Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/799353
8 STORAGE SOLUTIONS MARCH 2017 STORAGE SOLUTIONS "It's happening even in small post houses," he says, prompting post production professionals "to look for ways to integrate SANs with a larger network environment." Facilis products "make that very easy," McKenna says, with features developed "around in- dustry-standard software and client interfaces that are easier for IT to get their heads around." Additionally, Facilis's new Web Console soft- ware interface, available across its TerraBlock and Hub product lines, offers browser-based Web man- agement. "It's a modernized interface that en- ables new features for administration and manage- ment of volumes and users, and monitoring of system performance that you can't get from most of our com- petition in the premium shared storage market," says McKenna. "It also removes some limitations — the number of mounted volumes and the number of con- nected users are now unlimited." Another trend he sees among storage customers is realizing they need "some kind of asset management system" to aid them in working with files, moving files and tracking files, McKenna reports. "People held off getting asset management systems because they felt it would change the way they work. Our FastTracker is a simple but comprehensive application for catalog- ing, searching and accessing media. It's included with every TerraBlock system and it doesn't require users to revamp their entire workflow." FastTracker first shipped in early 2016. Looking ahead, McKenna says customers doing VR and AR production with 360-degree immersive video need to handle very high bit rate, loss-less compres- sion. "We want to be ahead of the curve when it comes to that," McKenna says. "We previewed 8K vir- tual reality playback at IBC last year." G-TECHNOLOGY Much of G-Technology's (www.g-technology.com) storage portfolio uses hard-drive and SSD technology to deliver high-capacity, high-performance solutions to the creative community. That mix of storage media still offers the best approach for customers who are "handling 4K and 6K workflows, high frame rates and using HDR in production," notes Greg Crosby, world- wide senior product line manager. G-Technology's Evolution Series Ecosystem features various drive modules in different configurations, which operate as standalone drives or plug into several docking solutions. "What's been exciting for us is partner- ing with companies that are taking high resolutions and high frame rates to the next level," Crosby says. G-Technolo- gy teamed with Red to build the ev Series Reader Red MINI- MAG edition, showcased at NAB last year. The reader optimizes workflow for Red shooters by transferring content quickly from Red MINI-MAG media onto an ev Series-compatible drive. A new partnership with Atomos, whose solutions merge video recording, monitoring and playback in a single touchscreen device, now streamlines the Atomos workflow, too. G-Technology's Atomos Master Caddy inserts directly into any Atomos-compatible re- corder. Then it slides into the ev Series Reader Atomos Master Caddy Edition to transfer footage and quickly turn around formatted media. Crosby promises that G-Technology's booth at NAB 2017 will demonstrate how the company applies the technology in its portfolio and best implements new interface technologies, such as Thunderbolt 3 and USB Type-C, for customers. "We're excited about those new interfaces and the ability to provide solutions with a big enough pipe to move data quickly and play back content in larger creative ecosystems using high-quali- ty displays," he says. G-Technology has a reputation for listening to its customers "from consumers to the big studios," Crosby notes. The company reaches out regularly to its G-Team of brand ambassadors, which includes noted director/DP Vincent Laforet. "We ask what they're up to, how they're pushing the limits, what challenges they're facing," Crosby explains. "Our brand continues to deliver solutions customers are looking for. Customers embrace the value we bring to professional workflows." At NAB last year, G-Technology showed G|RACK, a rack-mounted video editing storage product focused on collaborative post production. The G|RACK 12 provides a 120TB high-performance NAS solution that streamlines 4K and above workflows. "It's a fast networking device for collaboration," says Crosby. "It's easily scalable as needs change and users require the ability to grow their storage capacity." Up to 500TB of usable storage may be achieved by adding four G|RACK EXP 120TB expansion chassis units to the server. G-Technology's Evolution Series