Share Creative Files Quickly and Easily with Apple Xsan and Xserve RAID

Robert, the owner of an animation studio, creates weekly TV cartoons in-house, and often utilizes storage-consuming detail, including backgrounds of crowd shots that can take up to 100 MB of memory each. Many times, up to 30 artists are working right up until their deadline, making frequent changes to each episode of the weekly TV series.

Unfortunately, Robert's direct-attached disk backup and digital linear tape (DLT) library often required more than a day to back up data. In the event of disaster, the studio would lose an entire day's data -- destroying the tight production schedule that leads up to the weekly broadcast.

Robert was desperate for a better solution that delivered sustained high throughput, reliable uptime and considerable storage capacity. Fortunately, he was able to consolidate his storage resources -- and improve his studio's processes -- with Apple Xserve RAID and Xsan.

Even if you don't work in an ad agency, video-editing studio, it's likely that your workgroups still need to store, retrieve and share files and assets quickly over Fibre Channel. They may edit video and print files by walking them across the room. Or spend time searching for the most recent version. Or they may wait endlessly for files to transfer from the server.

But in every business, time is money. And your company loses money every second it's not operating at peak efficiency.

Over the past two years, Apple's Xsan and Xserve RAID have established a viable niche for Apple-based storage -- especially in addressing the high-bandwidth needs of applications such as digital video capture, post-production and graphics.

If you're seeking a way to gain enterprise-like functionality, while boosting storage performance and capacity, check out the highly regarded Apple combination of Xserve RAID and Xsan.

Xserve RAID
Digital video footage, large databases, media-rich documents, high-resolution images, uncompressed audio and scientific data sets all have one thing in common: terabyte-sized storage needs.

The Xserve RAID storage device expertly meets these needs. This cutting-edge, self-contained storage solution holds up to 14 hot-swappable Apple Drive Modules -- a phenomenal 7 TB of data -- in a rack-optimized storage enclosure.

Each 7,200-rpm hard drive connects to a dedicated Ultra ATA drive channel to eliminate bottlenecks and maximize the 400-MB/s Fibre Channel host connection for reliable -- and incredibly fast -- data access.

Furthermore, as you add drives, Xserve RAID scales in both capacity and performance. And with an industry-standard 42U rack, holding 98 terabytes of storage, you can keep adding drives for virtually unlimited storage.

The Xserve RAID also provides nonstop operation, with uninterrupted access to your critical data. Redundant hot-swappable power supplies and cooling modules enable the system to keep running, even if one module were to fail. All active components are modular and designed to be switched in and out in seconds -- without tools, and without interruption of service.

And best of all Xserve RAID is not just compatible with Mac OS X Server, but with Windows-,Linux- or NetWare-based servers as well.

Apple Xsan
Apple Xsan, the file system for Mac OS X, helps maximize your Xserve RAID's performance by giving workgroups consolidated storage resources, fast simultaneous data delivery and cross-platform integration for Windows, Linux and Mac clients.

As an enterprise-class storage area network (SAN) alternative, Apple Xsan lets multiple computers simultaneously access terabytes or petabytes of storage on an Xserve RAID box over high-speed Fibre Channel. It uses the 64-bit file system in Mac OS X v10.4 "Tiger" and lets users share files and volumes up to 2 PB in size. Using Xsan, you can:

  • Increase workgroup productivity by enabling shared asset access and concurrent read/write capabilities.
  • Improve collaborative workflow across video capture; graphics, audio and visual effects production; and DVD authoring.
  • Create a real-time video-editing and production environment at a fraction of the cost of other systems.

Whether you're running a news studio with lightning-fast turnaround requirements and little margin for error, or a video-editing studio that processes footage around the clock by multiple editors, Apple Xserve RAID and Xsan may be the storage combination for you.

Complete Your Toolbox with Final Cut Studio
To complement your Apple video-editing tools, consider adding Final Cut Studio. This affordably priced production suite can enable you to take advantage of powerful editing tools, revolutionary sound design, real-time motion graphics and next-generation DVD authoring. Final Cut Studio includes:

  • Final Cut Pro 5
  • DVD Studio Pro 4
  • Motion 2
  • Soundtrack Pro

For more on IT Solutions' Mac-related services visit www.itsolutions-inc.com/mac or call us for a
free Mac consultation at 215-886-7166