Application technology of the uniform disk arrays from Avid Technology

By Victor Shpil’

Review contents:

Data storage systems for TV Application technology of the uniform disk arrays from Avid Technology Decisions of Ehance Tech company SANStream from Huge Systems DriveBox from JC System Integration VelocityQ and Storage Area Networks (SAN) Network decisions from Medea Palladium architecture SAN/NAS decisions from Raidtec Network storage decisions of Sanbolic Company Storage in the broadcast environment

Reliability of nonlinear systems from the Avid Technology Company is well-known. This mark for a long time has proved high quality in sphere of nonlinear cinema and video editing. Even in advertising of competitors the concept “Avid-similar interface” is resounded at times. Hundreds of thousand systems of nonlinear video editing Avid are functioned now on various TV channels worldwide.

Avid Technology Company always differed by revolutionary technologies offered in a combination with complex approach to the decision of the problems facing to the user. As against the direct competitors, Avid Technology always offered not separate decisions, but the completed technological chains. All Avid systems of nonlinear editing, since systems of initial level Avid Xpress DV and finishing by powerful complexes of multilayer editing Avid Symphony and Avid DS Nitris, are provided by a high level of compatibility. The system of functioning with sound Digidesign Pro Tools allows carrying out the recording and the audio editing on the highest studio level, using the projects prepared on systems of nonlinear video editing. Any editing system Avid allows to several editing technicians to work on different parts of one project and then to collect these parts in the uniform project. Thus the project mounted earlier, it is possible to insert on a time scale as a separate clip.

Naturally, the technology of group work above the project demands the application of a uniform disk array. Unfortunately, existing systems SAN (Storage Area Network) are developed for service of databases of the large enterprises and are not absolutely appropriated for the TV industry. They are enough complex in administration and do not guarantee the stable streams of video data transmission in a computer network. As these systems are provided for service of a plenty of computers in network and for resolution of the various disputed situations arising at reversal to uniform disk space, the stream stability is not a priority problem for them.

Avid Unity Systems

Three years back the Avid Technology Company has developed and introduced the Avid Unity system. As against traditional system, based on SAN architecture, the Avid Unity systems are configured under the fixed number of users and concrete editing systems. Avid technology allows carrying out the flexible scaling of such systems, thus providing the guaranteed stable data streams under recording and reading. Avid Unity has the convenient interface of the system administration, thus the manager should not have qualification of the system programmer. The system allows establishing the various levels of access to the materials stored in different sections, to reserve the disk space for specific tasks, dynamically to change this space during work. For simultaneous work of several stations of nonlinear video editing of one project now it is not necessary to diddle a time on infinite copying in a network of enormous video material spaces. The first system Unity was put in Russia two years back. Since then eleven similar systems were put into operation. All systems of Avid Unity Systems family working in Russia have recommended themselves as highly reliable equipment, convenient in operation.

Avid Unity LANshare EX

Avid Unity LANshare EX is the initial level system in Avid Unity Systems family. It is intended for small working groups. The mainframe is the 4U module. This module contains 16 hard disks of 180 GB space each. The base volume of disk array Avid LANshare EX is approximately 3 TB. Such space allows storing 230 hours of video in DVCAM format or 115 hours in IMX format. At desire to system it is possible to add the disk space of 1 TB or more. The file system of the module allows operating with flexibility by distribution of disk space, levels of access, degree of reservation. At failure of one of disk all non-reserved information can be restored due to use the metadata, stored in Avid LANshare EX. If the information was reserved, all data are securely kept, and reservation can be appointed even after digitization of the certain clip. The manager fixes the area of disk space for each user or group of users. To each user the level of access to resources of system is established.

Avid LANshare EX

There are three versions of user connection to Avid LANshare EX:

• Ethernet 100 Mbit;
• Ethernet 1 Gbit;
• Fibre Channel.

Naturally, the choice of one of three versions occurs according to requirements which are showed by connected station to a disk subsystem. The number of connected clients directly depends on it also. All this restrictions are in detail described in the user’s guide. Adjustment and configuring of the system do not demand any special skills, it is enough to be sure user PC to have an operational experience with systems of nonlinear video editing and attentively read the documentation.

For broadcasting organization Avid LANshare EX provides a continuity of technological process. In a critical situation it is always possible to change one assembly station on another, to open there the own project and to continue the work. For system service the editing it is not necessary to stop. Any work can be carried out in a background mode.

Opportunities of Avid LANshare EX system considerably extend in case of its applying together with modules Avid Unity MediaManager, Avid Unity Transfer Manager and Avid Unity ProEncode.

