Installation Guide

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Third-Party Information

This guide contains links to third-party websites that are not under the control of Macromedia, and Macromedia is not responsible for the content on any linked site. If you access a third-party website mentioned in this guide, then you do so at your own risk. Macromedia provides these links only as a convenience, and the inclusion of the link does not imply that Macromedia endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content on those third-party sites. The following are trademarks of Microsoft: Microsoft Windows, Microsoft PowerPoint XP, Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2000. Copyright 2004 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. This manual may not be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated, or converted to any electronic or machine-readable form in whole or in part without prior written approval of Macromedia, Inc. Part Number ZBP40M100

Acknowledgments

Director: Erick Vera Project Management: Stephanie Gowin Writing: Stephanie Gowin Editing: Mary Ferguson, Mary Kraemer, Lisa Stanziano Production Management: Patrice ONeill Managing Editor: Rosana Francescato Media Design and Production: Adam Barnett, Christopher Basmajian First Edition: March 2004 Macromedia, Inc. 600 Townsend St. San Francisco, CA 94103

CONTENTS

Resources for a Successful Breeze Deployment. 5
Guide to documentation and additional resources. 5 About the electronic manuals and online help. 5 Information about specialized topics. 6 Additional resources. 6 Troubleshooting. 6

Before You Install. 7

Configurations available for installation. 7 Installation requirements. 7 Breeze Presentation platform installation requirements. 7 Breeze Presentation platform with Breeze Live installation requirements. 9 Breeze Live installation requirements. 9 The Breeze database. 10 Installing and configuring Macromedia Breeze overview. 10

Installing Breeze. 11

Using the Breeze installer. 11 Completing an aborted installation. 14 Starting and stopping Breeze components. 14 Uninstalling Macromedia Breeze. 14
Setting Up the Breeze Database. 15
Setting configuration properties for Microsoft SQL Server 2000. 15 Changing the Breeze password. 15 Maintenance. 16 Upgrading Breeze. 16
Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform. 17 Configuring Breeze Live. 19 Verifying Your Installation. 21
Starting your Breeze components. 21 Starting the database management system for the Breeze database. 21 Starting the Breeze Presentation platform. 22 Starting Breeze Live. 22 Verifying that the Breeze database and Breeze Presentation platform work together 22 Verifying that you can use the Breeze Manager and send e-mail notifications. 23
Verifying that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform. 23 Verifying that you can use Breeze Training. 24 Verifying that you can use Breeze Live. 24
Appendix A: Clustering Breeze Presentation Platforms. 26

Setting up a cluster of Breeze Presentation platforms. 26 Verifying failover for HTTP requests. 27 Verifying replication of content across the cluster. 27
Appendix B: Clustering Breeze Live. 29
Setting up a Breeze Live cluster. 29 Verifying failover for Breeze Live. 30
Resources for a Successful Breeze Deployment
Macromedia Breeze consists of three components: the Breeze Presentation platform, Breeze Training, and Breeze Live. Depending on the configuration purchased, you may be installing one, two, or all three of the components. The following are brief descriptions of the components: Breeze Presentation platform The Breeze Presentation platform makes it possible to quickly create multimedia presentations that combine audio and video with slides and graphics. Breeze Training Breeze Training lets you create courses, enroll students, and track and monitor student and course outcomes. Breeze Live Breeze Live lets you conduct online real-time meetings in which you can show multimedia presentations and broadcast live audio and video to participants. This chapter describes the variety of resources available to ensure successful deployment of the components within your organization.
Guide to documentation and additional resources
Macromedia Breeze contains a variety of media to help you learn how to use the components quickly. About the electronic manuals and online help In addition to this installation guide, the following electronic manuals and online help systems are available:
Note: The relevance of these guides to users depends on the modules installed on the Breeze Presentation platform, the type of user (such as meeting content manager, information technology engineer, or course presenter), and the users Breeze account permissions.
components of Breeze. You can access Using the Breeze Manager documentation from the Breeze Manager Home page, and from the Help link in the Breeze Manager. Using the Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint describes use of the plug-in that allows users to create Breeze presentations from PowerPoint. You can access Using the Breeze Plug-In for Powerpoint documentation from the Breeze Manager Home page, and from the Breeze menu in PowerPoint by selecting Breeze > Help. Using the Breeze Publish Wizard includes procedures for publishing Breeze presentations created in PowerPoint to your Breeze server. You can access Using the Breeze Publish Wizard documentation from the Breeze Manager Home page, and from the Help button in the Publish Wizard. Breeze Live User Guide for Meeting Presenters includes information about using the Breeze web application to host online real-time meetings. The documentation includes procedures that demonstrate the simplicity of adding slides, Flash SWF files, images, live audio and video to your presentation.You can access Breeze Live User Guide documentation from the Breeze Manager Home page, and from the Help menu within a Breeze Live meeting room (when you enter as a presenter) by selecting Meeting > Help. Breeze Live User Guide for Meeting Participants includes information relevant to users participating in an online real-time meeting. Breeze Live offers meeting participants a variety of options to make their experience truly participatory, including the ability to send messages and questions to presenters and to each other, and the ability to participate through live video and audio. You can access the Breeze Live User Guide documentation from the Breeze Manager Home page, and from the Help menu within a Breeze Live meeting room (when you enter as a participant) by selecting Meeting > Help. To determine what documentation is relevant to your needs, consult the following table for guidelines:

Note: To use a database with Breeze, the database must be set to case insensitive.
Installing and configuring Macromedia Breeze overview
To install and configure Breeze, perform the following steps.
To install and configure Macromedia Breeze:
Make sure that you have met all hardware and software requirements described in this chapter. Run the Breeze installer to install Breeze components (see Installing Breeze on page 11). Configure the Breeze database (see Setting Up the Breeze Database on page 15). Configure the Breeze Presentation platform (see Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform on page 17). 5 Configure Breeze Live, if you have installed it on a separate computer from the Breeze Presentation platform (see Configuring Breeze Live on page 19). For information about starting Macromedia Breeze, see Starting your Breeze components on page 21.

Installing Breeze

Before you begin the installation process, check the following items: All requirements listed in Before You Install on page 7 are satisfied. Verify the following requirements: A local printer driver is installed on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform. Microsoft PowerPoint XP is installed on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform.
Note: If you are using Breeze Live stand-alone configuration, the preceding two statements apply to the Breeze application server rather than the Breeze Presentation platform.
You have the serial number provided by Macromedia for installing Macromedia Breeze.
The Welcome letter that comes with the installation DVD contains the serial number.
Using the Breeze installer
Use the procedure described in this section to install Breeze.

