The video (HD version available here) provides a high level view of The MatrixStore in this role:

As shown in the video there are 4 main benefit areas:

• Guaranteed Ingest - MatrixStore generates a hash (digest, digital fingerprint) of the content on the client and also on the two MatrixStore nodes the content lands on. Three different places where the content is checked ensuring the content in MatrixStore is bit for bit the same as came off the P2 or SxS card. Because MatrixStore keeps that digest/fingerprint as metadata with the content we are able to automatically, periodically and systematically (insert line from Grease here) ensure the content on disk matches the digest kept with it. Forever.. and ever.

• Secure Protection - MatrixStore provides the option to keep content in vaults that can have retention periods set upon them. No deletion or modification before the retention date. End of. This helps not only for the long term retention of content but also as a highly secure ingest vault for rushes/dailies coming into the post process. Set a one month retention policy on an ingest vault and that content will be secure from the accidents that do tend to happen.

• Searchable Metadata – “If you can’t find it you don’t have it”. DropSpot harvests metadata contained within the P2 (and other formats) media and creates a searchable rushes (dailies) repository allowing producers or editors to find and retrieve clips in an instant.

• Making use of the content – Now that the data is online and protected at the highest levels you can now access the data. Using either DropSpot or MxFS from any authenticated client content can be copied to and from the archive or can be accessed from within applications like Media Composer or Final Cut Pro. Using MxFS, The MatrixStore is perfect to provide quick access to content to browse or perform a quick edit before working ‘online’.

The View from OM

There is currently no de-facto standard or best practice defined for the safe ingest of tapeless content. The MatrixStore offers the ability to provide guaranteed ingest coupled with an audit trail from ingest through to archive in AVID and Final Cut Workflows.

During BVE last week I spent time chatting with Larry Jordan for the ‘The Digital Production Buzz’ podcast talking about:

• The two maxims .. now three…
• Highly secure protection of file-based rushes/dailies
• MatrixStore as nearline or parking space
• Keeping legacy assets online in order to re-use or re-purpose

We also touched on the integrations with CatDV/Final Cut Server and disk based archiving in general.

Click on the image to to to the website:

Larry  is an internationally-renowned consultant and Apple-Certified trainer in digital media with over 25 years experience as a television producer, director and editor with national broadcast and corporate credits. Based on Los Angeles, he’s a member of both the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America. Jordan is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Edit Well, the rich-media newsletter for Final Cut Studio, published by Peachpit Press. He is the author of hundreds of hours of online training, published by Lynda.com and two books on Final Cut Pro, published by Peachpit Press. Visit his website at www.larryjordan.biz.

The View From OM

I would like to thank Larry for once again giving us the opportunity to talk about MatrixStore and it position in video workflow. I will post about other nice stuff at BVE in another post.

One sweet spot for MatrixStore technology is in the creative space. Creative organisations are increasingly being subjected to change driven by external forces such as changes in the way content is captured and our insatiable appetite for HD or 3D content (see The Big Broadcast Survey published in 2009). The industry is one that is used to adapting to whatever is thrown at it but it also relies on solutions that just work.

Below is a quick summary of the challenges they currently face and how MatrixStore is positioned to help. I will elaborate on each point in later posts :

1. File Based/Tapeless Ingest - Some call it pre-production archiving, some call it prechiving, the problem is the same, more and more content is being captured on disk or flash. There is no tape to put on the shelf. Protecting content that enters the building in an audited manner is a key area where MatrixStore is helping. Integration into Final Cut and Avid workflows, digital fingerprints on ingest, locked vaults to protect from deletion and metadata harvesting from P2, SxS etc are some of the benefits.

2. Parking/Nearline – Production disk, the online, the SAN should be kept lean and mean. Some projects can take years to complete so content needs to be moved off and onto the expensive disk repeatedly over a prolonged period. Tape based technologies do not cut the mustard. Organisations are also looking to ‘rightsize’ their expensive disk by offloading older or less-used content that should not sit clogging up the SAN to a more appropriate tier of storage. Seamless one touch capacity expansion, DropSpot (metadata support/search) and performance make MatrixStore a natural choice.

