cross platform archiving

[Herb Sevush]

Let me see if I get this right. I get an LTO-5 BRU OSX version now, store everything as LTFS. If /when I migrate to windows I will have to rebuild my raid anyhow, format it as NTFS. When I want to use the LTO with that box, boot as Linux and both the raid and it’s files will be available as well as the LTO drive for backup. Is that correct?

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Herb Sevush]

Andrew,

Thanks again for the info. As much as it seems the best way to go I don’t think I can justify the 8 – 9 K to go with Cache-A. It’s more than double the price of a BRU bundle, and my needs are relatively simple. But it is very tempting.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Frank Gothmann]

[Herb Sevush] “Let me see if I get this right. I get an LTO-5 BRU OSX version now, store everything as LTFS. If /when I migrate to windows I will have to rebuild my raid anyhow, format it as NTFS. When I want to use the LTO with that box, boot as Linux and both the raid and it’s files will be available as well as the LTO drive for backup. Is that correct?”

Correct!
Raid controllers, probably more than anything, are built for sever infrastructure so they all have Linux support and it’s usually out of the box unless you have some brand new cutting edge controller that hasn’t made it into the kernel yet (in which case you just install the driver). I am not aware of any Raid controller out there that doesn’t have Linux support.
There is also HFS support in Linux but it has issues so you are better of reformatting your raid as NTFS.
I mentioned the new ATTO controller in a post below because it has 4 ports and according to my VAR it works fine with tape and Raid.

[Herb Sevush]

This is excellent news. Now I’m not beholding to Apple and I can go ahead.

[Frank Gothmann] “I mentioned the new ATTO controller in a post below because it has 4 ports and according to my VAR it works fine with tape and Raid.”

I have the ATTO R680. It has 2 ports, I’m using one for my raid now, the other supposedly supports an LTO.

Again, thanks for the help.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Frank Gothmann]

[Herb Sevush] “This is excellent news. Now I’m not beholding to Apple and I can go ahead.

Actually, if you are using BRU not with its proprietary format but just as a front end for LTFS you may not need Linux at all (if you get a tape drive that supports LTFS under Win, ie. IBM etc., HP has said to will come out with a solution 1st quarter 2012) but simply access the files from within windows.
Linux is only needed if you went BRU native without LTFS. As I have said, I haven’t used BRU and LTFS together but it would appear as if BRU is just keeping track of what you have stored on which tape in such scenario and moves the files there fore you in a linear. managed fashion.

[Herb Sevush]

[Frank Gothmann] “Actually, if you are using BRU not with its proprietary format but just as a front end for LTFS you may not need Linux at all”

Got it, thanks.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Rich Rubasch]

Hey all this LTO talk sounds really easy.

OMG…not sure LTO is quite ready for 2012…this is way to complicated to make major strides into our industry.

Someone needs to really come up with a truly cross platform, easy to manage, high capacity solution.

Yikes. Barely got thru this thread.

Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media Inc.
Video Production, Post, Studio Sound Stage
Founder/President/Editor/Designer/Animator
https://www.tiltmedia.com

[Andrew Richards]

[Rich Rubasch] “Someone needs to really come up with a truly cross platform, easy to manage, high capacity solution.”

These exist, Cache-A is one. But if you want it to cost $1,000, sorry. Frankly, for anyone who ever bought any sort of professional VTR, Cache-A is not that expensive by comparison.

Best,
Andy

[Herb Sevush]

[Andrew Richards] “But if you want it to cost $1,000, sorry. Frankly, for anyone who ever bought any sort of professional VTR, Cache-A is not that expensive by comparison.”

$4K would be nice enough.

I understand the comparison to a VTR, I’ve used it on myself to try to convince me to go that way. Problem with the comparison is a VTR is a piece of production and post equipment, you buy one in situations where you will loose jobs if you don’t have the right deck.

Archival is an option, there are other, cheaper, though not as good ways to do it, and it’s mostly there for the piece of mind of the editor, the client ain’t picking up the tab.

In larger facilities with multiple edit stations it’s easier to justify and amortize the cost. For an editor with a single edit system, 8K can equal or exceed your entire yearly hardware budget.

Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin’ attached to nothin’
“Deciding the spine is the process of editing” F. Bieberkopf

[Andrew Richards]

GNU tar or LTFS on LTO-5 are starting to be used for deliverables in some places. You’re right though- for an individual, it is very difficult to justify a Cache-A compared to a drive and a card. Double the money is double the money. I’m sure Cache-A would sell their product for less if they could make money doing it. But when you consider that it is a server with a few TB of HDD and a $3K LTO drive in it, you can see how they arrive at their prices.

Best,
Andy