Avid Unity MediaManager is intended for providing of more convenient work with files of project and with the digitized video material, located on Avid LANshare EX. The module is connected to Avid LANshare EX on interface Fiber Channel. User stations are connected to server Avid MediaManager on network Ethernet 100 Mbit. The system allows to carry out the search of a necessary video material, and for formats of DV25 family the opportunity of viewing and sectoring of the found video material is provided. Thus, the information on a material which is located on a disk array is become accessible to the clients working behind normal office computers.

After the finish of editing the video material is normally recorded on a tape. But by production of news programs this approach is frequently unacceptable. For exception of videocassettes from the process of news broadcasting the Avid Technology Company offers some various approaches. The system of news editing Avid NewsCutter XP may directly “give” the open project for data transmission on a video server, but in this variant the editing system drops out of a running cycle for the period of data transmission. System Avid Unity Transfer Manager allows to export a ready project on broadcast multichannel video server Avid AirSpace in a background mode. Video server Avid AirSpace provides distribution of a scene in the air in 10 seconds after its transmission in Avid Unity Transfer Manager, not waiting of finish of file copying on a server. Connection of module Avid Unity Transfer Manager to Avid LANshare is carried out on network Fiber Channel. Also through Avid Unity Transfer Manager it is possible to transfer the data with Avid LANshare to more powerful system of data storage Avid Unity Media Network.

Through Avid Unity ProEncode it is possible to adjust Internet-broadcasting and also to code the ready projects in popular media formats in a background mode.

Avid Unity MediaNetwork

The Avid Unity MediaNetwork system is intended for use by large broadcasting companies. It provides the storage of data till 1700 hours in DV25 format and an opportunity of work with these media data from 60 editing stations (200 DV25 video streams simultaneously) in real time. When the video files of standard resolution without compression are used then the work of 14 two-stream editing stations and, accordingly, of 24 stations under using of compression 2:1 is provided.

Disk arrays of system Avid use the standard network and computer equipment. High efficiency and guaranteed streams of video data are provided due to the special software protected by several patents, and due to correct configuration of the system for each concrete case. New disk arrays Avid Media Array ZX allow to carry out the replacement of a failed disk without stopping of all system.

As file system the Open Media File System (OMFS) is used. This system was developed by Avid especially for video applications. The system is compatible with Windows, Mac and SGI platforms. With File Manager it provides protection against accidental or deliberate damage of the data, non-authorized access to the data, and also the automatic four-fold redundancy. All operations are carried out in a mode of real time.

After the equipment is started in operation, its administration may be engaged by normal PC user. All administration functions are carried out through the interface of the Administration Tools system. With this interface it is possible to establish the various access levels to video materials and projects, dynamically to redistribute the disk space between projects and users. Also the system carries out the recording of all events (connection of the client, change of disk space). Option Avid Port Server is provided for possibility of exchange of media data under network Ethernet 100 Mbit with the editing and graphic stations which are not demanding the work with the data on Avid Unity MediaNetwork in real time.

Avid Unity MediaManager module is a server of a database of scenes and the projects stored on a uniform disk array with convenient system of search and cataloguing. The information on scenes and projects can be traced on the normal office computers connected on a network 100 Mbit. With the help of Avid Unity MediaManager Select option on the same computers it is possible to carry out viewing and preliminary sectoring of a video material. Avid Unity MediaManager also provides an opportunity to start the video material editing in 10 seconds after the beginning of the digitization process.

Avid Unity MediaManager interface

Module Avid Unity Transfer Manager provides background moving media data between various Unity and other systems Avid, and also between systems of other firms.

Module Avid Nearchive is a server of operative archiving. It is executed on the basis of the hardware of disk system Unity Lanshare EX. The system may store till 400 hours of video material in IMX format (or till 800 hours in DV25 format). With help of Avid Unity Transfer Manager the user may move the data with Unity and back by simple dragging by the mouse from one window to another. Moving of the data occurs on network Fiber Channel in a background mode.

Avid Unity Pro EncodZH module allows to carry out the background transcoding of media data, stored on Unity, at format Windows Media, Real Networks, QuickTime, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MP3, DV25/50, Video for Windows (AVI), AIFF/AIFC, WAV, and also at other formats of video, audio, animation and static pictures.

Uniform disk arrays on the basis of network server technology Avid Unity are successfully functioned in many companies and studios of Russia, allowing to solve with flexibility numerous problems of TV and film production: from simultaneous work above the project of several working groups to various opportunities of administration and storage of mediamaterials. There are the Russian broadcasting organizations and the studios using in the production the complexes of nonlinear editing on Avid Unity base:

• “1 channel”;
• “Russia”;
• NTV;
• “TV Centre”;
• STS;
• TNT;
• “Mosfilm” Cinema Concern;
• NTN (VGTRK, Novosibirsk);
• TK “Angara” (Irkutsk);
• Telechannel STO (Saint Petersburg);
• “SMAK” Studio;
• Pro Cinema Company.

Material provided by Elogar Company