3. Legacy/Local Archive – organisations who own content need to protect their content or they will not be able to re-use or monetise that content. The two maxims come into their own here. Integration with DAM/MAMs, Self-Management,  redundancy of data, retention policies (prevent change or deletion), metadata and search goodness are key here.

4. Content Manipulation/Distribution Repository - If you own the content and have it protected and available on disk then what can you do with that data? Clustered/Grid architecture, high availability, metadata and search again key.

5. Regulations - More and more financial institutions are using video in the way they communicate with staff or shareholders, that video needs to be protected and stored for a pre-determined period in accordance with global regulations. MatrixStore has built in characteristics that satisfy these compliance requirements.

The View From OM

Even medium to large creative organisations will not have dedicated I.T staff to work on the video side of the business so they need solutions that just work and do not take them out of their comfort zone. The MatrixStore is the storage geek so they don’t need one.

The very same is happening to PPC and early Intel based Xserves. Out with the old, in with the new.

The re-use opportunity lies in that these are still very reliable, durable units that could be re-purposed within organisations for nearline or archive storage rather than ending up as doorstops (albeit very pretty ones) or fodder for Ebay.

One organisation who decided to take that route is AMV BBDO, no less than the UKs largest advertising agency.

The LAB at AMV BBDO is an Apple based post production facility (read more here about The LAB) that has recently upgraded its XSAN from 1.4 to 2.0, whilst also replacing their trusty, loved Xserve RAIDs with the more powerful (though pugly) RAID subsystems from Promise and introducing the lightening fast Nehalem Xserves into the mix. This much needed upgrade would ordinarily leave 6 Xserve RAIDs and 3 PPC Xserves on the shelf but the guys at The LAB wanted to re-use their kit by using it to add storage capacity to their MatrixStore cluster.

“Our Apple XRAIDs had served us well for 5 years, and when we upgraded our SAN it seemed a shame to consign them to the scrap heap. Redeploying them directly into our MatrixStore made commercial sense, and the process was disarmingly straightforward and uncomplicated.” Alex Buchannan, Tech Manager, The LAB.

Using the Mac OS version of the MatrixStore software an archive cluster node can be created using one Xserve connected to one Xserve RAID (see here for brief explanation).

The spare kit at The LAB allowed them to instantly add 3 Xserves and 3 Xserve RAIDs to their existing MatrixStore cluster providing an 20TB raw storage. The remaining Xserve RAIDs will be added at a later date.

The LAB at AMV BBDO have been an Object Matrix customer since 2006. Once the dust has settled on them, they archive projects from their XSAN into the MatrixStore. From the MatrixStore they quickly retrieve assets on demand. The nature of AMV BBDO’s business means that elements of past adverts (lower thirds etc) may be needed for current or future bids or work. They need data elements to hand but do not want them cluttering up the XSAN.

AMV BBDO have a fully automated, integrated Final Cut Server workflow utilising the MatrixStore plugin for Final Cut Server to archive all assets and selected metadata from a production with a single click (see here for more info).

If you are considering rolling out your Xserve RAIDs and would like to implement a MatrixStore cluster then do get in touch. The current free software license offer to manage up to 15TB of data will only be available for a short period of time, after which a 5TB free license will available.

Why use MatrixStore with Final Cut Server? Do you need to:

• Have a fast, multi-user and secure nearline or deep library of assets and completed projects available?
• Backup Final Cut Server databases?
• Backup Final Cut Server proxies?
• Bind strategic metadata together to Final Cut Server assets and productions?
• Archive entire productions in a single mouse click?

Then Object Matrix have provided free scripts and plug-ins here for you.

NB: please enquire if you require customized scripts for FCSvr related tasks.

The backup scripts are free of charge*, and modifiable/usable against any ftp server. The production archiving scripts are proprietary to OM and MatrixStore*.

