Eric Hansen
Forum Replies Created
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Hey Ryan
I am currently based in Jackson Hole, WY and travel to the Denver area once or twice a month. I will be moving to the area in March or April. I sent you an email, but if you didn’t receive it for some reason, feel free to ping me back:
eric at erichansen.tv
Thanks!
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Hey Eduardo
If you’re looking to create a SAN based on fibre, you’re definitely gonna want to contact one of the companies listed on this forum. Bob Zelin will probably chime in with a list (if he doesn’t just search for his past posts). There’s a lot more to it than just a server or storage, and you will want an integrator to do the setup for you.
If you’re looking to hook up 10 computers with 40TB, then you’re probably looking at $40k to start.
If you don’t need fibre, 1Gb ethernet can be cheaper. probably $25k to start.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
also, have you tried calling Rorke for suggestions?
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
I’ve never used this unit, and I’m not very familiar with Windows, so forgive me.
as DAS, you will get fastest access running the 16 drives at RAID-5. i would recommend RAID-6 however, so you get an additional drive of redundancy. Don’t do any partitioning. Use speed testing software such as Blackmagic Speed Test and experiment with different block sizes and stripe breadths until you get a speed combo that you like. this will require multiple reformats so don’t put any media on the unit until you finalize your block and stripe numbers. with HD video, typically the largest block size is desired.
When you switch to a SAN setup, you will likely have to reformat this RAID depending on the requirements of the SAN software you choose. for example, with Xsan, you will need to specify metadata drives within the 16 drive array (requiring a reformat).
sorry I can’t get more specific as i haven’t used this equipment or Windows in a SAN environment.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Are you using this RAID as direct attached storage to a single computer, or are you trying to build a SAN serving multiple clients?
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
If you’re having trouble with search, i would suggest CatDV.
what are your local storage limitations? local storage will be MUCH cheaper and less complicated than cloud storage. even services like Adobe Anywhere are based on highly compressed footage. i’ve looked into Amazon Glacier, but only for storage of finished projects.
another option is to work with a stock footage company. i’ve worked with a few that allow you to upload a lot more media than you’re offering for sale, to allow you to use their web-based metadata search for all of your footage, and not just your stock footage. but even this is compressed H.264 and not uncompressed. but this is probably beyond what you’re looking for.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
I’d say it depends on how you’re going to use it.
From a cost perspective, the xMac mini server is $1300 on Sonnet’s site. Apple sells their server-specific Mac Mini for $999
total: $2300
As cool as Thunderbolt is, we’re only talking about a 4x PCIe connection. So if you have SAS storage in one slot (8x) and a 4 port ethernet card in the other slot (4x), you won’t have nearly enough bandwidth to get the data anywhere quickly. 12 lanes of data are crammed into 4.
The last generation of the Xserve was based on Nehalem chips, similar to the 2009 Mac Pro. It has 2 16x PCIe slots. So in this case, an Xserve would run circles around the xMac server. From a cost perspective, I’m finding used Nehalem Xserves in the $1500-3000 range. I would go with an Xserve hands down if bandwidth is your goal. if you don’t need the 1U form factor, used Mac Pros are an even better deal.
But if your server needs are more modest, or if you’re looking to save on power and noise (although i’m not sure how much noise the xMac enclosure makes) then a Mac Mini will make more sense. Some Xsan installers are using Mac Minis as Metadata Controllers because these needs are relatively light.
After spending the last 2 days upgrading an Xsan system with Xserves, I’m reminded of how awesome that design was. Sad to see it go.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Posting an update to my Xsan upgrade:
Everything went great and I was amazed at how easy the whole process was. I certainly wouldn’t call it “plug and play” though. If you don’t know how to set up a fabric or know how basic Xsan topology works, you’d be just as lost with this as older systems. But for someone that only deals with Xsan once or twice a year, it was refreshingly easy.
On a side note, this whole installation is based on 4Gb fibre (3 clients, 2 MDCs, 1 RAID). Curious, I got on eBay to see how much the components we purchased oh so many years ago are going for now. I was surprised. $500 for a 16 port 4Gb switch. $250 for FC PCIe cards. In my discussions with this client about storage additions and upgrades, I was moving her towards SAS/Ethernet. Building parallel systems while phasing out the Xsan. Now, seeing how inexpensively items can be acquired, we’re thinking about putting more money into this system instead of building a whole new parallel SAS/Ethernet system. I’m thinking about putting a 4 or 6 port ethernet card in the second MDC to share to laptops and iMacs.
I popped some standard Hitachi Ultrastar drives into the Promise Vtrak to see if they would work, or if the system would require hard drives with special firmware for monitoring. Nope. Everything worked as expected, so it’s become an option to upgrade the current Vtrak with new Ultrastars and possibly buy used Vtraks and do the same. This Vtrak is out of warranty, so I’m not concerned about that. Anyone have experience with this?
Of course, I’m not suggesting this for everyone as all situations are different. But looking at the investments already made and the cost/benefit of switching to SAS/Ethernet, I think for this installation staying with Xsan and growing it a bit makes the most sense. The fact this system is based on 4Gb fibre is a big reason why we’re thinking about sticking with it. The bandwidth is comfortably larger than 1Gb Ethernet so file transfers are quick, but 10GbE would be overkill and not needed. My previous Xsan installations were 2Gb with Xserve RAIDs, so those NEEDED to be replaced.
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Brian wrote: “I did this thinking a Drobo would work. DON’T GET A DROBO FOR EDITING!!!!”
haha, if only this forum had stickies
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv -
Bob wrote: “I wish I knew how they did this.”
by charging a lot of money 🙂
e
Eric Hansen
Production Workflow Designer / Consultant / Colorist / DIT
https://www.erichansen.tv