Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/336911
42 Post • June 2014 www.postmagazine.com storage update S UNNYVALE, CA — NetApp (www.netapp.com), a storage and data management solutions company, has a number of recent announcements that extend the company's media workflow offerings for post operations. For shared media services as well as mixed production, processing and distribution workloads, Release 8.1 of the company's DataOnTap operating system allows post users to scale out a single storage cluster into the 10s of petabytes. Single volumes can scale to 20 petabytes. NetApp clusters now offer non-disruptive operation and upgrades. The NetApp E-Series modular storage systems, which include bandwidth for 2K, 4K, S3D, and HFR post production workflows, have recently added a storage resiliency scheme called Dynamic Disk Pools (DDP), which spreads data, spare capacity, and pro- tection information across a pool of drives to facilitate data rebuilds of up to eight times the speed of traditional RAID storage devices. And during these shortened rebuilds, the sys- tem performs at up to 97 percent of its normal performance. NetApp also entered the all-flash array market earlier this year with the EF540 storage array, which provides sub- millisecond latency for data. Hundreds of these arrays have now been placed into metadata and media database storage where low-latency to files is mission-critical to either media production or distribution workflows. Facilis TerraBlock helps CODA keep pace with TV editorial demands W EST MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — CODA (www.coda. tv), an Australian-based facility that provides a range of services spanning production, post, multi-system edit solutions for hire and audio finishing, is currently relying on two newly- purchased Facilis (www.facilis.com) TerraBlock 24D shared storage systems to power its operations. The company lever- ages the systems to accelerate editorial in-house as well as for its rental customers. CODA managing director Rob Peile had been in search of a solution that could push 26 streams of DNxHD120 in multicam mode to multiple systems concurrently when deciding on Faci- lis' TerraBlock. "Our former system served us well for day-to- day applications, but our producers wanted more; they wanted Avid-compatible storage that could keep up with the fast- paced world of editorial," he explains. "With capacity, speed and price all major factors, and endorsements from our tech specialist Cactus Resolutions and reseller Blonde Robot, we went with TerraBlock and haven't looked back." CODA just completed an installation of 19 workstations con- nected to TerraBlock via 10GB optical and 1GB copper that run an array of creative applications — allowing editors to seamlessly share project files created in Avid Media Compos- er, Apple Final Cut Pro and Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve. Using the system, CODA's team and clients can digitize and compress footage simultaneously, and work at online resolu- tions to deliver straight to TV. Atto adds Thunderbolt 2 to ThunderLink Desklink devices A MHERST, NY — Atto Technology (www.attotech.com), a storage, network con- nectivity and infrastructure solutions company for data-intensive computing environments, has introduced the newest extension of the Desklink family featuring Thunderbolt 2. With transfer speeds of 20Gbps, Atto Thunderbolt 2 ThunderLink Desklink devices are intended to deliver accelerated access to external storage and networks for I/O-demanding applications. According to Atto, its ThunderLink Desklink device enables reliable access to data intensive applications such as 2K, 4K and 3D stereoscopic film, multiple layers of complex, uncompressed realtime effects, and high-definition video and audio editing. Atto Desklink devices are designed to enable today's small form factor plat- forms to connect into high-performance storage and networks, including SAS, SATA, Fibre Channel or Ethernet infrastructures, and to allow access to enterprise- level data center networks. To ensure cross-compatibility, Atto Thunderbolt 2 prod- ucts have multiple operating system, port and driver options. Atto's Thunderbolt 2 ThunderLink series includes the ThunderLink FC 2162 Thun- derbolt 2 to 16Gb Fibre Channel Desklink device, the ThunderLink NS 2102 Thun- derbolt 2 to 10GbE (SFP+ LC optical) Desklink device, and the ThunderLink NT 2102 Thunderbolt 2 to 10GBASE-T (RJ45 copper) Desklink Device. Promise intros Thunderbolt 2 solutions M ILPITAS, CA — Promise Technology (www.promise.com) recently introduced three new Thunderbolt 2 and shared storage devices that are designed for creative professionals. Pegasus2 M4 builds on the success of the company's Pega- sus2 and serves as a Thunderbolt 2 hardware RAID storage solution. Featuring a compact design, the 2.5-inch HDD/SSD Thunderbolt 2 Pegasus2 M4 external RAID works with the new Mac Pro and is well suited for pros who work offsite or in studios. Promise's VTrak G1100 NAS Gateway provides 10Gb Ethernet access to the VTrak A3800 shared storage appliance, allowing multiple users to simultaneously edit video. The VTrak G1100 NAS Gateway is a 1U file server with 8Gb FC front end and 10GbE dual port back end connectivity, which provides simplicity by using the same single storage management software as the VTrak A3800. The Promise SAN- Link2 10G is a Thunderbolt 2 10GBaseT bridge adapter that connects a Mac Pro or any Thunderbolt 2-enabled Mac to high performance 10Gb Ethernet networks. NetApp extends media workflow offerings