update the server's license key and its bandwidth and connection limits.

As a security feature, when you connect to the server with the management console, it actually connects to a separate Admin service that runs in parallel with the server service. The Admin service then communicates with the server to perform its administration functions. On both Linux and Windows systems, you must first explicitly start the Admin service. After the Admin service is started, authorized administrators can access the management console.

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Current page: http://livedocs.adobe.com/fms/2/docs/00000161.html

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