Portfolio includes the ability to catalog all kinds of assets and convert to JPG, TIFF, DNG, and MrSID formats. With more Media Engines, you can extend Portfolio to support a wider variety of file conversions, add watermarks to assets in Portfolio NetPublish, and configure external stand-alone Media Engine systems.

Configuring an external Media Engine is optional but recommended if users will be routinely cataloging or converting video or GIS assets.

Adding a Media Engine license

To find how many Media Engines you have licenses for, look at the Status page in Portfolio Administration. The second panel, showing the Portfolio version and licensed components, also shows how many Media Engines you are using (and how many licenses you have in total).

To add a license for another Media Engine, contact your Customer Success Manager at Extensis. Once the transaction is complete, the Media Engine count in the Status page should reflect this. If it doesn’t reflect this immediately, you can refresh the information. See Adding more features.

Installing the Media Engine software

Note: Since Portfolio includes a built-in Media Engine, the Portfolio Media Engine installer doesn’t let you install it on the same computer with Portfolio.

Follow these steps to install and configure an external Media Engine:

1. Verify the system requirements.

   The Media Engine system has the same requirements as the Portfolio server system. See System requirements.

2. Install prerequisite software on your Media Engine system.

   You should install the Adobe DNG Converter so that Portfolio can export Camera Raw images in Adobe’s Digital Negative (DNG) format.

   Note: To install prerequisite software on macOS, log in to the Media Engine computer using the same account that you will use to install and run the Portfolio Media Engine.

3. Install the Media Engine software.

   Download the installer for your platform from Portfolio 4 Support. Run the installer and follow the on-screen prompts.

   If you are installing the Media Engine on a Windows server, use the same Domain User account that you used when you installed Portfolio.

Network access for Media Engines

The Media Engine system has to have read/write access to all locations where you store assets. For a macOS Media Engine, make sure to mount all network storage locations so the Media Engine can access them.

By default, Portfolio communicates with Media Engines using port 9877. Windows networking (SMB) uses port 445, and Apple Filling Protocol (AFP) uses port 548 by default. Make sure these ports are open on your Portfolio system and all Media Engine systems.

Configuring external Media Engines

The Media Engines panel in the Portfolio Administration application indicates the number of Media Engine seats available. If all your Media Engines are external to Portfolio, you will need to disable the built-in Media Engine.

To disable the default Media Engine:

1. Click Global Settings, then click Media Engines.

2. Clear the Active status for the localhost Media Engine.

3. Dismiss the warning message indicating that you don’t have a Media Engine enabled.

You are now ready to add and enable external Media Engines.

To add a Media Engine to Portfolio:

1. Click Global Settings, then click Media Engines.

2. Click Add .

3. In the Add New Media Engine dialog, enter the Address and Port of the Media Engine system.

   The default port for external Media Engines is 9877.

4. Enable the Active option for the Media Engine and click Add.

   Note: If you don’t enable the Active option, Portfolio won’t use that Media Engine for processing tasks.

5. To test the connection to the new Media Engine, click Test.

Updating port settings for external Media Engines

The default port used by external Media Engines is port 9877. You can change this.

To change the Media Engine port:

1. Open the server.xml file with TextEdit (Mac) or Notepad (Windows) from the following location on the Media Engine system:

   Windows: C:\Program Files\Extensis\Portfolio\Media Engine\applications\tomcat\servers\media-delegate\conf\

   Mac: /Applications/Extensis/Portfolio/Media Engine/applications/tomcat/servers/media-delegate/conf/

2. Locate the following block of text in the server.xml file. (Be aware that there’s a similar section of code that’s commented out; be sure to edit the correct text.)

   • <Connector port="9877"

     • protocol="HTTP/1.1"

     • connectionTimeout="20000"

     • redirectPort="8443" />

   Replace the port value (9877 by default) with the desired value.

3. Save the server.xml file and restart the Media Engine.

If you change the port for one external Media Engine, you must change it for all systems, and also replace the Media Engine definition in Portfolio Administration.

To replace the Media Engine:

1. Click Global Settings, then click Media Engines.

2. Deactivate the Media Engine that you will replace.

   Make a note of the Media Engine’s address.

3. Click Add .

4. Enter the Address of the original Media Engine, enter the updated Port, then click Add.

5. Activate the new Media Engine, then click Test.

6. If your new Media Engine is working correctly, then select the original Media Engine and click Remove .

Restarting external Media Engines

Administrators may restart external Media Engines independently of Portfolio.

To restart an external Media Engine on Windows:

1. In Portfolio Administration, click Global Settings, then click Media Engines.

2. Clear the Active option for the Media Engine that you want to restart.

3. On the Media Engine system, open the Services browser by choosing Start > Administrative Tools > Services.

4. Locate the Portfolio Media Engine service in the list and click Restart Service on the toolbar.

5. After the service has started, return to the Administration application. From the Media Engines page, enable the Media Engine.

To stop and start an external Media Engine on Mac:

1. In Portfolio Administration, click Global Settings, then click Media Engines.

2. Clear the Active option for the Media Engine that you want to restart.

3. Open the Terminal application (inside the Utilities folder in the Applications folder).

4. Using a macOS Administrator account on the Media Engine system, enter the following command to stop the Media Engine:

   • sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.extensis.portfolio.server.media.delegate.plist

5. When prompted, enter your system administrator password.

6. Enter the following command to start the Media Engine:

   • sudo launchctl load /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.extensis.portfolio.server.media.delegate.plist

7. Return to the Administration application. From the Media Engines page, enable the Media Engine.