To install Breeze:

If the Breeze installer does not start automatically when you insert the Breeze installation DVD into the DVD drive, double-click the setup.exe file in the installation DVDs root folder. The installer Welcome window appears. Click Next. The License Agreement window appears. Click Yes to accept the licensing terms. The Customer Information window appears. Enter your name, your companys name, and your Breeze serial number. The Welcome letter that comes with the installation CD contains the serial number. The Choose Destination Location window appears. Click Next to accept the default installation folder, or click the Browse button to select a different location, and then click Next. The Select Features window appears and lists the software that you can install. The contents of the window vary, depending on which Breeze components you are licensed to install. Select the software you want to install according to one of the following Breeze configurations: Breeze Presentation platform only The following Select Features window appears if you are licensed to install only the Breeze Presentation platform:

Note: If you install the Breeze database engine, it must be installed at the same time and on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform.
Breeze Presentation platform and Breeze Training The following Select Features window appears if you are licensed to install the Breeze Presentation platform and Breeze Training, but not Breeze Live:
Note: The Breeze Presentation platform and Breeze Training are installed together, on the same computer. If you install the Breeze database engine, it must be installed at the same time and on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform. Presentation platform and Breeze Live The following Select Features window appears if you are licensed to install the Breeze Presentation platform and Breeze Live, but not Breeze Training:
Breeze Presentation platform, Breeze Training, and Breeze Live
The following Select Features window appears if you are licensed to install all three Breeze components:
Note: The Breeze Presentation platform and Breeze Training are installed together, on the same computer. If you install the Breeze database engine, it must be installed at the same time and on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform. Breeze Live stand-alone configuration The following Select Features window appears if you are licensed to install the Breeze Live stand-alone configuration:
After you select the features you want in the Select Features window, click Next. The Setup Status window appears and shows the installers progress. Installing the software may take a few minutes. If you elected to install the Breeze database engine, the installer for the Breeze database engine starts (the installer identifies itself as the installer for Microsoft SQL Server, Desktop Edition) after the Macromedia Breeze installation completes. Installing the Breeze database engine may take a few minutes. The installation proceeds automaticallyyou do not need to interact with the Breeze database-engine installer. When installation is complete, the Breeze installation wizard Complete window appears. 8 Click Finish to exit the Breeze installation wizard. After you install Breeze software, you need to configure it, which is described in the following section: Setting Up the Breeze Database on page 15 Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform on page 17 Configuring Breeze Live on page 19 You need to configure Breeze Live only if you have installed it on a separate computer from the Breeze Presentation platform.

HTTP_PORT

#FCS_CONTENT_PATH \\fileserver\bre If you have installed Breeze Live and the Breeze Presentation ezeshare\cont platform on separate computers, this property is the path to shared ent\ Breeze Live meeting files. Initially, the property is commented out. You need to uncomment it for it to take effect, as shown in the following example: FCS_CONTENT_PATH=\\fileserver1\breeze\live_meetings For more information on Breeze Live shared files, see Configuring Breeze Live on page 19.

Configuring Breeze Live

If you install Macromedia Breeze Live on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform, no additional configuration of Breeze Live is necessary. If you install Breeze Live on a separate computer from the Breeze Presentation, you need to perform the configuration steps described in this chapter.
Breeze Live creates files that need to be shared with the Breeze Presentation platform. If Breeze Live is not on the same computer as the Breeze Presentation platform, you need to set up the shared access to these files and copy the custom.ini configuration file used by the Breeze Presentation platform to the Breeze Live host computer.
To configure Breeze Live on a separate computer from the Breeze Presentation platform:
Create a user account on the domain that contains the Breeze Live and Breeze Presentation platform host computers, and give the account administrative privileges to both computers. This is the Breeze user account. Breeze Live and the Breeze Presentation platform will use this account to run as Windows services. Immediately under the Breeze Live installation folder, create a folder called content for the files that Breeze Live and the Breeze Presentation platform need to share. Share the Breeze Live installation folder so that Breeze Live and the Breeze Presentation platform have access to it. Set permissions on the Breeze Live installation folder. Give the Breeze user you created in step 1 full control of the folder. Because Breeze Live and the Breeze Presentation platform run as the Breeze user you created, this privilege lets them write files to the folder and its subfolders. Set the FCS_CONTENT_PATH property in the Breeze Presentation platform custom.ini configuration file to the location of the content folder you created in step 2. For example, if the Breeze Live host computer is named ZLIVE, you set FCS_CONTENT_PATH as shown in the following example:

FCS_CONTENT_PATH=\\ZLIVE\breeze_live_install_folder\content
For more information about the FCS_CONTENT_PATH configuration property, see the table of configuration properties in Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform on page 17. The custom.ini configuration file on the Breeze Presentation platform host computer resides in the Breeze Presentation platform installation folder. 6 If your Breeze server will serve presentations for Internet clients, add the following entries at the end of the configuration file. In the example below, breeze.yourhostname.com represents the fully qualified domain name of your Internet accessible Breeze server as it appears in the Domain Name Service (DNS) and in your ADMIN_HOST entry.
USE_HOST_MAPPINGS=yes host.breeze=breeze.yourhostname.com
Copy the custom.ini file to the Breeze Live installation folder on the Breeze Live host computer. On the Breeze Presentation platform host computer, set the login properties for the Macromedia Breeze Application Service so that the Breeze user account can start the service. To set login properties for the Macromedia Breeze Application Service: a Depending on your operating system, do one of the following: In Windows 2000, select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. In Windows XP, select Start > Control Panel > Performance and Maintenance > Administrative Tools > Services. In Windows 2003, select Start > Administrative Tools > Services
In the list of services, double-click Macromedia Breeze Application Service. The Properties window for the Macromedia Breeze Application Service appears:
Click the Log On tab. The Log On dialog box appears:
Select This Account and then enter the name of the Breeze user account you created, followed by the accounts password and a confirmation of the password. 9 Restart the Macromedia Breeze Application Service for your changes to take effect. 10 On the Breeze Live host computer, follow the procedure given in step 7, and set the login properties for the Flash Communication Server and the Flash Communication Administration Server so that the Breeze user account can start the services. 11 Restart the Flash Communication Server and the Flash Communication Administration Server for your changes to take effect.
Verifying Your Installation
After you have installed and configured Macromedia Breeze, you should verify that the installation was successful and that all features are functional.
Note: If you are using the Breeze Live stand-alone configuration, all references in this chapter to the Breeze Presentation platform also apply to the Breeze application server.
This chapter describes how to verify a successful Breeze installation using the following procedures:

