Streaming Content Through Firewalls

This section discusses the process of getting streaming content through firewalls. Most firewalls block MMS-TCP/UDP traffic, as shown in Figure 10.

Figure 10
MMS-TCP/UDP Traffic Is Blocked by Most Firewalls

MMS-HTTP requests, on the other hand, pass through most firewalls, as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11
MMS Traffic Passes Through Most Firewalls

Figure 11 illustrates why MMS in HTTP is widely used for MMS streaming on the Web. The MMS-HTTP packets pass through most firewalls, and the MMS data embedded in the packets lets the Windows Media players communicate with the streaming servers.