This advanced software requires 2 types of hosting (compulsory):

• a HTTP Web Server hosting plan for the regular website features and
• a RTMP Flash Media Server hosting plan (usually on a different special server) for video streaming and other instant communication required between chat clients

Resources on a streaming server are more expensive and that's a reason why the software was designed to use a standard web server for the rest of the features (like file sharing) making it more affordable to run and easier to integrate with most sites already built.

This architecture makes it 100% web based and very easy to run for your website users, without software downloads and installations, no matter what type of computer they are using. Read here more details about the platform benefits.

• HTTP Web Hosting
  
  • PHP (The PHP implementation is simple so it can be migrated to other scripting languages like ASP or JSP).
    Provided php sample scripts require these default php settings:
    • error_reporting E_ALL  ^ E_NOTICE
    • short_open_tag On
  • MySQL (not required for the php only stand alone simple integration)
• RTMP Flash Media Server Hosting
  VideoWhisper rtmp application is developed and supported for these types servers:
  • Flash Media Interactive Server (FCS1.5 -FMIS3.5)
    or
  • Red5 - Open Source Server (v0.7-0.9+ with JDK6)
    or
  • Wowza Media Server (v2 with JDK6)
• RTMFP hosting (optional, for enabling P2P connectivity)
  Get a free rtmfp address by registering with Adobe Cirrus .

• Web browser with Flash 10+ flash plugin . To get latest flash player plugin version, download latest flash player from http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/ . For developers and site owners we recommend flash player debugger versions.
• Decent internet connection (for streaming bandwidth requirements). Because a regular video stream uses 50kb/s (400kbps) or more at least a stable 1Mbps symmetric connection would be required to participate in a 2 way video chat session (upload a stream and download a stream). For ADSL a very good connection is required to stream video due to upload restrictions - read more about ADSL broadcasting issues.
• Firewall settings (if a firewall is enabled): Clients need to be able to make connections over these ports:
  • 1935 TCP = RTMP/E : Flash Player and AIR clients make RTMP connections to Flash Media Server over port 1935 over TCP.
  • 1935 UDP = RTMFP : Flash Player and AIR clients make RTMFP connections to Flash Media Server over port 1935 over UDP.
  • 19350-65535 UDP = RTMFP : Clients connect to the server over 1935 and the server redirects the client to a port between 19350 and 65535. Allow inbound UDP traffic on 1935 and outbound traffic on ports 19350 - 65535.

The hardware configuration depends very much on the number of website members and visitors and also on website settings and target, so we cannot give you exact requirements. The most important thing is rtmp server connectivity.
We recommend servers with 100Mbps or 1000Mbps ports in well connected data centers (that have gigabyte connections with several providers).

A dedicated 100Mbps connection can host in theory a maximum of 200 streams at 512kbps each.
Number of users depends on communication logic.
If there are 2 way private video chat rooms where each user sees 1 other video and transmits 1 video, 2 streams per user will be required.
If there are video conference rooms where each user transmits 1 video and sees other 3 videos, 4 streams per user will be required.

To host hundreds or thousands of streams under 512kbps simultaneously, servers with 1000Mbps connection and 4-8 Gb RAM are required. It's important to have the server in a reputable data center with many connections so all your users can connect to the server at good speed, from their different networks and providers.

RTMP hosting uses servers intensely so regular providers will not allow this with shared web hosting plans. You can usually host rtmp with your regular host if you have a VPS or Dedicated Server. Otherwise you'll need a special rtmp hosting plan in addition to your regular web hosting.

VideoWhisper RTMP side applications are developed and supported in versions for these flash media servers:

• Flash Media Interactive Server
  This is the native server developed by Adobe for use with flash. You can buy the Flash Media Interactive Server software from Adobe and install it on your web server, or you can buy FMIS hosting from a company specialized on this platform. Unless your business is very big and you have your own servers and server staff, we recommend ordering a FMIS hosting plan from a FMIS hosting provider.
  We offer managed rtmp fmis hosting plans for our customers. These include full FMIS installation, including deployment of the asc file(s) and setup of the required flash media server permissions.
  
  
• Red5 Open Source Server
  Red5 is an open source Flash RTMP server written in Java. It is the free solution to host RTMP if you have your own dedicated/semi-dedicated server or VPS.
  Latest version is recommended. VideoWhisper was tested with Red5 versions 0.7, 0.8, 0.9 and 1.0+. We offer Red5 installation services and managed premium red5 hosting. These services include setup and management of the rtmp application.
  Latest Red5 can be downloaded for free from http://code.google.com/p/red5/ . It includes binary auto installers and also java source. There are various online tutorials for setting up red5 on multiple linux flavors like for Centos , Ubuntu .
  Red5 versions we tested are not recommended for recordings (create broken flv files in some situations).
  
  
• Wowza Media Server 2
  High-performance, extensible and a fully interactive Flash® media server. Buy Wowza Media Server 2 or download the free developer edition limited to 10 connections by registering on their website.
  We offer Wowza Media Server hosting plans required for intense streaming sites.

Disclaimer: RTMP servers are not developed, supported or documented by VideoWhisper.com . Documentation is available from their official websites listed above. VideoWhisper staff can assist with installation of rtmp servers (on request, for additional fees), limited to existing experience with these.

Unless you have your own well connected vps or dedicated server, for best price for bandwidth and most settings with videowhisper rtmp applications we recommend Red5 Hosting.
For production sites with intense streaming where service stability is a priority we recommend Wowza Media Server hosting.

Red5 is an open source flash media server being continuously developed.

The procedure for installing and configuring this server varies depending operating system and flavor. There are multiple tutorials and topics online about Red5 installation but most of these are outdated and reference old versions.
VideoWhisper provides this service: Latest Red5 installation on VPS & Dedicated Servers (Linux / Windows).

When installing yourself you should check latest version available on http://code.google.com/p/red5/ . Installers are already available for some OS versions including Windows and Red5 final versions / release candidates.There are some requirements for installing Red5 like latest JDK.

To install latest you need to download and compile latest java build.

Some tutorials:
Red5 Centos Linux Installation
Red5 Unbuntu Linux Installation

Basically, before running these products with Red5 on a server, you need to install latest JDK from http://java.sun.com/javase/downloads/index.jsp , latest Red5 from http://code.google.com/p/red5/ and latest VideoWhisper RTMP application as explained on http://www.videowhisper.com/?p=RTMP+Applications .