Starting Breeze Live The following procedure starts Breeze Live.
Select Start > All Programs > Macromedia > Macromedia Breeze 4 > Start Breeze Live Server. Verifying that the Breeze database and Breeze Presentation platform work together
If you can log in to the Breeze Manager (a web application within the Breeze Presentation platform), it means that the Breeze database and the Breeze Presentation platform can function together.
To log in to the Breeze Manager:
Go to the following URL: http://hostname/common/support/course/startmain.htm. In this URL, hostname is the name of the Breeze Presentation platform host computer. The Welcome page for Macromedia Breeze appears. Under the Start Using Macromedia Breeze heading, there is a link for logging in to Breeze and a link for downloading the Macromedia Breeze Plug-In for Microsoft PowerPoint. You will download the Breeze Plug-in for PowerPoint in a later step (see Verifying that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform on page 23). 2 Click the login link. The Breeze Manager log-in window appears. 3 As your login name, enter the value you set for the ADMIN_EMAIL property in the Breeze Presentation platform configuration file (see the table of configuration properties in Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform). 4 As your password, enter the value you set for the ADMIN_PASSWORD property in the Breeze Presentation platform configuration file (see the table of configuration properties in Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform). If you can log in successfully, the Breeze Manager home page appears. If you do not have Breeze Training, the Courses tab is not visible. If you do not have Breeze Live, the Meetings tab is not visible.
Verifying that you can use the Breeze Manager and send e-mail notifications
To verify that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform and that it can send e-mail using your e-mail server, youll create a new Breeze user, send an e-mail notification to the user, and then confirm that the email was received.
To create a new user and send an e-mail notification:
Click the Users tab on the Breeze Manager home page. In the Users and Groups page, click New User. The New User Information page appears and requires the following information: First Name Last Name Email (your e-mail address, which is used as your login name) Password (this must be four characters or more in length) 3 Enter the required information using your e-mail address in the Email text box, and make sure that the Email the New User Account Information, Login and Password option is selected. 4 Under the Group Memberships heading, assign the user to the Account Administrators group and click Save. 5 Allow enough time for an e-mail notification to arrive, and check your e-mail. If you received the notification, your Breeze Presentation platform is functional and can send emails using your e-mail server. The new-user notification contains the following text and URL: To start using your Macromedia Breeze account, use the following link: http://ADMIN_HOST/common/support/course/startmain.htm Here, ADMIN_HOST is the value you set for the ADMIN_HOST property in the Breeze Presentation platform custom.ini configuration file. For more information about the ADMIN_HOST configuration property, see the table of configuration properties in Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform on page 17. The URL takes you to the Breeze Welcome page, from which you can download the Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint, which is required in the next section.

Verifying that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform
To verify that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform, youll send a PowerPoint presentation to the Breeze Presentation platform for compilation into a Breeze Flash presentation and then view it. Before you can send a PowerPoint presentation to the Breeze Presentation platform, you must install the Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint on a computer that meets the following requirements: PowerPoint is already installed on the computer. The Breeze Presentation platform is not currently installed on the computer and is not going to be installed later, as long as the plug-in is in use.
To create a Breeze presentation and view it:
Go to the URL that you received in the new-user notification that was described in the preceding section (http://ADMIN_HOST/common/support/course/startmain.htm). The URL takes you to a page with the heading Welcome to Macromedia Breeze and a link for downloading the Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint. Click the download link. A login window for the download appears. Log in with the e-mail address and password of the user you created in step 2 of Verifying that you can use the Breeze Manager and send e-mail notifications on page 23. The Macromedia Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint page appears and gives instructions for installing the plug-in. Follow the instructions for installing the plug-in. If you do not have a PowerPoint presentation that you can send to the Breeze Presentation platform for compilation into a Breeze Flash presentation, create a presentation of one or two slides and save the presentation.
Open the Breeze Publish Wizard by selecting Publish from the Breeze menu in PowerPoint. The Publish Wizard login window appears. 7 Log in with the e-mail address and password you used in step 3, and follow the steps in the Publish Wizard. When you complete the steps in the Publish Wizard, your PowerPoint presentation is uploaded to the Breeze Presentation platform and compiled into a Breeze Flash presentation. When the compilation is complete, the Presentation platform sends you an e-mail notification with a link to the presentation. 8 Click the link in the e-mail notification to view the presentation in your browser.
Verifying that you can use Breeze Training
To verify that Breeze Training is functional, youll use the Breeze Plug-In for PowerPoint to create a quiz within a PowerPoint presentation, publish the presentation using the Publish Wizard, create and enroll in a Breeze course, and take the quiz. Then confirm that you can generate a report that contains the quiz results.

To verify that Breeze Training is installed and functioning successfully:
In PowerPoint, select Breeze > Quizzes and Surveys. In the Quiz Wizard that appears, follow the steps to create a quiz. Only one quiz question is necessary. After you create your quiz in PowerPoint, publish it to the Breeze Presentation platform. The publishing procedure is the same as step 6 in the procedure in Verifying that you can use the Breeze Presentation platform on page 23. In the Breeze Manager, click the Courses tab to open the Courses page, and then click New Course. In the Course wizard, follow the steps to create a course. In step 2, select the PowerPoint presentation that contains the quiz you created. In step 3, enroll yourself as a learner. In step 5, send an e-mail notification to yourself. The e-mail notification you receive contains a link to the course presentation. Click the link to see the course presentation and take the quiz. After submitting your quiz, go to the Breeze Manager, and click the Reports tab. On the Reports page, click the Course Reports [View] link. The Course Reports page appears. Your course should be listed. Click the By Users link for your course. A page that contains information about your course by individual user appears. If the report lists you as a user and gives your quiz results, you have verified that Breeze Training is successfully installed.
Verifying that you can use Breeze Live
To verify that Breeze Live is functional, youll create a Breeze meeting and then enter (log in to) the meeting room.
To verify that Breeze Live is installed and functioning successfully:
In the Breeze Manager, click the Meetings tab and select New Meeting. The first page of the Meeting Wizard appears and requires the following information: Meeting Name Summary Start Time Duration Meeting Access 2 Enter the required information. For the Meeting Access option, select Only Registered Users and Accepted Guests May Enter This Room, and then click Next. The Select Participants page appears.
Select the user you created earlier (see step 2 in Verifying that you can use the Breeze Manager and send e-mail notifications on page 23) and click Finish. The Meeting Information page for the meeting you created appears. 4 Click the Invitations link. 5 On the Invitations page, click Send to send yourself a meeting invitation. This invitation contains a link to the meeting room in which the meeting is held. 6 When the meeting invitation arrives, click the meeting link. If the Presenter Add-In for Breeze is not installed on your computer, the following window appears:
If the Presenter Add-In for Breeze window appears, click Yes. A login window for your meeting appears. 8 Log in to enter the meeting as a Registered User. Use the e-mail address and password for the user you created earlier (see step 2 in Verifying that you can use the Breeze Manager and send e-mail notifications on page 23). If your browser successfully displays the online meeting room for your meeting, Breeze Live is functional.

