Digital Video - March 2008 - (Page 36)

FIRST LOOK EDITSHARE 5.0 A BIG SERVE EDITSHARE OFFERS VERSION 5 OF ITS STORAGE SOLUTION. BY OLIVER PETERS T his past year, EditShare introduced version 5 software, which added Apple Final Cut Pro project sharing to the portfolio. This places EditShare in the unchallenged position of being the only non-Avid project sharing solution for Avid editors, as well as the only company to offer any sort of sharing for FCP projects. EXPANDING THE PRODUCT LINE EditShare storage solutions operate under the Linux operating system with media passing over Gigabit Ethernet (Gig-E). Because editing workstations are direct-connected to the server (or via an Ethernet switch), Gig-E offers enough bandwidth for multiple streams of DV25, as well as uncompressed SD and even compressed HD. Editors working with DVCPRO HD, Apple ProRes 422 or Avid DNxHD are able to work with three to four streams of compressed HD when connected to EditShare storage. For customers needing greater bandwidth, EditShare units can also be configured with 10-Gigabit cards. EditShare systems employ ESA architecture (Extreme Scalable Architecture), so more than 100 users can be connected in the largest system. Individual EditShare products come configured in three variations: the rack unit systems (3RU, 5RU and 8RU units); Metro (a standalone tower, first introduced in the Asia-Pacific region); and EditShare Field (a ruggedized location production model). Storage capacity ranges from 1.2TB to 3TB in Field to as much as 30TB in an 8RU system. Field is the only shared storage device that I know of specifically geared for film or TV location production. Three editors can be plugged directly into it over Gig-E, and its cube shape ideally fits into airline overhead compartments. All configurations include the server and Ethernet switch. All EditShare systems are RAID 5 protected, which only consumes a small portion of your total storage for the metadata needed to restore media in the event of a drive failure. According to EditShare’s specs, a 16-drive EditShare system is capable of writing data at over 450MB/sec, and can read data at over 750MB/sec. These units currently use SATA (Serial ATA) drives, but they are also developing SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) storage for larger enterprise installations. According to EditShare, a 32-drive SAS configuration should be able to support 80 to 100 streams of DV25, and a 64drive configuration is currently in testing. Another innovation added in version 5 is the option to create iSCSI partitions. Technically, EditShare’s flavor of storage is Network Attached Storage (NAS). This permits file-level locking, which means more than one user can write to a volume or partition at the same time. Some editing products, like Avid DS Nitris and Digidesign Pro Tools don’t entirely work in this environment. They can read from NAS storage, but not write to it. For these applications, the iSCSI option lets the system administrator create a small pool of iSCSI storage within the EditShare media space. This effectively creates a virtual volume-level SAN (Storage Area Network) within the NAS system. Volume-level locking means that only one user has permission to write to that space at any time. WORKFLOW IS THE KEY EditShare is run by technology buffs, and that drives the company to investigate open source code programs and improve the products EditShare offers. But if that were the whole story, little would set EditShare apart from the competition. Coming from a “hands-on” production background, EditShare’s engineers are driven to provide solutions that address workflow issues. It’s more than creating a central pool of storage. Over 90 percent of EditShare’s customers use either Avid or Final Cut Pro, so offering them unique collaborative tools provides the edge. Initially, project sharing was only available for Avid Xpress Pro and Media Composer systems. EditShare achieved this by managing the Avid projects on the Linux server. In Avid’s own Unity Medianet system, several editors are able to open and work within the same project. Whoever opens a bin first gets permission to write to that bin (i.e., save changes) while all other users just get read-only access. EditShare’s Avid project sharing essentially achieves the same functionality by displaying who is the owner of each bin and enforcing write permissions accordingly. As long as a bin is “owned” by User X, Users Y and Z can look at the contents but cannot modify them. Under EditShare’s Project Sharing, editors always www.dv.com 36 dv march 2008 http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - March 2008

Digital Video - March 2008 Contents DV Update Q&A Fest Circuit Instant Expert LP-Micro Light Fusion F2 Drive PPFP-3N Bag Ego Digital Imaging Light KE-79CC Boom & Fuzzy Close-Up: Honoring George Spiro Dibie, ASC Food Fight Key Thoughts on Chroma key DV101 Dynamic Duos First Look: A Big Serve Cameras & Courtrooms Ad Index Production Diary

Digital Video - March 2008

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