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Tiger MetaLAN with FCP systems
I hope to lure people to the SANetworks forum on Cow with this post, but I belive to have found the least expensive, easiest to use SAN system on the market for FCP users that work in every format except uncompressed HD (and 2K).
I heard about MetaLAN on the AJA Kona forum from Lance Bachelder. He said that he was successfully using MetaLAN on 7 FCP edit systems doing ProRes422HQ with no issues. I had looked at MetaSAN, with it’s fibre channel connectivity, but this was too expensive, and like everyone else, I wanted something that was not expensive, that could be used for just 2 or 3 editors, and was easy to setup and use.
I looked at MetaLAN in great detail at NAB2008, and decided to give it a try. It took several days of embarrassing phone calls to get the system up and running (they said it was so easy at NAB), but I got it working, and IT ABSOLUTELY WORKS.
This is what you need to build a MetaLAN shared storage system –
A MAC (like a MAC Pro, not an old G4)
Big disk drives (like any drive array you see advertised on these Cow forums – you can use ANYTHING YOU WANT !!!!!)
A Small Tree managed Gigabit switch (about $2000)
A Small Tree 4 port ethernet card (under $700)
some ethernet cables
MetaLAN server software ($549 and a FREE eval !)
MetaLAN client software ($249 per edit system – free eval !)
Some knowlege of networks, or a network guy to help you.Thats it. Thats your expense. The most expensive part is the MAC and the hard drive array, and if this project fails for you, you still have a nice MAC and drive array for a standard FCP edit system. This is how I was able to do these tests (in case everything failed).
MetaLAN is HARDWARE AGNOSTIC, which means that you can use anyones hard drives, and anyones managed Gigabit Ethernet switch. I used Small Tree, because they are a small company, and were willing to get on the phone with me to help set it up (I never did it before this test). Small Tree was great to deal with. If you are working with a computer guy that knows what the words “link aggrigation” means, then he can help you. If he doesn’t know (or you don’t know), then you better find someone (or a dealer) that can help you with this. I didn’t know how to do this, and was shown by Small Tree at NAB. It took me 15 minutes to learn how to setup these menus.
Once you setup the simple network, using the standard Gig E ports on your MAC (I used the second ethernet port on the MAC – the first ports were being used for the internet) – you do this “link aggrigation” trick with the “server computer” – which is just a normal MAC Pro (not a server running OS-X server). This link aggrigation trick uses the Small Tree 4 port ethernet card in the server, to run FOUR Gig Ethernet lines to the managed Gig E switch, so you get a 4Gig bandwidth – same as fibre channel. You connect your MAC’s (using the 2nd ethernet port on your MAC) to the same switch (any port you like). You load the MetaLAN server software on the main computer, load the MetaLAN client software on the FCP edit systems, and the drives that are on the “server” computer mounts on all the edit systems. It’s amazing. You then go into FCP, select System Settings, choose the shared volume, and start editing.
Thats it. I have 2 edit systems running right now with this (doing DVCProHD, and uncompressed 8 bit Standard Def from a Digi Beta), and added a third system late this afternoon, which we will start digitizing from tomorrow.
As long as all the menus are setup correctly (there is no “easy install” manual, so you have to ask a lot of questions), it all works, its cheap, and it’s easy. If you are not willing to suffer thru this by yourself, a qualified dealer or a qualified computer guy that knows networking can do this for you. This is not a “plug and play” system, like a firewire drive. I believe that everyone that is selling “turnkey” ethernet based SAN systems is basically doing what I just described. You can save a lot of money, by doing it yourself, and not getting trapped into propriatary hardware.
Bob Zelin
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23 Replies
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I looked at this product for Avid (it has an Avid virtualisation option that allows share media access for Avid) a while ago and was impressed, hadn’t cnsidered it for FCP. Now curious if I could get one setup to service FCP and Avid clients (not shared media obviously, but only one media server at least)
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they say that you can do this, but I don’t know the answer. I am starting from ground zero, and doing the MOST BASIC of systems – just FCP, just MAC. I know that there will be a lot of questions (can I use a PC server, can I use an old G5, etc.). I am trying to do this as simply as possible, with standard off the shelf equipment, and so far, its working just fine. Many people just want a cheap system to share between 2 or 3 edit or graphics systems, and so far, this is working out very well.
Bob Zelin
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It looks like cross-platform is pretty good (it’s a shame the MetaLAN server doesn’t run on Linux). I’d say it would be pretty safe as a file server between a couple of FCP boxes and a few PC-based AE workstations or something.
