-
CatDV plug-in for Cache-A skipping files
So we thought we finally had this solved but no dice. We are attempting back up footage from CatDV to our Cache-A system through the CatDV plug-in (Tools > Archive Media Files).
We select a group of files (about 1.2 TB) and everything appears to happening normally. CatDV copies the files across the network to the Cache-A Vtape and Cache-A starts writing. Several hours later when the job is done, Cache-A and CatDV report the correct amount (down the to MB) written to tape.
However, the CatDV catalog shows large groups of files as not being written to the Cache-A. I can see this by looking at the Archive Details, Archive Tape and Archive summary fields- they’re blank. There doesn’t seem to be any discernable pattern. If I search through Cache-A’s catalogs for a file that CatDV shows was not backed up, it doesn’t come up in the Cache-A catalog search. If I search for one that the fields report was written to the Vtape then it is found by Cache-A. So I know this is real and not some reporting error. I’ve also looked through what is in the tape and it is always agrees with the catalog from CatDV.
Likewise, if I look at the Vtape and I can see that the clips that CatDV lists as not archived are not in the Vtape either… so they never were copied. This says to me that for some reason CatDV is “skipping” them.
Even more odd, if I do another backup job and “pick up” everything that was missed during the first job and add more (to equal 1.2 TB) then missing files from the first round ALL make it but CatDV will drop files from the “new round”… so it’s not that it can’t copy them it’s just not.
We’ve also done tests where we’ve dumped 1.2 TB or more through the network (without CatDV) into temporary directory, waited for it all to arrive and then dropped it on the Vtape. Everytime we do this the Cache-A write all the files as it should (of course we destroy the connection to CatDV this way making the method useless). This, in my mind, reinforces the idea that there is something wrong with the CatDV plug-in and not Cache-A.
We are so tired of banging our heads on the wall with this (two years and counting)… Our integrator who promised that this worked “great” before we plopped down the money has flown the coop (they lost their CatDV guy) and doesn’t respond to any of our requests for help. If anyone has insight into this issue we would greatly appreciate it.
Details:
CatDV 9.0 Enterprise
48 TB shared storage
Mac file system, Mac CatDV server, Mac clients
Cache-A has the latest software available -
6 Replies
-
I can put you in touch with our integrator who is based out of Toronto. Very knowledgeable. We just set up a 48tb server with CatDV and Cache-A LTO5.
Lee
SAMDOG Digital Post
Calgary, Alberta
Mac Pro 2.66 12-core 16gb ram • FSI LM1760W Monitor • Matrox MX02 • Caldigit HD One 8tb Raid • Avid Artist Transport • Media Composer 6 • Final Cut Studio 3 • Premiere Pro CS5• Living my life one frame at a time •
-
Hey Lee,
We’d love to have their contact info.
Are you able to use the CatDV / Cache-A plugin to write and recall footage from LTO? Can you give us an idea of how that happens in your workflow?
Also, what versions of CatDV and Cache-A are you on?
Jeff
-
Jeff,
I thought I could email you direct through the forum but I couldn’t find the icon to do that. If you can get your email to me I will send you his contact info.
During the initial setup by the integrator, the archive to LTO was tested for archive and retrieval from CatDV and worked with no issues. I am waiting on a CatDV update that will allow to view all un-archived elements across all catalogs before I start using it. For now I just do safety backups to the Cache-A VTape directory.
CatDV 10.01 on the desktops. Cache-A is 2.1.17.
-
Lee,
I’d be very interested to hear how it actually works for you in a real life setting. We are having all sorts of grief and have tried to get it working for about two years. At times it worked flawlessly on small groups of clips but falls apart on large, real world jobs.
Along the way, I’ll mention that you can actually see what files have or have not been archived by doing a query on the “archive details” and/or “archive summary” fields. These fields are blank before the clip is written to LTO and then have data in them after it has happened (what tape it went too, etc.). That is a quick way we’ve used to pull up what is or isn’t archived. But, maybe this wouldn’t suit your particular needs…
Thanks,
Jeff -
Jeff,
Apparently you can only view the archive status one catalog at a time. What I needed was the ability to view all un-archived material across all catalogs. According to our integrator there was a bug that prevented that. Square Box told him that would be fixed in next patch.
In terms of experience with CatDV I have to say we just got it going in December 2012. I’ve had issues with CatDV locking up on graphic files when I’ve tried to bulk load legacy elements necessitating a restart and loss of elements cataloged before the fail. I’ve also had problems with cataloged XDCAM EX cards when trying to do re-links in Avid via the MME utility. Both previous issues have been reported to Square Box and it looks like they are working on a solution. Proxy creation is slow but I guess that comes down to not asking the right questions when we got the initial quote. We may deploy another computer in the future to offload proxies to.
But I can’t say it’s unusable. It gives us a safe media vault that is backed up that all producers/editors can access.
Our integrator was Sebastien Bertrand out of Toronto. He is active on this forum.
-
Jeff,
One other thing that I’ve found out recently (last hour) is that you can only drop a minor amount of files directly into a CatDV catalog at a time. 100-300 seems to be the range for the max. For any major imports you need to set up automation using the Worker client which sits on your media server and costs extra.
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up