A data server for use in networks in which media signals are transmitted as digital signals in packet form comprises at least one shelf having at least one card whose purposes are to provide a shelf controller function and a media processor function, together with a plurality of backplane buses. The data server accesses media signals in packet form. Distributed software is distributed in the cards on the shelf, and consists of a modular software architecture having a transport layer, a media processing layer, a session control layer, and a management plane which spans across the other layers. A plurality of digital signal processors has a plurality of dynamically changeable discrete software objects so as to process packets of media data. The management plane provisions and monitors the operations of said data server, and gives alarms in keeping with predetermined criteria. There is at least one connection interface to a packet network from which media signals in media form are received. The distributed software architecture media processing layer includes a software manager for initializing, coordinating, and controlling the plurality of discrete software objects embedded in the plurality of digital signal processors