More complex stuff could be challenging, but the fact it offers support for Avid media is an interesting point that could make it quite the multi-tasker (although the Avid ‘virtualisation’ doesn’t work for Apple-based Avid clients it seems, although the Apple-based server should support it for PC clients).
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Very cool find Bob! I’ll definitely have to chat with you about this in the next few months. I like the sound of this idea.
Do you know if it can tie multiple arrays together like our two MaxxDigital EVO HD units so two systems can share both of them?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
Read my Blog!
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YES YES YES Walter. That is the amazing part. Someone can start with a NON SAN system (like a normal FCP system with a big drive array like the Maxx EVO, a Cal Digit HD Pro, a Sonnet RAID 5 box, a Dulce Systems DQ, etc.), and then simply stick these drives on a MAC Pro, plug it into this Small Tree Switch ($2000), and plug the ethernet ports from the edit systems into this very switch, load the MetaLAN, and away you go. If you need to plug in MULTIPLE drive arrays (like what you have), you simply purchase a Dulce Systems ProEX port expander, which will let you plug in SEVEN drive chassis at one time. If you own Cal Digit HDPro, Cal Digit sells their own SAS/SATA port expander which would work as well.
The trick is to get someone qualified who knows how to configure the managed Gigabit ethernet switch, to do Link Aggrigation (it’s easy, but I was shown by Small Tree how to do this at NAB, and I could never have figured this out by myself from a manual).
This is the amazing part about this solution. If you own a big expensive disk drive (or multiple drives) like you do Walter, you use the SAME DRIVES that you have right now. Even if you have old Apple Fibre XServe RAID chassis, you can use these as the storage. You just need the 4 port Small Tree card in the same “central” MAC, and the Small Tree ethernet switch, load in MetaLAN, and away you go.
I want to stress, that you DO NOT have to use Small Tree switches (MetaLAN people suggested Netgear), but I could not figure out how to do the link aggrigation without help, and this is why I chose Small Tree. Like with AJA – tech support is VERY important.
Bob Zelin
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[Bob Zelin] “and then simply stick these drives on a MAC Pro,”
Since you keep saying MacPro I’m assuming this won’t work with an older G5 as the central system. We have a G5 Dual 2.0 we’re trying to figure out whether to sell off or keep it for use in some capacity. I guess the older PCI-X architecture would be too old to invest in cards for that machine.
I’m assuming the very base model Mac Pro would work fine? No need to go for an Octo Core?
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
Read my Blog!
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Walter writes –
I’m assuming the very base model Mac Pro would work fine? No need to go for an Octo Core?YES – I am using a base model MAC Pro as the “server”, and it works fine.
bob
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Bob,
the “Server” or central computer,
id it’s sole role as a traffic controller,
or can it be an edit station as well?nick
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this is an important question.
With MetaLAN, it CANNOT be an edit station. It must be a dedicated computer. Remember, the “server” is not a Macintosh XServe – it’s a regular, off the shelf MAC Pro. But yes, you are going to spend an extra $3000 for a computer that is just going to sit there, and do this job.The big expense of doing this type of system is buying a dedicated MAC Pro and a big disk drive. You can justify this by saying that you dont’ need a big disk drive for all of your FCP edit stations. This is the same mindset you get into when you build a central machine room. Patch bays and racks and cable are expensive, but not as expensive as buying another Digi Beta VTR (or HD VTR) for multiple rooms – it’s cheaper to build the machine room. Same with the SAN system.
Bob Zelin
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Handy links for the lazy:
MetaSAN
https://www.tiger-technology.com/article.php?story=MetaSANMetaLAN client
https://www.tiger-technology.com/article.php?story=MetaLANClientSoftwareSmallTree managed switch – is this the one?
https://www.small-tree.com/Edge_corE_24_port_L2_Gigabit_Standalone_Switch_p/es4524d.htmSmallTree 4-port ethernet card (available in PCI-X or PCI-E)
https://www.small-tree.com/Quad_Port_Copper_PCI_e_Gigabit_Ethernet_Server_p/peg4.htmDon’t forget the 10% discount at SmallTree right now with the coupon codes at the top of the main site.
Also, check the Apple refurb store – right now they have a $2000 MacPro:
Refurbished Mac Pro Quad 2.66GHz Intel Xeon
Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon processors
1GB (2 x 512MB) memory (667MHz DDR2 fully-buffered DIMM ECC)
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200 rpm hard drive
16x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT graphics with 256MB memory
Learn More
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Original price: $2,499.00
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