Server 2003 Streaming Media

[DerwenArtos12]

I'm setting up a 2003 server for a small business. My client wants to hook the server up to play streaming music over the intercom system at his work and for use on hold. The infastructure is there 100%, they currently have a computer with a 40GB drive that plays the music over the intercoms and over the phones for hold but, the new server i built for him has 1TB of space(at his request and expense) so he is having me load all of his music to the server and set up a streaming station for the existing computer to tune into and then output to the rest of the intercom system. I have the station set up and I can get the client to tune in with both WMP but I have run into a problem playing the station. In WMP the song will crackle and slow down till it sounds horrible about three songs in.

Any advise?

Oh, the server is also his web server, dhcp, PDC and file server in one, please don't ask why, the client is insane, not figuritively.

 

[RebateMonger]

You didn't say how you are streaming the audio, or if some kind of audio decoder is being used on the Server.

I know NOTHING about audio on Server 2003. But this article mentions that, by default, Windows Audio Service is turned off, as is Direct X hardware sound acceleration.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

I am streaming the audio using server 2003, it has audio streaming integrated.

Update: I downloaded Winamp and connected it to the stream and it would only play one song then disconnect, so I put loop on and it will sit there and play the stream forever no problem. Once again microsoft's own products just don't work together.

 

[gsellis]

Nevermind - I re-read it and yeah, the server may be too tasked out. How many users?


Orignally - When you created the audio files for streaming, did you encode at multiple speeds?

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
Oh, the server is also his web server, dhcp, PDC and file server in one, please don't ask why, the client is insane, not figuritively.

What is the CPU and disk utilization when you are trying to stream?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Suprisingly low, I don't have exact numbers but the way I set the system up users log on then work completely locally with the exception of a few files, his website gets 10-15 hits a day, dhcp leases are set to one week so the stream is the biggest hog of them all and on a system with an opty 165, 2gb of ram and four seagate 500gb drives in raid 5 it's not being taxed at all. The aboslute only thing that could speed the operation up any would be to get it all on gigabit networking, wich would be a waste of his money and I really don't want to have to do the cable pulls. At this point I'm perfectly happy running winamp on the distrobution machine. Thanks for all your suggestions though.