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StorNext, Fibrejet and Avid setup
We are setting up two rooms with Mac-based Avids (MC5) and attaching to a StorNext SAN to access ProRes422 files via AMA and are discussing whether or not FibreJet is necessary or not, and what the advantages/pitfalls would be either way. We would be sharing media between only these two systems. Some early tests showed that AMA linking to Prores 422 files worked well without FibreJet, but we are being told to use FibreJet to avoid problems down the road. I unfortunately am one of those “knows just enough to be dangerous” guys. I do understand that the Avid will not write ProRes files and so there will be normal media folders as well with DNxHD files involved. Possible to make a single volume that both rooms will access? or should they each have their own volume that they can read/write to and have read only access to the other rooms volume? The way I see FibreJet set up in other parts of the facility, is to have each room with it’s own assigned volume. A bit confused, quite possibly totally off base, and hoping to avoid troubles before they start.
–Jeff C. -
9 Replies
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What you will find with AVID systems is that each client creates a .msm mediadatabase file. When you have a simple SAN with a shared volume, the second (or third) AVID will open, and erase the first systems media database file. This is why a metadata controller is used for AVID systems, or “virtualization” (as Apace and MetaSAN like to call it) to prevent erasing the other systems .msm files. So without this provision, a generic SAN will not work with AVID systems – only companies that have addressed this specific issue – like Facilis, EditShare, Apace, Tiger and SNS (and of course, AVID with Unity).
did you really need to hold 3 guitars at once for this photo ?
Bob Zelin
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why, yes, at the time I absolutely needed to have all three, although I have to confess that was …ahem… quite a few years ago, and at the moment I can’t quite remember exactly what was going through my mind; something about rick nielsen and cheap trick and maybe a bad habit or two…
but anyway, thanks for the info, as I gather more info I will ask a better question.
jc -
Okay, so here’s some stuff I don’t understand. I do understand that the .msm and .mdb files are there in the Avid MediaFiles folder, and that they will be re-written when either avid accesses that folder. But for the heck of it, we hooked up the two Avids to the StorNext that is set up as Xsan, no fibreJet involved, and it sure seemed to be working just fine; we both had the same project open, with big sequences accessing the same media, imported some files from one avid and accessed them from the other… it all seemed to be fine. But, I can’t help but be suspicious that there is something bad right around the corner just waiting to bite us. I mean if it was really this easy, why aren’t more people doing it this way, and also why are there companies whose sole existence seems to be ways to make this work? Does it matter that we are only ever going to have just the two systems hooked up, and that we really don’t need to have the same project open (we just did that to try and break it…) I know it’s not like Unity, it doesn’t really have to be for us, all we want is to share media… It sure seems to be working, but something just doesn’t smell right…
–jc -
I don’t know the answer to your question. In the past, I have numerous time tried to hookup 2 or more AVID’s to a generic shared stroage enviornment, and I got screwed every time. This has been the “secret” of Editshare and Facilis Terrablock from day 1, and seperated them from the pack. I never tried StorNext, so I have no idea of what is happening there, and why it is working for you.
Someone who knows more than me will have to answer this.
Bob Zelin
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Yipes, okay; well fingers crossed, we’ll keep pushing in this direction and as I learn more I’ll post… Thank you for your help!
Jeff C. -
and get a haircut, Bun. E. Carlos !
(hey, you brought up the reference)Bob Zelin
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Ha! I’m afraid I did, long, long ago…
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Hey Bob,
I’m the guy on the righthttps://www.motorcityrock.com/bands/inasense/inasense.html
Steve Modica
CTO, Small Tree Communications -
I think there’s some confusion between block and volume access and file permissions and simultaneous access.
FibreJet and Xan do the same thing. They protect the inode data from being stomped by two guys at the same time. You try to create a file or delete a file while someone else is, and you both splatter the same inode data.
Assuming you have FibreJet and/or Xsan, the inode table is safe, but now you have to worry about the users. UNIX is happy to let many users open and write to the same file! So two users could easily splatter a project.
Some apps will lock a file, some people will use asset management (like FCS) and some people will set up workflows to prevent this type of thing. Permissions can also be used so only one person has access at a time.Fibrejet won’t save you from this type of thing. (Image editor 1 finishing his work and editor 2 mounting the volume and changing it in an undesirable way. This is a workflow issue)
Steve
Steve Modica
CTO, Small Tree Communications
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