To set up clustered Breeze Presentation platforms:
Install the Breeze Presentation platform on each computer that will be in the cluster. During installation, you use the same license key each time you install the Breeze Presentation platform. 2 Set configuration properties in the custom.ini file belonging to one of the Breeze Presentation platforms in the cluster. For information on setting configuration properties for the Breeze Presentation platform, see Configuring the Breeze Presentation Platform on page 17. Some of the properties you need to set in the custom.ini configuration file apply to the Breeze database. For information on these properties and on setting up the Breeze database, see Setting Up the Breeze Database on page 15. 3 Copy the custom.ini configuration file to the installation folder of all the other Breeze Presentation platforms in the cluster. All Breeze Presentation platforms must have identical custom.ini files. Your Breeze Presentation platforms are now clustered. Before you start one of the Breeze Presentation platforms, you need to start Microsoft SQL Server.
Verifying failover for HTTP requests
You can verify that your Breeze Presentation platform cluster provides failover in the event that one of the computers in the cluster fails. The following procedure assumes that there are two computers in the cluster: Computer1 and Computer2. The steps for verifying failover with more than two computers are very similar. The main approach in the procedure that follows is to demonstrate failover when you are using the Breeze Manager. If the computer you are accessing for the Breeze Manager fails and you can continue to use the Breeze Manager without logging in again and without interruption, failover is successful.
To verify failover for HTTP requests in a Breeze Presentation platform cluster with two computers:
Verify that the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer1 is started and that the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer2 is stopped. Before you start the Breeze Presentation platform, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 must be running. To start the Breeze Presentation platform: Select Start > All Programs > Macromedia > Macromedia Breeze 4 > Start Breeze Server. To stop the Breeze Presentation platform: Select Start > All Programs > Macromedia > Macromedia Breeze 4 > Stop Breeze Server. Log in to the Breeze Manager. You can log in to the Breeze Manager from the following URL: http://admin_host/servlet/admin. In the URL, admin_host is the host name you entered as the value of the ADMIN_HOST property in the Breeze Presentation platform custom.ini configuration file (see step 2 under Setting up a cluster of Breeze Presentation platforms on page 26). When you log in, the Breeze Manager home page opens. Start the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer2. Stop the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer1. Click the Reports tab. If failover is successful, the Breeze Manager Reports page opens. If the login page opens or any other page is displayed, failover was not successful.

Verifying replication of content across the cluster
You can verify that content uploaded to one Breeze Presentation platform in a cluster is replicated to all other Breeze Presentation platforms in the cluster and is therefore available whenever failover is necessary. As in the preceding section, the procedure that follows assumes a cluster with two Breeze Presentation platforms.
To verify replication of content across a cluster with two Breeze Presentation platforms:
Verify that the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer1 is running and that the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer2 is stopped. Before you start the Breeze Presentation platform, Microsoft SQL Server 2000 must be running. To start the Breeze Presentation platform: Select Start > All Programs > Macromedia > Macromedia Breeze 4 > Start Breeze Server. To stop the Breeze Presentation platform: Select Start > All Programs > Macromedia > Macromedia Breeze 4 > Stop Breeze Server. Log in to the Breeze Manager. You can log in to the Breeze Manager from the following URL: http://admin_host/servlet/admin. In the URL, admin_host is the host name you entered as the value of the ADMIN_HOST property in the Breeze Presentation platform custom.ini configuration file (see step 2 under Setting up a cluster of Breeze Presentation platforms on page 26). When you log in, the Breeze Manager home page opens. Upload a JPEG image or other content to the Breeze Presentation platform on Computer1: a Make sure that you are a member of the Account Authors user group. To upload content, even if you are an account administrator, you must also be a member of the Account Authors user group. As an account administrator, you can add yourself to the Account Authors group. For more information, open Using the Breeze Manager Help > Contents > Managing Users and Groups > Managing Groups > Adding members to a group. b Click the Content tab in the Breeze Manager. c On the Content page, click New Content and then follow the steps displayed in your browser for adding content. Once your test content is uploaded, a User Content page opens and displays a list of the content that belongs to you. Click the link to the newly uploaded test content. A Content Information page with a URL for viewing your test content opens. Make a note of the URL. You will use it in step 9. Click the URL. Your test content is displayed. Start Computer2, wait 10 seconds or so, and then stop Computer1. Close the browser window in which you were viewing the test content. Open a new browser window and go to the URL for viewing your test content. If your test content is displayed, replication to Computer2 was successful. A blank window or an error message means that replication failed.

Appendix B: Clustering Breeze Live
If your Macromedia Breeze license permits, you can install Breeze Live on two or more computers and then cluster the computers to provide load balancing and failover for Breeze Live. This appendix explains how to create a Breeze Live cluster and verify that the cluster functions successfully. It contains the following main sections: Setting up a Breeze Live cluster on page 29 Verifying failover for Breeze Live on page 30
Setting up a Breeze Live cluster
When you create a Breeze Live cluster, Breeze Live on each computer must communicate with the Breeze Presentation platform and with a file server that stores the files created by each Breeze Live installation. The Breeze Presentation platform also needs access to the Breeze Live files on the file server. The following figure illustrates a cluster with Breeze Live on three computers.
Note: If you are using Breeze Live stand-alone configuration, all references to the Breeze Presentation platform in this appendix also apply to the Breeze application server.

