31 ROUND TABLE Storage
MEIR LEHRER: Different genres should not have a big impact outside of the fact that the more graphically complex the content (ie not ‘talking heads’), the more likely the frequency for collaboration and editing across locations. Graphically complex content may increase storage and egress needs in the long term (compared to less complex video content). smaller number of massive files. Storage systems need to be designed around the application. Commonly now for example we use ultra-fast flash storage to serve the data to the client to ensure performance for 4K where systems requiring less speed can connect to the spinning disks – this helps make the system more affordable for a typical mixed-use environment. DBATC: How viable is it to move all our storage to the cloud? And do you think most storage will happen in the cloud any time soon? JAI CAVE: It’s totally possible to move everything to the cloud now if you have the connectivity and the money to do it. In reality, it’s only cost effective for specific scenarios. If you have a one final asset to many business, where you are either distributing your final output yourself, producing many deliverables from one asset or need to render at scale, then adding cloud to your workflow will make a lot of sense. However, for most post-production facilities, moving all your storage to the cloud won’t make sense for a while. There needs to be a benefit above claiming rack space back, for a facility to want to put all their client rushes in the cloud. Collaboration can be aided easily by pushing proxies to a smaller pool of cloud storage or by using PCoIP solutions. There will still be specific workflows where some cloud storage makes sense, for off-site redundancy for example or for bursting on- prem capacity for a limited amount of time. MEIR LEHRER: Static storage without huge egress needs, as well as agile content set-up/tear-down systems or bulk asset storage for short term, will all benefit from migrating to a public cloud infrastructure. More semi-constant archives without storage ballooning, and those in need of frequent ingest and egress of content will likely remain in a distributed model of solely private data centres or a hub-and-spoke MARC RISBY: Audio and graphics applications create many small files compared to, say, 4K video with a
YOU MUST MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU BUY HAS THE FLEXIBILITY TO ADJUST AS YOU NEED IT TO GOING FORWARD
know today what you will need five years from now? You don’t – but you can realistically assume you will have new variations of streaming video and file-based video assets in different formats; more protocols and encryptions; and multiple applications that will require access to the content for different reasons. So, separate your storage firmly from the applications operating on the content and plan to use video optimised storage that can maximise storage and retrieval times based on best-practice algorithms for video packets. That way, you can reliably resurrect corrupted or lost video packets (video being different to IT infrastructure storage). Above all else – stay away from proprietary storage hardware! D BATC: What is your biggest storage horror story? DUNCAN BEATTIE: Unsurprisingly, losing everything… without a backup. That seems obvious, but you would be amazed at how many companies don’t have proper backups of their data. They spend a great deal of money for online storage so they can get work out of the door, then balk at the additional cost to back that data up. “We’ll be fine. It’s all on a RAID.” When storage solutions fill up they slow down and if they completely fill they can stop or fail and total data loss is a possibility. I have seen this happen in my reseller days and it is a very painful thing to try and help a client out of. Being able to work from your backup, rather than just have a method of accessing a backup, can make the difference between delivering the job to your client on time or not. MARC RISBY: A prospective customer took me to see their ‘digital archive’ – it was a free-standing cupboard in the middle of a damp basement, crammed full of USB hard drives. No other backup was made and there was a handwritten list of what was on each drive on a piece of paper taped to the door. They thought that shared storage meant everyone had a key to the cupboard.
public cloud feeding localised caches with storage, packaging, encryption and delivery capabilities. MARC RISBY: It’s not really viable to move everything into the cloud yet; the performance simply isn’t there yet for post. Some studios and customers also stipulate that their content must be held on-prem and controlled. It’s also a case of where the content is being processed. It makes sense to put content in the cloud if the render or edit engines are also in the same cloud, less useful if most of your processing is in a single facility. Real-time uncompressed 4K in the cloud is some way off. DBATC: How can we prepare our storage infrastructure for the unknowns coming around the corner in the next few years? DUNCAN BEATTIE: You must make sure that what you buy has the flexibility to adjust as you need it to going forward. For example, if DBATC decides to completely change its editing platform, you should still be able to work with your storage system. If you want to dramatically change performance, you should have the flexibility to adjust it through non-disruptive further investment, recycling, and repurposing. When you upgrade or expand, you should be able to use everything you already have, but perhaps in a different way. Only certain systems have the flexibility to allow that, so they’re worth looking for. JAI CAVE: Investing in a scaleable system is essential, allowing you to grow your system without any horrendous migration process. Settling on a software-defined solution that isn’t wedded to specific hardware can also help you to weather any future changes in the marketplace and ensures that you can use the latest underlying technologies when they become available. MEIR LEHRER: This is one of the most important and driving questions for the media industry right now. How do you
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