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MillimeterDI Tech: NAS for DI
Apr 1, 2004 12:00 PM, By Dan Ochiva
Maximum Throughput (Max-T) argues that the aggregate speed of a networked storage system — as well as hewing to accepted industry standards for hardware components, networking, and system software — holds down costs on DI work. Since the company doesn't require buyers to use personnel or proprietary parts for servicing, says John Miller, vice president for sales and marketing, buyers can find competitive pricing from a larger pool of qualified support tech, which lowers the total cost of ownership.
Claimed as the “world's fastest” NAS device, the network attached storage system delivers some 180MBps over standard TCP/IP Ethernet links, according to the Montreal-based company. Recent buyers for its Sledgehammer NAS system include Digital Domain, REZN8, PostWorks, and London's The Moving Picture Company.
PostWorks New York, for example, recently purchased a Sledgehammer HD!O system to manage its growing volume of encoding chores, which includes the digitizing and loading of DPX files for DI work. (The HD!O version adds realtime HD/SD video capture, playback, and recording.) PostWorks CEO Billy Baldwin says that “Sledgehammer undid the bottleneck” for handling the company's current range of projects, which include long-form work that was tying up a Quantel iQ for simple encode jobs. Running a 14,000-frame test that fed images to PostWorks's ArriLaser, Baldwin clocked the setup as some two hours faster to complete the task, as compared to output from the Quantel iQ's Dylan array. For PostWorks, says Baldwin, it makes more sense to liberate the iQ for more profitable work.
For DI, getting more flexible storage gear is key for holding down costs. An NAS system — whether from Max-T or other vendors — handles multiple protocols, including Mac, Windows, Linux, and Unix, right out of the box. Using a web-based interface for control, as well as standard Gigabit Ethernet cards, also cuts down on the cost and complexity.
In April, Maximum Throughput made its systems even more able to work in mixed environments with the announcement that it bought out Xstoner technology from Light, a France-based production house and software developer. Xstoner technology is client-server software connecting Windows and Mac-based workstations to Discreet's stone storage arrays. Now, users on less expensive Win/Mac machines can browse, import, and export images and movies that exist on Discreet's Fire, Flame, Inferno, and other products.