Breeze Live

File Server

Breeze database

To set up a Breeze Live cluster for load balancing and failover:
Install Breeze Live on each computer that will be in the cluster. Create a user account on the domain that contains the Breeze Live and Breeze Presentation platform computers, and give the user account administrative privileges to all the Breeze Live and Presentation platform computers. This is the Breeze user account. Each Breeze Live in the cluster and the Breeze Presentation platform will use this account to run as services under the Windows operating system. 3 On a file server, create a folder for Breeze, and immediately below the Breeze folder, create a subfolder for the Breeze Live files that will be shared. For example, the following is a possible path to the shared files: \\fileserver1\breeze\content. In this appendix, the examples assume that the Breeze folder is named breeze and that the folder for shared files created by Breeze Live is namedcontent. In practice, you can choose other names for the folders.
On the file server, share the Breeze folder, giving the Breeze user you created in step 2 full control over the folder. To share the Breeze folder: a Right-click the Breeze folder in the Windows Explorer Folders panel, and select Sharing and Security. The Properties window for the Breeze folder opens: b Click Share This Folder and enter a Share name, for example, Breeze. c Click Apply and then click the Permissions button. The Permissions window opens. d Remove the Everyone group, if you want to, and then click Add. The Select Users or Groups window opens. e Click the Locations button and select the domain in which you created the Breeze user. f In the Object Names text box, enter the name of the Breeze user, and then click Check Names to verify that the name you entered is recognized, and click OK. g In the Permissions window, select the Breeze user and click Full Control, and then click OK. h In the Properties window, click OK. 5 Set the FCS_CONTENT_PATH property in the Breeze Presentation platform custom.ini configuration file to the location of the folder containing shared Breeze Live files. For example, given \\fileserver1\breeze\content as the folder containing the shared files, you would set the FCS_CONTENT_PATH property as shown in the following example:

WHITE PAPER

Delivering Enterprise Applications, Content, and Communications with the Flash Platform

by Vikrant Karvir

June 2005
Copyright 2005 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained in this document represents the current view of Macromedia on the issue discussed as of the date of publication. Because Macromedia must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Macromedia, and Macromedia cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication. This white paper is for information purposes only. MACROMEDIA MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS DOCUMENT. Macromedia may have patents, patent applications, trademark, copyright or other intellectual property rights covering the subject matter of this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Macromedia, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights or other intellectual property. Macromedia, Breeze, Flash, FlashCast, Flex, and Flex Builder are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Macromedia, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Macromedia, Inc. 601 Townsend Street San Francisco, CA 94103 4158322000

Contents

Meeting the Demand for Rich Enterprise-Class Solutions..1 Evaluating Architectures for Enterprise-Class Solutions...2 The Flash Platform Architecture....5 High-Performance Servers and Data Services....6 Presentation-tier Solution for Existing Application Servers....6 Communication Server..... 7 Mobile Content Delivery Server.....8 Robust, Standards-Based Programming Model....8 Comprehensive Development Tools.....9 Macromedia Flash Authoring Tool....9 Macromedia Flex Builder.....9 Client Runtime...... 10 Consistent User Experience..... 11 Exceptional Performance..... 11 Security and Privacy..... 11 Expressive Capabilities...... 12 Simplified Development..... 12 Communication Solution...... 12 Developing and Delivering Rich Internet Solutions with the Flash Platform Architecture.. 14 Rich Internet Content..... 14 Rich Internet Applications..... 15 Rich Communication and Collaboration.... 16 Rich Experiences for Mobile Devices.....17 For Businesses......17 For Operators......17 Deploying and Maintaining the Flash Platform Architecture Within an Enterprise. 18 Flex Deployment and Administration.... 18 Streaming Video Deployment and Administration.... 19 Flash Client Runtime Deployment and Administration.... 19 An Architecture for the Future..... 20 Benefits of the Flash Platform Architecture... 21 For More Information.... 21 References..... 21
Meeting the Demand for Rich Enterprise-Class Solutions
Enterprise CIOs and technology architects face a range of complex business challenges related to their organizations use of information technology assets. Although immense back-office investments have been made in enterprise applications and industry-specific solutions, problems related to data accessibility and usability resulting from poor interface design and unwieldy navigation abound. As a direct result, businesses suffer from reduced productivity, poor communication and collaboration, inaccurate data, and missed sales opportunities, all of which diminish profits. Although enterprise portals ideally can aggregate and simplify access to data and business processes, most simply provide a single point of entry to the same complex, difficult-toaccess applications. Unfortunately, the problems of poor interface design and unwieldy navigation are not limited to internal corporate applications, as research suggests that both customer- and partner-facing websites are equally frustrating for users. In fact, IDC research indicates that 61% of Internet shoppers in Western Europe agreed that it is difficult to navigate and find desired products on the Internet. The problem of poor usability and navigation is further compounded by the proliferation of non-PC devices through which users increasingly access information. To meet growing demands for more usable internal and external applications, businesses will benefit from an integrated technology platform that can deliver a range of rich user experiences. Through these applications, organizations can offer employees meaningful access to enterprise data and processes, support interactive communication and collaboration within and beyond enterprise walls, and deliver engaging interactive experiences to their customers. Examples of these new applications include the following:

To help identify an effective solution for their organizations, CIOs and enterprise technology architects will benefit from a holistic, platform-centric model of presentation-tier solutions that addresses key business and technology needs. An effective presentation-tier solution platform contains the following elements:
Servers and data services: An effective enterprise-class presentation-tier solution platform will offer high-
performance application, content, and data servers and services that integrate seamlessly into existing environments and smoothly interact with the client runtime to deliver an exceptional user experience.
Tools and programming model: To support enterprise-class application development, the platform should
offer a mature, standards-based programming model that includes fully documented programming and interface development languages, and a comprehensive set of class libraries and objects. In addition, to enable greater interactivity and reduce time-consuming server interactions and page refreshes, the programming model should go beyond the traditional page-based model to extend the server-based object model to end users. To support team development efforts and enhance productivity, the solution should offer a full-featured developer toolset and integrated development environment (IDE). To leverage existing investments in development tools, third-party tools and IDEs should be supported as well.
Applications, components, and patterns: To ensure that enterprises can focus on developing solutions
that meet their unique requirements without reinventing the wheel, an enterprise platform should deliver robust prepackaged applications that satisfy general enterprise requirements for key functions such as communication and collaboration. The architecture should offer packaged applications and solutions that can be customized and extended to support the organizations business model. In addition, reusable libraries of components and patterns should be provided to speed development efforts.
Client runtime: To ensure that content and applications will have the widest reach while placing the smallest
possible burden on the end user, the client runtime should support as many platforms, operating systems, and devices as possible. Ideally, the runtime should already be widely deployed so that users can enjoy a seamless experience without the inconvenience of installing new software. In addition, the client runtime must meet performance and security requirements to maintain the privacy of confidential business and corporate data. Finally, a client runtime that provides an open file format will ensure that developers can use the most appropriate tools to develop applications and content for the runtime.

