37 ROUND TABLE Broadcasting In The Cloud
between the event or studio location and the cloud. For security reasons, this would most likely utilise a VPN. RAY THOMPSON, AVID: The ability to burst capacity and auto provision resources enables broadcasters to deliver to social and digital platforms, as well as open new business models for subscription-based, PPV and ad-sponsored content delivery. The cloud also encourages greater collaboration for disparate teams by allowing anyone to access and modify content and then distribute it to any device in various bit rates and protocols. Remote live production is made easier too by sending live feeds over IP through the cloud to studio talent, so they can deliver commentary on events happening anywhere in the world. FREETV: WE KEEP HEARING ABOUT MICROSERVICES. WHAT ARE MICROSERVICES AND HOW CAN THEY HELP BUILD OUR CHANNEL? KARL MEHRING, GRASS VALLEY: Microservices aren’t so much a ‘what’ as they are a ‘how.’ They are a way of designing software to meet a specific need, a software, architectural approach to creating cloud applications. Each application is built as a set of services that communicate with each other and to other systems through a set of suitable APIs. Services are built around specific business logic – written in any language – and are independently scalable, upgradeable and deployable. When an application is broken up into its component services, changes only affect specific services. Likewise, each service can independently scale in response to demand without consuming unnecessary resources.
For instance, microservices can provide a solution to broadcasters to optimise a platform they’re running without using RAM and compute functions they don’t need, as well as act as a means to orchestrate the functionality of their system. It’s the notion of rapid scaling – to infinity if you want to – that makes microservices so attractive. complex, scalable application or system based on smaller, self-contained modules that can talk to each other in a common language. This development method allows complicated systems to be assembled in smaller pieces, provides the flexibility to specific business needs, and speeds up the development process. Testing and managing the life cycle of a microservices- based system is usually simpler than with larger, monolithic applications. JONATHAN SOLOMON, IBM ASPERA: Microservices are a collection of tiny services that together create an application. Using microservices lets you scale out applications as needed, but only use what you need when you need it. This saves on long-term compute costs, but it does increase complexity. For example, three microservices could be a frame rate converter, frame size adjuster and an H.264 encoder. Combined, they make a standards conversion MARC RISBY, BOXER SYSTEMS: Microservices enable you to build a use off-the-shelf components and effectively customise them for the
transcoder. Alternatively, the H.264 encoder could run on its own and encode at the native frame rate and resolution. Another example is for a ‘ticker’ graphic that crawls only during live events. Without microservices, a ticker system would need to be running constantly, but with microservices, you can turn on the components needed to crawl only when needed. RAY THOMPSON, AVID: Microservices allow developers to deliver applications that are modular and run as loosely coupled services – making the application easier to install, manage and understand. For broadcasters, this enables continuous deployment, which allows them to install a more open, flexible environment that only uses the resources needed for optimal efficiency. End users can take advantage of applications developed on a microservices architecture on-premises or in the cloud. Applications are easier to deploy and if leveraging in-house development resources, allow customised enhancements to augment that group’s specific workflow.
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