SeaChange International Inc. is announcing today an upgrade to its basic video-on-demand server platform, plus a new operational support software suite, Axiom, for interactive cable applications.
Designed as a network management system, Axiom allows MSOs to efficiently control their bandwidth for VOD, switched broadcast video, video gaming and other interactive applications.
Axiom is the successor software to SeaChange’s Command center, said director of broadband systems Joseph Ambeault, noting that client shipments will commence this spring. “The software is basically the network manager,” he said.
The modular software is designed to handle storage, streaming and application network services in a seamless manner for MSOs. It can manage VOD sessions and resources to insure network bandwidth is optimized.
It also provides for sophisticated monitoring and management tools for system components. The software can handle next generation services like switched broadcast video or video gaming. Stream requests from clients, say for a video game, are routed through the Axiom software, which determines the most optical delivery network path and sets up sessions based on that information.
SeaChange also has upgraded its server hardware built with off-the-shelf components, including a new chipset from Linderhurst Corp. The two-rack unit device contains 48 gigabits of storage including 16 gigabits of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM). It contains an Intel motherboard, Micron memory and several Gigabit interfaces.
“We’re using high volume, integrated technology,” Ambeault said. He added that distributed storage, where the most popular content goes into DRAM memory, while library product is stored on cheaper hard disks.