Development community: A key indicator of a platforms long-term viability is the presence of a large,
vibrant community of developers. To ensure the platforms continued success, the community must use the architecture to support their own business requirements and technical needs, as well as actively extend the model with new applications, reusable components, and libraries.
Support for solutions: To ensure that the architecture will support the widest range of applications and be
accepted throughout the industry, the model should be standards-based and offer comprehensive opportunities for the development of both horizontal and industry-specific solutions. The vendor should also offer outreach programs to both independent software vendors (ISVs) and system integration (SI) partners to provide businesses with a range of deployment, maintenance, and development options. Figure 1 shows elements of a comprehensive enterprise class presentation-tier solution.
Figure 1: Elements of comprehensive enterprise-class presentation-tier solution.
In addition, the architecture should meet the following overall criteria:
Security and privacy: An enterprise-class architecture must provide for the confidentiality of user and
corporate data. Organizations that fail to meet this requirement may face penalties for noncompliance, and risk diminished marketplace reputation and customer goodwill.
Ease of deployment and maintenance: Evaluators should ensure that the architecture is easy to deploy,
manage, and maintain without requiring additional resources.
Interoperability with existing systems: New technologies should seamlessly integrate with existing
systems to enhance and extend their capabilities without negatively impacting their performance.
Long-term viability: So that organizations can be confident that their investments will support future
requirements as well as current short-term needs, architects should evaluate whether the platform is poised for long-term stability and growth.
The Flash Platform Architecture
For more than a decade, Macromedia has been the industry leader in empowering business users, developers, and designers to create and deliver effective and compelling user experiences. As shown in Figure 2, the Flash Platform provides a robust, end-to-end architecture for delivering Rich Internet Applications (RIAs), content, and communications across multiple platforms and devices. Figure 2: The Flash Platform architecture supports the delivery of RIAs, content, and communications.
The elements of the Flash Platform architecture include the following:
High-performance servers and data services that operate seamlessly in existing J2EE and.NET

Application compilation, caching, and deployment: Flex applications compile in a just-in-time model,
without disrupting the user experience. An application is compiled when it is first invoked, cached for subsequent invocations, and deployed to the appropriate client runtime when invoked.
Performance: The Flex Presentation Server relies on the Action Message Format (AMF), an asynchronous
binary protocol that enables rapid data transfer between client-side Flex applications and the Flex Presentation Server. AMF increases application responsiveness to user input. Asynchronous client-side communication also delivers seamless user experiences by supporting screen and data updates without requiring intrusive and time-consuming page refreshes on user systems.
Back-end integration: With support for accessing any web services exposed by back-end systems, the
Flex Presentation Server makes it possible to integrate data and processes between user client applications and back-end business applications.
Application-server resource integration: Because the Flex Presentation Server operates as a Flex
application running on the enterprise application server, it can fully exploit existing application-server capabilities such as server-side application logic, application objects, authentication, session management, and security.
Seamless user experiences: Flex supports Flash client runtime detection and updating services to ensure
that the appropriate runtime is installed, reducing the burden on users. To reduce startup times for individual Flex applications, support for deferred instantiation makes it possible to load elements on demand or as designated by the developer. Communication Server The Flash Communication Server is a comprehensive platform for creating and deploying compelling highquality video over the Internet. With a range of advanced audio and video options and support for interactivity, the Flash Communication Server is ideally suited for the following:
On-demand video: The Flash Communication Server enables businesses to deliver on-demand video with
advanced capabilities, including instant-on, playlist support, and rich interactive features.
Webcasts: With live audio and video capture, real-time stream control, and text-chat capabilities, the Flash

Communication Server supports live webcasts with compelling interactive capabilities.
Live communication and collaboration: With real-time digital video capture, live audio and video
streaming among multiple participants, and a range of control features, the Flash Communication Server supports adding video chat and messaging to a website or designing custom collaboration applications. For businesses that want to deploy streaming services without investing in a streaming server, Flash Video Streaming Service offers a load-balanced, redundant deployment of the Flash Communication Server over leading content delivery networks. More information about these options can be found in Deploying and Maintaining the Flash Platform Architecture within an Enterprise, later in this document.
Mobile Content Delivery Server The Macromedia FlashCast Server presents an ideal solution for mobile operators, who want to offer rich data services such as channel or push-based services to subscribers. The server manages subscriber accounts, aggregates and delivers channel updates to subscribers, and generates billing transactions for fulfillment. To optimize network performance, reduce costs, and support increased users and content, the server sends only differential updates of channels used in the service for each subscriber. FlashCast leverages existing mobile value-added services based on WAP, SMS, MMS, J2ME, HTTP, UDP and other technologies. FlashCast enables mobile operators to leverage existing services and investments to create ways for subscribers to consume existing content and services while providing a solid platform for operators to launch completely new services based on Flash technology without replacing the existing infrastructure. As a result, with minimal changes to the infrastructure, operators can improve end-user experiences and usability, increase usage of data services, improve both top- and bottom-line revenues, and reduce customer churn. By decoupling the communications between content feeds and consumer devices, mobile operators gain significant flexibility and management capabilities for the service. More information about the complete FlashCast solution for creating, delivering, and using rich data services over mobile devices appears in the section titled Delivering Rich Experiences to Mobile Users Using the Flash Platform.
Robust, Standards-Based Programming Model
To ensure that enterprise developers can leverage their existing skill sets and expertise, the Flash Platform architecture relies on Macromedia Flex, a robust standards-based programming model designed for developers familiar with object-oriented languages such as Java and C# who are accustomed to building server-side enterprise-level applications. With a development model that is similar to JSP, ASP,.NET, and others, the programming model extends the server-based object model directly to client systems, enabling users to interact with applications and content without requiring inefficient page refreshes to update information on the screen. Flex makes it possible to deliver the benefits of the rich Flash runtime experience to a business audience. Key elements of the programming model include the following:

Layout and prototyping: The Flex Builder visual design interface speeds application prototyping and layout.
MXML code is generated automatically by arranging application containers and components. Developers can see an applications code and layout by switching between design and code views or viewing both at the same time, while synchronization ensures that changes to either the design or code are reflected automatically in each view. Additional features include a tag inspector, styling and CSS support, data connectivity, data binding, and custom components.
Coding: The Flex Builder code editor speeds developer learning and productivity with a code editor, code
hinting, tag completion, validation, and context-sensitive help.
Debugging: To help developers identify, isolate, and resolve bugs to produce the best possible applications,
Flex Builder offers robust debugging tools, including an ActionScript debugger. Flex Builder also includes a network trafficmonitoring feature that traces communications between the server and the Flex client application to help ensure the most efficient use of resources.
Deployment: Flex Builder makes it easy to manage file sets for development, testing, staging, and
production so developers can be confident that all required code including dependent files, custom components, and MXML components are correctly copied to the target server.

