|
At Flashforward2003 in San Francisco today (27 March
2003) Macromedia announced the Macromedia
Flash Communication Server MX 1.5—the first major
release of the real-time server that brings multiple
capabilities such as streaming media, rich media
messaging, and real-time collaboration to Macromedia
Flash Player.
Because there are several different versions and
configurations available, the first thing you need
to do is to decide which edition of Flash Communication
Server MX matches your needs. In this week's Logged
In, I am going to try to clarify the options to get
you on the right track.
First of all, check out the system
requirements.
The 1.5 release of the server is currently available
for both Windows and Linux platforms. You can author
Flash Communication Server applications from any
platform on which Macromedia Flash MX is available,
including both Windows and Mac platforms.
Developer Edition
The Flash Communication Server Developer Edition
is meant to be used for learning the product and
authoring Communication Server applications. The
Developer Edition can support up to 5 simultaneous
connections and serve 250 Kbit of peak data per
second. This edition is available for free from
our trial
downloads area.
Personal Edition
The Flash Communication Server Personal Edition is
meant to be used as a development platform and
on very small-scale production sites. The Personal
Edition can support up to 50 simultaneous connections
and serve 1 Mbit of data per second. This product
will be available for purchase
in our online store
on April 1, 2003 for $499.
You can run multiple versions of (stack) the Personal
Edition in order to get increased bandwidth and connections.
However, you will have to purchase a license for
each server you are running and you can only stack
up to five Personal Editions. The Personal Edition
provides e-mail technical support for installation
issues only.
Professional Edition
The Flash Communication Server Professional Edition
is the production level version of the Flash Communication
Server. It can support up to 2,500 simultaneous
connections and serve 10 Mbit of data per second.
In addition, it can also be used with virtual websites,
which the Personal Edition cannot. You can purchase
the Flash Communication Server Professional Edition in our online store on April 1, 2003 for $4,500.
You can increase the capacity of the Professional
Edition by stacking multiple copies of the Professional
Edition in the same manner as you can with the Personal
Edition.
90-Day Unlimited Capacity Pack
If you need to host a short-term event or need extra
capacity for a time where you are anticipating
peak usage, then consider the 90-Day Unlimited
Capacity Pack. This Capacity Pack adds on to the
Professional Edition of the Flash Communication
Server and allows you to connect and stream to
as many users has your hardware will permit.
You can purchase the 90-Day Unlimited Capacity Pack
in our online store on April 1, 2003 for $7,500.
Educational version
Educational versions of all of these editions are
available for qualified students and teachers on
our online store.
Resources
Once you have figured out which version of the Flash Communication Server is
best for your project, check out these resources to help get you started:
Macromedia
Flash Communication Server MX Application Development
Center
Read technical articles and white papers that describe how to use the new product.
Macromedia Flash Communication Server MX product
page and FAQ
Get a product overview, feature tour, and purchase information.
Synchronizing
a Macromedia Flash presentation to streaming
video
See how Odopod built Jeremy Allaire's executive presentation that's currently
live on macromedia.com.
Macromedia
Flash Communication Server online forum
Discuss Flash Communication Server with other developers.
XML Feed Update
We have updated the Macromedia XML Resource Feed
to add support for the
Macromedia Flash Communication Server. You can read
about the changes and the XML feed in the Macromedia
DevNet XML Feed article.
| 
