Content Delivery Methods
Introduction
In order to display an application on a screen, Appspace needs to deliver the application’s content items to that device. There are two methods of doing so; streaming and pre-positioning. Appspace leverages the device’s local storage to pre-position content for local playback. This ensures that in the event of a network outage, the end-point will not display a blank screen.
Download Manager
The Download Manager is a local service that runs on the device. Its main function is to download content from Appspace to the device to be stored and displayed locally.
When an app is assigned to a device, the Download Manager will automatically download all content items associated with that app. It periodically checks Appspace for application updates, compares its manifest file and downloads new content items for that application.
Supported Devices
- Edge 340
- Edge 300
- DMP 4310G
- DMP 4400G
SmartHub ASE
The SmartHub ASE (Application Service Engine) is a device that caches content from Appspace which in turn will be accelerated to a device to be stored and displayed locally.
The SmartHub ASE can also be used to integrate third-party data with Appspace to increase the functionality of your application.
Important
The SmartHub ASE does not function as a proxy for the Appspace Server.
Supported Devices
- Edge 340
- Edge 300
- DMP 4310G
- DMP 4400G
- Appspace PC Player
Understanding Content Delivery
Appspace Content sync via Download Manager
The Download Manager will download content (via HTTP or HTTPS) from Appspace , which will then be stored on a device’s local storage for playback. The Download Manager will update Appspace upon the successful syncing of content on the device.
Appspace Content sync via SmartHub ASE and Download Manager
The SmartHub ASE can be used with Edge 340, Edge 300, Cisco DMP 4310G or DMP 4400G in tandem with the Download Manager.
The ASE primarily serves as a content cache to make efficient use of the network for faster content delivery to the Edge and DMP devices. It does so by downloading content (via HTTP/HTTPS) from Appspace and storing them locally for content pre-positioning to the devices.
The Download Manager will then download the cached content (via HTTP/HTTPS) from the SmartHub ASE. The ASE will update Appspace upon the successful syncing of content for each Edge/DMP devices on the network.
Appspace Content sync via SmartHub ASE and CDN Agent
In addition to the Download Manager, the SmartHub ASE may be used with the Appspace Player’s CDN Agent.
It does so by downloading content (via HTTP/HTTPS) from Appspace and storing them locally for content pre-positioning to the Appspace Players. The CDN Agent will then download cached content (via HTTP/HTTPs) from the SmartHub ASE. The ASE will update Appspace upon the successful syncing of content for each Appspace player on the network.