Client Runtime

The Flash Player client runtime is a lightweight, full-featured, self-contained runtime that is easily downloaded to or deployed on end-user machines. Installed on more than 98% of all Internet-enabled PCs, more than 50 models lines, and a wide variety of other electronic devices, Flash Player client runtime is the most widely deployed client runtime (see Figure 4). Figure 4: The Flash Player client runtime is the most widely deployed client runtime in the world. (NPD Quarterly
Flash Player Penetration Survey, March 2005)
The Flash Player client runtime can be obtained and installed in a variety of ways:
Browser-mediated inline installation: An organizations website can ensure automatically that the correct
version of the Flash client runtime is installed on visitors computers without requiring them to leave the site or the content they were viewing.

Flash Playermediated inline installation: This mechanism enables the Flash client runtime to update itself
automatically if the content requires a later version of the runtime.
Flash Player Download Center: To eliminate the need for platform and browser detection and custom
installation code, organizations can direct visitors to the Macromedia Flash Player Download Center, where the latest version of the Flash client runtime is installed by Macromedia. More information about the variety of options that are available to support Flash client runtime deployment within an enterprise appears in the section titled, Deploying and Maintaining the Flash Platform Architecture Within an Enterprise.
Consistent User Experience The Flash client runtime is controlled, plug-in client-side code that provides a fully functional set of rich client capabilities that operate consistently across browsers, desktop applications, application servers, underlying operating systems, and hardware platforms. Businesses can therefore deliver consistent user experiences through their Flash runtime-based RIAs and content. Unlike other media players, Flash client runtime installation and updates are automated and easy, with small bandwidth-friendly files that do not require additional installers. Exceptional Performance To ensure that the Flash client runtime provides exceptional support for increasingly complex content and applications, Macromedia is committed to delivering continuous performance improvements. The latest improvements including faster graphics rendering and display, enhanced video playback, rapid component initialization, better memory usage, caching improvements, and improved XML parsing deliver significant improvements in the following key areas:
Application startup time and loading of reusable components Rendering and display of text, images, audio, and video as well as large data sets Application speed and responsiveness to user input Consistent responsiveness when handling large data sets
Performance is also enhanced through improved communication between the Flash client runtime and the server, including support for asynchronous bidirectional communication. By supporting both server-push and client-pull models for retrieving components such as vector graphics and video from the server, the runtime enables users to enjoy more consistent viewing and interaction as elements are updated in the background without requiring the screen to be refreshed. Network delivery improvements such as bitpacking techniques help maintain quality over networks with limited or unpredictable bandwidth. Security and Privacy The Flash client runtime is designed to protect against unauthorized access to host system resources and data as well as private or confidential user information such as personal and financial data. All content runs inside a virtual machine (VM) that implements a security sandbox model. This means that all resources including applications, data, URLs, and others known to the Flash client runtime are associated with a specific sandbox. Applications may interact freely with resources within the same sandbox, but access to all other resources is controlled. Interaction among sandboxes is allowed in accordance with specific security rules, and only after the parties overseeing the domains provide permission for the interaction. By default, only 10K of persistent clientside storage is allocated per sandbox. Sandboxes that allow access to local system resources and files do not allow network access, and sandboxes that allow network access do not allow access to system resources and files. As a result, the Flash client runtime cannot be used to create an application that transmits any local information across a network. Other security features of the Flash client runtime VM disallow native or operating system executable byte code instructions and ensure no direct access to system memory or processors. The runtime also supports domainbased security configurations, configurable file system and network access controls, and secure network protocols such as HTTPS.

Communication Solution

Macromedia Breeze 5 is a rich web communication and collaboration system that supports the delivery of high-impact online meetings, training, and presentations through the widely deployed Flash client runtime. Enterprises benefit from the scalability, flexibility, and extensibility of Breeze, while meeting attendees and training participants benefit from seamless access to engaging content without downloading additional software. The Breeze architecture is illustrated in Figure 5.
Figure 5: Breeze offers a comprehensive enterprise-class communication and collaboration solution.
The Breeze Communication Server offers real-time and on-demand communications and provides user administration, tracking, and reporting, as well as integrated content management for Breeze applications. To meet the demands of large organizations, the Breeze Communication Server delivers enterprise-class scalability, with support for single-server or clustered environments that can handle thousands of concurrent users. Breeze applications include the following:
Breeze Training: An ideal solution for managing, delivering, and tracking online training initiatives, Breeze
Training supports the design and delivery of both live and self-paced courses and curriculums, including courses created with other authoring tools. User completion and course results can be tracked using convenient dashboard reports or at a more detailed learner-by-learner and question-by-question level.
Breeze Presenter: With support for Microsoft PowerPoint authoring, a drag-and-drop audio editor and
wizard-based quiz and survey creation, Breeze Presenter makes it easy for content experts to create engaging multimedia e-learning courses and on-demand presentations. Breeze courses can also be delivered and tracked by SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, and AICC-compatible learning management systems.
Breeze Meeting: With features that include multipoint video conferencing and rich-content sharing, Breeze
Meeting delivers real-time meetings and seminars that are easy to attend as well as manage and deploy. Reusable settings and content simplify the creation and administration of recurring and follow-up meetings.
Breeze Events: To simplify the administration of large online seminars and presentations, Breeze Events
offers an end-to-end event management solution that supports user registration, qualification, notification, automatic e-mail reminders, and participant tracking. Customization and reporting features are also available.

Guided selling: The Flash Platform aids the design and development of numerous product-oriented
applications, such as configurators, selectors, comparison engines, and shopping carts, providing customers with an integrated experience from initial inquiry to final purchase. By reducing customer search time and leading customers directly to the items they want, guided selling can increase conversion rates, drive larger sales, and reduce shopping cart abandonment.
Data dashboards: The Flash Platform architecture provides charting, graphing, and drill-down capabilities
that make it easy to consolidate data from disparate systems without slow page refreshes. Businesses benefit from faster decision cycles and improved access to information.
Process and data integration: With the Flash Platform architecture, businesses can consolidate data and
information and align processes to meet the unique needs of internal and external users. Automated process and data integration increases accuracy, improves efficiency, and enhances customer service through faster response times. The following elements, shown in Figure 6, are required to deliver enterprise-class RIAs:
Flex Presentation Server: The Flex Presentation Server is an application that acts as the application and
services intermediary between Flex applications and the existing enterprise environment. The Flex Presentation Server easily integrates and executes with existing enterprise application servers, without touching or affecting existing business, transaction, or integration logic in any way. As a good citizen of the application server environment, the Flex Presentation Server leverages existing resources and policies for functions such as deployment, session management, and security.
Industry-standard IDE: Flex applications can be built and tested using Macromedia Flex Builder or a third-
party IDE such as Borland JBuilder, JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA, Microsoft Visual Studio, and others.
Flash client runtime: The Flash client runtime, which is already present on more than 98% of computers,
provides the user interface to Flex applications.
Figure 6: The Flash Platform architecture provides all the elements required to deliver enterprise-class RIAs.
Businesses that develop and deploy Flex applications report reducing development cycles by more than 50% and reducing personnel requirements by as much as 66%. In addition, a retailer who implemented a singlescreen checkout Flex application realized a 50% increase in conversion rates. For detailed information about how businesses are benefiting from Flex, visit the Macromedia Showcase at http://www.macromedia.com/go/showcase and follow the link for Flex.
Rich Communication and Collaboration
Through Breeze, the Flash Platform architecture delivers a comprehensive easy-to-use communication and collaboration solution that can integrate into any existing enterprise environment. Rated Excellent in an InfoWorld review of real-time collaboration solutions, Breeze can be used to support the following:

