| AlphaDogs
Make Plug-and-Play Shared Storage Work
Based
in L.A., boutique facility AlphaDogs provides post services to such
clients as The Learning Channel, The Discovery Channel and Spike TV. In
order to streamline productivity and reduce costs, they've put together
an impressive infrastructure, with the ability to move HD files around
the facility using Gigabit Ethernet and optical fibre-channel
connectivity. But it wasn't always this easy.
Terence
Curren, president of AlphaDogs, said the biggest hurdle to HD production
and its inherent large file sizes was finding and implementing a
networked, shared storage system that would replace the existing, often
slow workflow of kludged-together local storage arrays. Files were
routinely transferred from one room to another via removable media
drives, fibre drives and a fibre patch bay. Can you say "sneakernet?"
As
the demand for HD increased, projects often shut down the network so
that data could be manually patched into another room. To solve the
bottleneck problem, Curren and his team chose the TerraBlock SAN system
from Facilis Technology. TerraBlock combines intelligent
drive-management software with SATA II drives and optical connections.
The
base unit combines the server, storage and direct connections for fibre
clients, which in most cases avoids the need for an expensive external
switch. The TerraBlock 24D model offers 6 to 12 TB of capacity to
support up to 16 simultaneous editors working at 1:1 (SD) or two
uncompressed 1080i 10-bit HD editors, plus several graphics
workstations.
Facilis
Technology also offers several turnkey plug-and-play versions of its
Windows-based TerraBlock hardware/software system. The 3.2 TB two-user
system (with client cards), sells for under $18,000, a 4.8 TB four-user
System runs under $30,000; and a 12 TB six-user system lists for
$60,000.
Alphadogs'
Apple Final Cut Pro HD PowerMac G5 workstation and a pair of Avid
Symphony Universal suites now reside on the TerraBlock shared network
storage, and Curren's staff couldn't be happier. With the TerraBlock as
the backbone, there's now enough throughput for the FCP editor to move
10-bit 4:4:4 uncompressed HD files with ease. And HD business has
expanded, because Alphadogs can now handle more projects in less time.
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