*Please see individual license files for exact license details.

Have fun!!

Dev Team

Useful links

Backup to FTP Scripts (dmg) (UPDATE 17/Oct/2008)

Archive to MatrixStore Plugin (dmg)

Final Cut Server and MatrixStore (blog entry)

Email questions to Object Matrix

MatrixStore Plugins Overview

MatrixStore plugins for Final Cut Server are a set of scripts and utilities that provide extra features to FCS extending its usability and allowing a seamless integration of MatrixStore as an archive device into your workflows.

• Allow binding strategic metadata together with Final Cut Server assets and productions along the whole process from creation through edition to archiving by storing that metadata with their archived copies on MatrixStore device. Once archived, the user has the ability to find assets and productions easily on the archive device – MatrixStore using the search-driven Dropspot application.

• Provide easy backup of Proxies together with FCS database. By using Final Cut Server Backup function and MatrixStore plugins, the user can automate archiving FCS database and Proxies and keep them together in case of unexpected events and failures. Restoring the whole FCS without time-consuming re-creation of Proxies is a huge advantage and allows to save time, especially for installations with vast array of assets.

• Provides the possibility to archive whole Final Cut Server productions (project) directly from Final Cut Server client application to MatrixStore device, which is extremely useful for project-oriented users.

Installing MatrixStore Plugins for Final Cut Server

You can install MatrixStore Plugins on any Mac running Final Cut Server.

Please note that a MatrixStore cluster must be installed with vaults and vault users created before this process.

You must also install MatrixStore Connect as described in its users guide and create at least one account. Connect presents MatrixStore vaults as FTP accounts to Final
Cut Server.

DMG and Installer

Mount the MatrixStore Disk Image on your computer, go to “FinalCutServer integration” directory, run MatrixStore-FCS Plugins Installer.pkg and complete the installation process.

The installer installs all the necessary files in:
/Library/Application Support/MatrixStore/FCS Support

You can access the log files here:
/Library/Logs/MatrixStore/FCS Support/logs/

To finish installation you have to follow the instructions in Backing up Final Cut Server and Archiving Final Cut Server Productions.

Interview with Nick and Scott Sheppard (Inside Mac Radio)

Some links to the topics/products I mentioned in the interview:

Final Cut Studio Infrastructure

Active Storage Xraid (Come on Skip, send it over)

Tapeless Workflow

I would like to thank Scott and Alex Gebhardt for the opportunity to chat about MatrixStore and what it can offer.

I had this very conversation with a large UK broadcaster two weeks ago. They, quite rightly, voiced concerns around company history, size and sustainability.

I’d like to point out a few arguments:

It’s Your Data! (and we’ve always known that)

Because at OM we’ve always been 100% aware of this concern, since the birth of the company, before ever a line of code was forged, we set out to underpin our solution with open standards.

Therefore, from day one we’ve always allowed, should the worst come to the worst, for users to remove our software and still be able to access their data; and to be able to access their data on standard file systems, using standard tools, and using standard interfaces.

In contrast, products from large companies often go down a “closed box route” – promoting and utilising proprietary platforms. Some large companies have big egos to match!

If a company uses proprietary file formats in their storage solution, and that company or product line goes under, then the data that resides within that product is in very real danger of becoming unavailable, unsupported, unusable.

What do you do with an EMC Centera, a HP RISS, or an Isilon system if you decide that you don’t want to use their software anymore, or if they discontinue that product line? You’ll end up moving data off the system whilst ending up with rather a lot of junk metal.

And that could be an awfully expensive turn of events.

How safe is any company / product line?

If Lehman brothers can go in the blink of an eye, anyone can go.

In our area of the market there are very pessimistic rumblings around Overland, Pillar and Qantum. These guys have installs all over the place, what happens to the customer and its data when one of these ‘pillars’ of the storage community goes south?

Wouldn’t you prefer your data to be on a system you control / if necessary can take control of?