The mobile-device rendering level: The Flash client runtime available on most major mobile handsets
around the world delivers a compact, high-performance runtime that renders rich content, applications, and custom user interfaces and supports on-demand and pull-based services.
The mobile-device user-interface level: The FlashCast client makes it possible for operators to provide
custom and on-demand content to users through the user interface, and enables operators to develop custom user interfaces for the mobile device itself.
The mobile-device content and application level: Operators can deliver Flash content and applications
directly to mobile devices as standalone items or as elements of rich data subscription services through operator-owned networks. Within the operators infrastructure, the FlashCast server a J2EE-compliant server that uses available network protocols for FlashCast data delivers rich content to subscribers. By decoupling the communications between content feeds and consumer devices, mobile operators gain significant flexibility and management capabilities for the service.
Figure 7 The Flash Platform architecture offers an end-to-end solution for creating and delivering interactive services to mobile devices.
Deploying and Maintaining the Flash Platform Architecture Within an Enterprise
The Flash Platform architecture is designed for easy deployment and maintenance within any standards-based enterprise infrastructure.
Flex Deployment and Administration
Because the Flex Presentation Server is a native Java application, deployment and maintenance are as straightforward as managing any other application. Figure 8 illustrates a sample deployment of the Flex Presentation Server within a clustered environment. The deployment of individual Flex applications on the J2EE platform is handled with Java web archive (WAR) files. For administrators, the Flex XML schema and filebased application model mean that individual Flex applications can be incorporated easily into existing administration and application lifecycle tools. While executing in the Flash client runtime, the Flex application can interact with any existing server-side functionality, such as Java objects, SOAP web services, and others.
Figure 8: The Flex Presentation Server deployed in a clustered environment
Streaming Video Deployment and Administration
Flash Communication Server can be deployed in a variety of ways to meet an organizations unique requirements:
Standalone: This solution is best suited for organizations that only need to serve a relatively small number of
simultaneous connections.
Clustered: The Flash Communication Server is designed to scale to support the needs of organizations of

Programming model: The Flash Platform programming model will incorporate enhancements to the core
ActionScript programming language to further align with the ECMAScript standard. Additional enhancements include more powerful data connectivity options, including binary sockets and expanded web services support. In addition, the Flex framework will include a host of new user interface components and enhanced support for applying custom skins and styles.
Development tools: To further support RIA development using the Flex framework, Macromedia has joined
the Eclipse Foundation and is building a new development tool, code-named Zorn, based on Eclipse. Zorn will unify the design, development, and debugging of RIAs and provide a more robust, extensible environment that supports the full range of Flex development needs.
Flex Presentation Server: The next release of the Flex Presentation Server, code-named Mistral, will
introduce transparent data persistence across tiers to support occasionally-connected clients, data synchronization, a robust data-push infrastructure, and paging for large data sets. Support for real-time collaboration within RIAs is also planned.
Flash Communication Server: The next major release of the Flash Communication Server, code-named
Edison, will support new high-fidelity video capabilities and provide integration with the Flex programming model for quickly blending communication elements in RIAs.
Breeze: Future enhancements to Breeze will include support for advanced video features; delivering on-
demand content and live communications to mobile devices; extending collaboration and communication capabilities through integration with telecommunications systems and enterprise applications; improving both live and asynchronous communications through enhanced awareness of presence; and enhancing multicast support for webcasts and other large online events. As demonstrated by the comprehensive roadmap outlined above, the Flash Platform will continue to offer the most robust set of capabilities for delivering effective experiences across devices.

Benefits of the Flash Platform Architecture
The Macromedia Flash Platform architecture offers an enterprise-class solution for building and delivering RIAs, content, and communications. With robust servers, a mature programming model, comprehensive development tools, an active community of more than one million Flash developers, and a suite of powerful richcommunication solutions, organizations can easily develop and deliver RIAs, content, and communications solutions that meet their unique business needs. Extensible packaged rich-communication solutions and a wide range of ISV and SI partners enable greater flexibility for the deployment of business solutions build with Flash technology. The ubiquitous Flash client runtime ensures a seamless user experience while working with the organizations content and applications anytime, anywhere. In summary, the Flash Platform architecture delivers exceptional return on investment by leveraging existing technology to drive new efficiencies, improve revenue streams, and identify and exploit previously hidden opportunities. Built-in scalability, extensibility, and flexibility, support for industry standards, runtime ubiquity and support from ISV and SI partners, and a robust development community ensure that the architecture provides a viable platform for organizations to deliver enterprise-class solutions reliably, now and in the future.

For More Information

For more information about the Flash Platform Architecture in general, call a sales representative at 1-888649-2990 (US and Canada) or find an international sales line at http://www.macromedia.com/international/buy/numbers.html. To purchase online, visit http://www.macromedia.com/store. Or, use any of the following links:
For more information about the Flash Player, visit www.macromedia.com/software/flashplayer/. For more information about the Flash authoring tool, visit http://www.macromedia.com/software/flash/. For more information about Flex Builder, visit www.macromedia.com/software/flex/flexbuilder/. For more information about the Flex Presentation Server, visit www.macromedia.com/software/flex/. For more information about Flash Communication Server, visit www.macromedia.com/software/flashcom/. For more information about Flash Video Streaming Services, visit
www.macromedia.com/software/flashcom/fvss/.
For more information about Breeze, visit www.macromedia.com/software/breeze/.

References

The Business Impact of Rich Internet Applications. IDC, Joshua Duhl. April 2003. NPD Quarterly Flash Player Penetration Survey, NPD Research. March 2005,
Web conferencing: It's like being there, virtually. InfoWorld, Mike Heck. May 9, 2005.