StreamGate 1.0 consists of the following sub-systems:

Access Control
When a subscriber purchases a mobile video streaming content, the CMS should not allow the user to access the URL of the video content directly as this constitutes a breach in security. The URL can be forwarded to other subscribes and be downloaded or streamed multiple times, bypassing the content provider & usage tracking, resulting a revenue loss. 

StreamGate manages access control to video content by providing a configurable session-based unique URL to the subscriber through the use of a token.  The subscriber will access the video content with this unique URL and the token.  The StreamGate plug-in (residing in the streaming server) intercepts the request and seek authorization from the StreamGate before allowing the streaming to begin.  Plug-ins for major video streaming server products like Real Helix, Apple Quicktime and Nextreaming are available.  It can be configured such that each unique URL can only be accessed a number of times over a period.

Load Balancing
StreamGate load balances video streaming requests across managed streaming servers, based on the following criteria:

• Availability of video content in the streaming server
• Current load of streaming server in terms of CPU and memory usage
• Available bandwidth and connections in the streaming server.

After finding a suitable streaming server, the StreamGate redirects the mobile device to the streaming server with a new RTSP URL with a uniquely assigned transaction token.

Billing
StreamGate supports the following modes of billing:

• Pay per view
• Time-based
• Volume-based (optional)

StreamGate has a Notification Handler that handles the events generated by StreamGate and the video streaming server.  An adaptor can be built to generate the required billing information using the Notification Handler.

Administration
A web-based interface that allows administrator to configure system parameters, manages backend streaming servers, and view the standard reports available.

Streaming Server Management
Streaming Server Management module provides the following functions:

• Add / Edit / View / Delete the configuration profile for each streaming server.
• Start / Stop the streaming server.
• View and monitor the status & health of the streaming servers.

Transaction Management
Transaction Management module provides the following functions:

• View events and status of an ongoing video streaming session.
• Terminate an ongoing video streaming session.

Statistics and Report
Statistics & Report module provides a set of online reports to monitor and trace the access history of video streaming sessions.

Database
The database provides persistent storage and stores the following:

• Events and statuses of video streaming sessions.
• Configuration data of the managed streaming servers.
• Providing a reliable data source for the onward generation of reports and billing records.

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