Specialisation   

Because OM dwells in the Creatives marketplace, we care deeply that our product works well, is integrated well, and is priced appropriately for those companies.

That means that if a new version of Final Cut Server comes out with funky new archiving options, we’ll be there supporting them and working with them to give you the best possible, most re-usable archive of data that we can. It’s important to us because the Creatives marketplace is where we live.

The View from OM
We reduce the risk for customers based on technology:

• MatrixStore runs on off the shelf hardware.
• The software runs the Mac OS (Leopard) or Linux
• The data is stored on standard filesystems using standard file formats.
• If you decide MatrixStore is not for you then your data will still be accessible, it will not have been de-duped or stripped across 7 devices.
• You can deploy old servers into or out of the archive, you can even test the archive on your existing kit, and reuse that kit for other purposes afterwards,

If I were the CTO of a large enterprise considering which vendor to trust with my assets I would surely look to solutions that have one eye on the future as well as the here and now.

You can also go to the Apple site to get more documentation about MatrixStore and Final Cut Server:

http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/solutions/infrastructure.html

Do you need to:

• Backup Final Cut Server databases?
• Backup Final Cut Server proxies?
• Bind strategic metadata together to Final Cut Server assets and productions?
• Archive entire productions in a single mouse click?

Then Object Matrix have provided free scripts and plug-ins here for you.

NB: please enquire if you require customized scripts for FCSrv related tasks.

The backup scripts are free of charge*, and modifiable/usable against any ftp server. The production archiving scripts are proprietary to OM and MatrixStore*.

*Please see individual license files for exact license details.

Have fun!!

Dev Team

Useful links

Backup to FTP Scripts (dmg) (UPDATE 17/Oct/2008)

Archive to MatrixStore Plugin (dmg)

Final Cut Server and MatrixStore (blog entry)

Email questions to Object Matrix

MatrixStore Plugins Overview

MatrixStore plugins for Final Cut Server are a set of scripts and utilities that provide extra features to FCS extending its usability and allowing a seamless integration of MatrixStore as an archive device into your workflows.

• Allow binding strategic metadata together with Final Cut Server assets and productions along the whole process from creation through edition to archiving by storing that metadata with their archived copies on MatrixStore device. Once archived, the user has the ability to find assets and productions easily on the archive device – MatrixStore using the search-driven Dropspot application.

• Provide easy backup of Proxies together with FCS database. By using Final Cut Server Backup function and MatrixStore plugins, the user can automate archiving FCS database and Proxies and keep them together in case of unexpected events and failures. Restoring the whole FCS without time-consuming re-creation of Proxies is a huge advantage and allows to save time, especially for installations with vast array of assets.

• Provides the possibility to archive whole Final Cut Server productions (project) directly from Final Cut Server client application to MatrixStore device, which is extremely useful for project-oriented users.

Installing MatrixStore Plugins for Final Cut Server

You can install MatrixStore Plugins on any Mac running Final Cut Server.

Please note that a MatrixStore cluster must be installed with vaults and vault users created before this process.

You must also install MatrixStore Connect as described in its users guide and create at least one account. Connect presents MatrixStore vaults as FTP accounts to Final
Cut Server.

DMG and Installer

Mount the MatrixStore Disk Image on your computer, go to “FinalCutServer integration” directory, run MatrixStore-FCS Plugins Installer.pkg and complete the installation process.

The installer installs all the necessary files in:
/Library/Application Support/MatrixStore/FCS Support

You can access the log files here:
/Library/Logs/MatrixStore/FCS Support/logs/

To finish installation you have to follow the instructions in Backing up Final Cut Server and Archiving Final Cut Server Productions.

Do you need to archive entire productions without having to individually archive each asset?

We’ve put together a short video showing a Final Cut Server workflow in which assets and associated metadata are archived to MatrixStore and subsequently restored.

We will publish more detailed videos in the coming weeks showing the simple steps involved in setting up the MatrixStore/Final Cut Server integration.