Access Control and Authorization

In general, every input and output needs to be pre-defined in the Inputs and Outputs screens of the Zixi software components before the connection/streaming. These settings include a variety of parameters for the stream, such as the Stream ID,  and may include authentication parameters such as password. However, it is also possible to allow automatic connection of Push inputs and Pull outputs without defining them in advance. The streams will appear in the Inputs/Outputs screen automatically when the connection is established.

The automatic connection settings include the following modes (in Settings > Authorization screen):

• Allow Automatic Push Inputs - if this checkbox is selected, the Zixi Broadcaster will automatically create an input stream each time it receives a push stream from a source. If the checkbox is NOT selected, Push input streams must be pre-defined and the Zixi Feeders should match the defined Stream ID and password before connecting.
• Allow Automatic Pull Outputs – if this checkbox is selected, any Zixi Receiver that requests a Pull output will be granted access. If the checkbox is NOT selected, Pull-output entry must be pre-defined with Stream ID, Password, and the ID of the target receiver to allow each pull connection.
• Global Password – another automatic connection option is through a “global password”. This is a single password that will be used for all access requests. Any Zixi Feeder or Zixi Player that passes this password can connect, without the need to pre-define the input/output.
• Linux Users – this automatic connection option uses the built-in authorization of the operating system. In this case, Zixi Players will need to pass a valid username/password that is defined in the OS.
• HTTP Server – this automatic connection uses an external HTTP web server to handle the authentication. On each connection attempt, HTTP request is sent to an external web server to handle the authentication, with stream ID, password, and requesting IP address.
• Users File - 
• Text File - this automatic connection uses a text file containing the connection configuration. For input streams, the file contains the stream name and password. For output streams, the file contains the stream name, user and password of the viewer.
• Stream access - This automatic connection is for access authorization on the stream level. In this case, the password needs to be the same as the password to access the stream.
• Redirector auth - NOT IN USE.

The automatic connection settings should be used with caution. It shouldn’t be enabled unless you can ensure all connections originate from a trusted source.

To define automatic connection settings:

1. In the Zixi Broadcaster navigation, click Settings.
2. In the Settings navigation, click Authorization.
3. If you would like to enable automatic Push inputs and/or automatic Pull outputs, select None from the dropdown list in the Type field, then do the following:
   1. To enable Automatic Push Inputs, select the Allow Automatic Push Inputs checkbox.
   2. To enable Automatic Pull Outputs, select the Allow Automatic Pull Outputs checkbox.
4. If you want to activate one of the available methods for automatic authorization (described above), select the desired method from the dropdown list in the Type field, then do the following:
   1. In the Parameter field, enter the relevant parameter for the selected authorization type.
   2. If you would like to allow access by user folders, click Separate user folders.
5. Click Apply.
   A confirmation dialog is displayed.
   
6. Click OK.