Metadata for digital assets is one of the new concepts emerging with tapeless workflows. Metadata is typically used to mark up and describe video footage so that the right content can be easily found, especially important in a large archive. Relative to video files, metadata files tend to be small and put additional demands on the storage solution. This makes hybrid SSD/SATA-based systems a good choice if the SSD storage can be used to speed small file access

1. nership put it this way, “The safe, cheap,
simple storage and retrieval of file-based
video assets is the single greatest need of
any producer heading into the tapeless
future.”1
A storage platform must deliver
some basic requirements if it is to meet the
needs of digital broadcast workflows. First,
the storage platform should be file-based.
Production teams generate content in files
and post teams and editors work with files,
but paradoxically many IT-oriented storage
providers sell block storage (a proverbial
round peg in a square hole problem).
High Performance
for Mixed Workloads
Storage solutions for digital broadcast need
to deliver the best available performance
and the flexibility to add capacity as needs
grow. Beware of products where perfor-
mance slows down as capacity is added.
The best solution will scale both perfor-
mance and capacity linearly. Scaling perfor-
mance means being able to offer the same
fast delivery of files (in raw, in post, or in
distribution) regardless of whether thou-
sands of files are in active use or just a few
dozen and whether the files are enormous
terabyte-size monsters or small but equally
important metadata files.
Metadata for digital assets is one of the
new concepts emerging with tapeless work-
flows. Metadata is typically used to mark
up and describe video footage so that the
right content can be easily found, especially
important in a large archive. Relative to
video files, metadata files tend to be small
and put additional demands on the storage
solution. This makes hybrid SSD/SATA-based
systems a good choice if the SSD storage
can be used to speed small file access.
Reliability
The right storage solution will have a reli-
ably effective method of protecting digital
content. Avoid storage arrays based on
legacy hardware RAID designs as these
protect data at the block level and tend
to be slow and risky in the event of a hard
drive failure. Instead, look for more sophis-
ticated content and asset protection.
The optimal storage solution should also
be capable of “banking” completed
and catalogued programs, serving as
an archive of footage available for reuse
and content for sale. Storing older, less
frequently used material is commonly
referred to as “disk archiving” in the IT
world and it requires the storage solu-
tion to scale capacity to terabytes or even
petabytes. A storage solution that is easy
to manage should also be a requirement.
A simple, intuitive management interface
means no wasted time setting up, tuning,
or fixing the foundation of the workflow.
Finally, the ideal storage platform will be
a springboard for fast content delivery.
Accelerating Digital Workflows
for Media and Entertainment
VERTICALBRIEF:MEDIA
P o s t P r o d u c t i o n P r o c e s s i n g | V i d e o / CGI / 3 D E f f e c t s | N o n - l i n e a r E d i t i n g | R e n d e r F a r m R e a d y
1.888.PANASAS | www.panasas.com
The Changing Face of Media
The modern world of Media and Enter-
tainment is rapidly moving to tapeless
digital workflows. Unlocking creativity, im-
proving production quality, obtaining bet-
ter control of digital assets, and surpassing
viewer expectations without attendant
cost increases are some of the reasons for
that move. HD and 3D are now required
capabilities along with delivering content
in DVD and mobile formats.
Many variables must be considered care-
fully to optimize a tapeless digital workflow
in order to leverage the best possible imple-
mentation. But after the production plan-
ning and the workflow design are done,
after the cameras and codecs and edit tools
have been selected, after the workflow is
documented, and after file naming and
metadata conventions have been deter-
mined, what then?
Choosing the Right Storage
One of the most important decisions left
to make is choosing the right storage plat-
form. The right platform will set the stage
for fast, efficient delivery of high quality
programming. The Digital Production Part-

2. Extreme Performance
with SSD/SATA Tier
Lightning-fast response time and paral-
lel access for massive throughput. High-
speed SSDs for fast access to metadata
and small files and high capacity SATA
for large file performance.
Scalability
System scales to 8PB and 150GB/s,
or 1.4M IOPS of aggregate perfor-
mance, accessed by as many as 12,000
clients. Performance scales near-linearly
with capacity.
Easy Management
Single point of management via GUI
or CLI. Capacity expansion without
downtime. System set up in under
ten minutes.
Unsurpassed Data Protection
Object RAID delivers high reliability
and the fastest RAID rebuilds available.
Compelling TCO
Outstanding price/performance, invest-
ment protection, utilization rates and
simplified management.
SOLUTION HIGHLIGHTS
Contactpanasasformoreinformation:1.888.PANASAS|Info@panasas.com
© 2013 Panasas, Inc. All rights reserved. Panasas, the Panasas logo, ActiveStor, PanFS and DirectFlow are trademarks or registered trademarks of Panasas, Inc., in the U.S.
and/or other countries. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, trade names, company names and service marks are the respective properties of their holders.
Panasas Parallel File System
The integrated PanFS parallel file system
delivers performance by spreading I/O
across all of the available resources, and
when new storage is added, PanFS auto-
matically distributes the workload over the
new, larger pool. In this way ActiveStor is
able to easily grow both performance and
capacity linearly as requirements dictate.
Data Protection
Asset protection is at the heart of PanFS,
safeguarding files with object RAID where
files are stored as objects, distributed
across all of the hardware elements. PanFS
uses multiple techniques to avoid the per-
formance degradation and risk to content
in the event of a component failure.
Content Distribution
Combine the ActiveStor platform with
Panasas content distribution software to
accelerate secure file transfers. The tech-
nology is capable of fully using all avail-
able bandwidth on local or long distance
networks or between two local storage
units. No more removable hard drives.
No more couriers.
Panasas ActiveStor is a file-based, high performance,
scale-out NAS solution that optimally supports tape-
less digital workflows. ActiveStor 14 intelligently
combines high performance Solid State Drives (SSDs)
and cost-effective hard disk storage to deliver a solu-
tion that is fully optimized for the mixed workloads so
often found in media and entertainment. It provides
high streaming throughput for large files and high
performance for small files, critical to a smooth and
efficient workflow. ActiveStor is equally strong in
ease of use and management, with initial installs and
online scaling of capacity and performance taking
under 10 minutes.
PANASAS ACTIVESTOR
THE WORLD’S FASTEST HPC STOR AGE SYSTEM
1
The Reluctant Revolution, Breaking Down the Barriers to Digital Production in Television: A report for the Digital Production Partnership by Mediasmiths International,
page 5. Taken from http://www.digitalproductionpartnership.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/DPP_Bloodless_Revolution.pdf on 3 March, 2013
03250131101