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NAS / DAS or SAN for Small Studio
Hello all,
This question might come up a few times in different variations so please excuse that but here we go.
So i’m setting up a small production outfit, the main viewing / editing bays will be split across two different compounds, imagine two back to back houses.My current setup utilises 2014 Mac Pros in both spaces and the only evolution planned will be along these lines, perhaps incorporating IMacs and such. We’ll be using Adobe Premiere + FCP and shooting projects in the 2k-4k res range (more of the former but likely some of the latter)
What i’m after is the best sub $5k setup that allows for an editor to move between the places, have access to a media library, assets, project files and such, which will allow for scratch usage and online editing with as little latency as possible. NAS w/ Gbit Ethernet, DAS, SAN (show me the money??) Thunderbolt vs USB 3 decisions decisions.. Not sure.
These are the immediate options i’m currently thinking about, I would very much appreciate some input or suggestions.
https://www.amazon.com/Drobo-Gen-Attached-Storage-DDR3A21/dp/B00JLR8IZ2
We already have a Pegasus R2 running on a Raid 5 that will be used as a local drive.
Many thanks and wishing you inspired creativity.
x posted to NAS forum. -
8 Replies
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Armando-
I would be happy to help you. There are a few solutions that can work for the workflow you are aiming for, however, I would need to know a little more information about the set up and configuration for your desired workflow. How many systems, System SPecs, etc. Is it possible you can give me a call and we can discuss further? Piston Media Group is a re-seller and systems integrator for audio / video software and hardware and represent over 100 different manufactures. We offer quite a few storage solutions to meet your specific needs and budget. We offer free consulting and design, so feel free to give us a call and we can help walk you thru your options and help to provide you with some pricing for your budget. QNAP is a good solutions among some other greats as well. We are happy to help in any way that we can.
Josh Phillippi
CEO/Founder
Piston Media Group
jp@pistonmediagroup.com
https://www.pistonmediagroup.com
Cell: (818) 318-8211
Office: (888) 829-7320
Skype: jp.pmg -
Thank you, i’ll send something through.
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Hi Armando –
the Drobo does not offer a 10G solution, so it’s too slow for your application.
The TVS-871T is excellent. But the $3000 QNAP you listed comes with no disk drives in it. You need 8 drives in there, so find a drive you like, multiply by eight and now you have the price of the basic system. It sounds like you only have 2 or 3 computers right now, so you can connect directly to the ports built into the QNAP, and in the future you can purchase a small Netgear 10G switch so you can add more clients. While the QNAP appears that it is a DAS (direct attached storage), this is connected thru Thunderbolt bridging or networking – it does not mount like a Thunderbolt drive, like the Pegasus does.And with that said (because I am a huge fan of the QNAP) – QNAP only supports SMB3 right now. In the future release of QTS 4.3 from QNAP, this will ship with SMB4, which is required for FCP-X 10.3 SMB shared storage. So if you intend to write libraries from FCP-X to the QNAP, it’s only going to happen with NFS network protocol for right now.
If you have zero money, you can use a Mac Mini as a server, but your Pegasus R2 2 drive system is useless for shared storage. If you had an R8, or G-Tech Studio XL with 8 drives, then you could consider this. Without 8 drives, and 10G connection to your “server” you will get crappy performance.
I only wish that Josh would state what his suggestions are here on this forum. There are plenty of wonderful solutions out there from Studio Network Solutions, Small Tree, Maxx Digital, AVID, Facilis, GB Labs, LumaForge, DDP, Editshare, QNAP, Synology, Apace, Netgear, etc. I wonder which one Josh suggests for your limited budget ?
bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
Bob I was just reading a review on the tvs 1282t, which stated that because it is using thunderbolt bridging over the network, it appears as a server, not DAS, as you stated. It also says it will make other thunderbolt devices you may have no longer appear in the system. I’m running windows 7 z820 with the hp thunderbolt card, so there is only the 1 connector on my computer. I’m also currently using a Pegasys raid for my main storage. Does this make the pegasys unusable in conjuction with the qnap?
Glenn
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the Pegasus is not the correct RAID for a Window 7 or Window 10 System. And you cannot plug in a Pegasus directly into the QNAP.
The solution is simple if you want to use a QNAP. The TVS-1282T comes with a 10G port. Buy a Sonnet Presto
10Gbase-T card for $340 on Amazon, and you now have a 10G port that will connect directly to your QNAP TVS-1282T, and you will get super fast speeds. As fast as a direct connected Thunderbolt array like the Pegasus (perhaps faster).bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
and it looks like Startech is making a dual port 10Gbase-T card for even cheaper than Sonnet. I have no idea if it actually works, but if you are looking at every penny, there is your solution for very little money.
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
Thanks Bob. (Us independents are always looking at every penny) The Promise has been rock solid for me for about 3 or so years now, so i’d hate to not be able to use it. Your solution has probably just saved a few hairs on my head when i go to the Qnap. In fact i guess i could go with the non thunderbolt version and save a few bucks there. I think it still has 10g.
Glenn
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actually it looks like the non thunderbolt version is also non 10g without buying a separate card anyway, which puts the price up to the thunderbolt version.
Glenn
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