Bernard Lamborelle
Forum Replies Created
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Glad you found out about poolIt. We’re really excited to be demoing it at IBC. poolIt is really designed to help you manage and grow your storage resources. You shouldn’t expect poolIt to improve performances as it doesn’t “stripe” volumes together. Files gets stored on one of the volume based on runtime strategies. An example of a runtime strategy would be “store content on volume x, y or z based on file type”…
BTW There is no problem creating separate partitions using different LUNs. This cross-platform limitation only applies to breaking a *single* LUN into two partitions… If you want to create separate partitions for your Avid and FCP, you only need to create two (or more) LUNs in your storage. That’s it. BTW We always recommend professional integration. Getting the SAN up and running is fairly easy (especially with MetaSAN) until you find yourself facing performance and/or reliability issues for which you don’t know where to look for (storage, switch, LAN, etc.). This is why hiring a professional can actually save you money.
Cheers,
Bernard
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Thanks for the feedback! We’ve implemented a new RSS feed for support and are now experimenting with it…
BTW were you able to identify the source of your slowdown? Was it related to Spotlight indexing?
Cheers,
Bernard Lamborelle
Tiger Technology -
Hello Timor,
Good to hear you
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I’m glad our guys were able to help.
Thanks for your kind words.
Bernard
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When comparing MetaSAN/MetaLAN to a Server/Client model, one should think of MetaSAN as the server portion, and MetaLAN the client.
MetaSAN workstations need a direct access to the shared storage (typically using either Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or InfiniBand), while MetaLAN clients always access the shared storage through a MetaSAN server that acts as a gateway.
However, unlike a regular network connection, MetaLAN mounts a logical volume (as oppose to a network share). It also provides block-level access (similar to iSCSI), and bandwidth control that enable one to limit or reserve the number of streams one can play out of any given workstation (this feature is also referred to as Quality-of-Service or “throttling”).
Using MetaSAN/MetaLAN, one can deploy a wide variety of workgroup topologies to accommodate multiple workflows and budget – from affordable DV editing all the way up to 2K uncompressed film workflows.
For example, you can have one MetaSAN workstation (with direct-attach storage) feeding a dozen or so MetaLAN clients doing DV editing over a Gigabit Ethernet network. However, those doing uncompressed SD or HD work would typically have a bunch of MetaSAN workstations connected to a shared storage via Fibre Channel.
However, the solution really shines in a combined topology with a mix of Fibre Channel and Ethernet: Instead of connecting to a specific server (like clients do with normal network shares), MetaLAN clients connect to a
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You’re correct Mike. MetaSAN doesn’t support ProTools. Volume-level SAN solutions can better support ProTools because they do not redirect calls, something ProTools is very sensitive to…
Bernard
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Mike makes some good points. However, volume-level management also implies that one must create and manage multiple volumes (as each volume appears as Read Only to all, but one client). When a volume is full, you can’t easily expand it; you need to create additional volumes and juggle your project across them. You need to carefully budget disk space allocation ahead of time. Also, because you cannot write back to the volume you
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Hi Justin,
Yes, MetaSAN will allow your two (or more) computers to read and write to the same volume at full speed. You will be able to capture, edit, render, etc. from both machines (as long as your storage is fast enough for what you are trying to do). This is called file-level sharing (as opposed to volume-level sharing offered by FibreJet).
Feel free to call if you would like to discuss your requirements.
Bernard Lamborelle
Tiger Technology
Tel: 514 667 2015
email: bernard at tiger-technology dot com -
Hi Sean,
I know MetaSAN offers this ability on Windows, but I don’t know if it is possible on Mac. I’ll check with support and get back to you.
Thanks for the update!
Cheers,
Bernard at tiger-technology dot com
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That here are different approaches to SAN management. Drop me an email and I will forward you a white paper entitled “The one fit-for-all SAN management software does not exist”. This document provides a good overview of the various SAN approaches and provides pros and cons for each of them. It might help you.
You might also be interrested in reading this independent review of MetaSAN by Graeme Nattress (maker of special effects filter for FCP, and key developer on the Red camera project): https://www.lafcpug.org/reviews/review_metasan.html
I believe his setup is very similar to what you are trying to achieve.
Cheers,
Bernard Lamborelle
Tiger Technology
514-667-2015
bernard @ tiger-technology dot com