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BITS & PIECES www.postmagazine.com 14 POST JAN/FEB 2021 or large-scale media produc- tion, Fibre Channel has been, and still is, a superior option for storage infrastructure performance and reli- ability. From feature-length animations created solely in the digital realm and spectacular new effects to background replacement and even clean-up work on traditional film, the need for more and more workstations and artists exploded in the 1990s. The only technology that could handle the load digital workflows imposed on storage networks was Fibre Channel, and so that technology reigned for nearly two decades. Ethernet has been catching up and, because it costs less to create a storage network based on Ethernet technology, its popularity is soaring. Still, to be as useful as Fibre Channel for streaming environments, Ethernet needs a little help. Manufacturers often employ back- ground processes and highly-specialized optimizations to ensure the high-perfor- mance, low latency streaming so critical to media production. Atto Technology (atto.com) has been a principal provider of network and storage connectivity since the digital revolution began in Hollywood. Our expertise in the media and entertainment industry has made us a premier choice of connectivity for just about any kind of digital media environment. So, it should be no surprise that Atto has been working to advance the utility of Ethernet for studios and art- ists who prefer to use Ethernet over Fibre Channel. We have developed both hardware and software Ethernet technologies op- timized specifically for film, broadcasting and media pro- duction. In addition, through key partnerships and certifica- tions, Atto is paving the way to making high-performance Ethernet a reality for those of us who aren't computer engineers. As an example, we recently announced Atto FastFrame Smart Ethernet Adapter certifications for Avid NEXIS and NEXIS|Pro storage, making us one of the only vendors with Avid-certified 40GbE and 10GbE connectivi- ty across MacOS, Windows and Linux. It's an essential partnership for Avid custom- ers who want to ensure the very best performance from their systems with the least amount of time involved in set-up and troubleshooting. Additionally, there is Atto 360 tuning, monitoring and analytics software, which is a boon for anyone who needs a network capable of intensive workloads but has no idea how to set it up. Atto 360 was created to tune and opti- mize Ethernet networks automatically, targeting these adjustments to specific environments, like media production, and is very easy to use. It gets even better because we have worked with Avid and Dell to create pro- files for those manufacturers' hardware that are implemented by literally just hitting a button. For instance, if you use Dell Technologies OneFS for your media libraries and have Atto FastFrame Smart NICs, you can load up Atto 360, select "Dell" and 360 automatically optimizes the network for you. Atto is routinely updating 360 and Version 2.1 will be released very soon, with an even more significant Version 3.0 update due before July. Finally, with the additional speed of PCIe 4.0, it's worthy to note that Atto FastFrame Smart NICs, along with their Fibre Channel and SAS HBAs, are starting to spread through their OEMs and will be made available through resellers as market conditions warrant. ATTO TECHNOLOGY ADVANCING UTILITY OF ETHERNET BY RICHARD ROOT DIGITAL MARKETING SPECIALIST ATTO TECHNOLOGY ATTO.COM F CSSMUSIC.com SIMPLY BETTER! ROYALTY FREE MUSIC $ 199 800-468-6874 Better License - Better Value 100 PRE-PAID DOWNLOADS Post-CSS-12-2020.qrk_Layout 1 12/4/20 11:58 AM Page 1