Any Content Anywhere Anytime. ddn.com. DDN Whitepaper. Optimizing Content Storage Infrastructure to Power Next Generation Media Workflows

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1 DDN Whitepaper Any Content Anywhere Anytime Optimizing Content Storage Infrastructure to Power Next Generation Media Workflows 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved

2 Table of Contents Introduction 3 Challenges and Opportunities 4 DDN Consolidates Fragmented Workflows 5 Create, Produce and Distribute Any Content, Anywhere, Anytime 7 Post Production 7 Broadcast 8 Animation 9 Web and Content Distribution 10 Storage Platforms 11 xstreamscaler TM 12 NAS Scaler 12 Web Object Scaler 13 Customers Trust DDN 13 Any Content 14 Anywhere 14 Anytime 14 Conclusion DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 2

3 Introduction The content explosion is well underway and shows no signs of slowing down. IDC predicts that digital content will grow 40X between now and This is being fueled not only by the digitization of film, print and video, but also by the general population who are now video producers too, using today s camera enabled mobile devices. This convergence of broadcast, film, production, Internet, telecom and the consumer electronics industries presents enormous opportunities for Media and Entertainment organizations. They can apply innovative thinking to traditional business models in a way that creates new revenue streams. Convergence Creates Opportunities Production Conventional Outlets Transmission Post-Production, Transcoding, Distribution & Archive Web & Cloud Portals Viral Media However, significant operational challenges still need to be resolved before these organizations can devise workable business and monetization models. These include the proliferation of devices and the requirement to migrate from analog s limitations to align with the capabilities available across all dimensions of the digital supply chain. From content acquisition and archiving, to production, to packaging and distribution, this is requires a fully automated process orchestration. This paper examines how media organizations are deploying DataDirect Networks (DDN) solutions to solve these operational challenges and capitalize on new streams of revenue DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 3

4 Challenges and Opportunities Whether organizations are producing a full-length feature film, reporting breaking news, broadcasting live sports, or hosting and distributing content through the cloud the digital workflow can be broken down into three main components. These are content acquisition, content production and content distribution. Each initiative relies heavily on storage and presents its own challenges. Organizations that understand these challenges and future-proof their business for tomorrow s growing requirements will gain a competitive edge in this converged landscape. Challenges of the Digital Workflow Massive Bandwidth Requirements Fragmented & Inefficient Production Workflow Complex Data Management and Infrastructure Ability to Deliver in Multiple Resolutions & Formats Traditional Distribution and Monetization Challenges Amount of Content is Exploding AVI DIVX XVID VOB Viral Compose & Color Grade Add Special Effects & Render Encode to Various Formats Store and Archive Exponentially Growing Storage Requirements Content Acquisition Content Production Content Distribution 1. Traditional workflows have typically been managed as independent silos, with video content being transported inself-contained systems. This creates fragmented and inefficient workflows, requiring layers and layers of storage infrastructure and copies of data that also need to be managed throughout the production pipeline. Artists that need access to a common pool of storage must spend time navigating IT tools, data sets and file systems rather than concentrating on producing creative work. 2. The amount of content being created, archived and served, coupled with the massive increase in the resolution and formats of content, requires enormous quantities of storage and bandwidth. And, with the next wave of stereoscopic 3D programming now emerging, performance and capacity requirements have more than doubled DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 4

5 3. Keeping media assets readily available and globally distributed must be balanced with cost. Rapidly encoding and widely distributing content is the path to monetization. However, traditional storage technologies are limiting the ability of organizations to repurpose and monetize their digital assets. Understanding and overcoming these challenges can present an enormous opportunity for media organizations to gain a competitive edge in this highly converged and rapidly changing landscape. DDN Consolidates Fragmented Workflows Increases in High Resolution Content Studios Are 2000 Projecting A 10X Increase e In Requirementsents 1500 Almost Overnight Today s digital supply chain consists of multiple types of storage systems in order to satisfy the differing workloads. Content acquisition typically requires the ingest servers to be connected to a real time, high performance Storage Area Network (SAN) to ensure an uninterrupted ingest of video streams. At the content production stage, steps like color grading and correction are generally bandwidth intensive and demand high speed, file-based access; while steps like animation, visual effects (VFX) and rendering are I/O intensive, requiring random access to lots of small files. The delivery of completed content needs a geographically distributed, Cloud based Content Distribution Network (CDN), with the ability to stream content in real time and handle spikes in demand for popular content. Various solutions exist in the market to handle these individual workloads. However, storage administrators are burdened with managing the systems individually, creating duplicate copies of content and dealing with these tasks throughout the production pipeline. Required Storage Bandwidth (MB/s) HD HD Compressed HD Prores HD Uncompressed 2K Uncompressed 4K Uncompressed An Industry Divided SAN NAS Long- Term Archive Playout Servers Web Content Serving Ingest Servers Nearline CDN Real-Time Broadcast Complex Data Management and Infrastructure Results in Reduced Opportunity Consolidation with DDN Playout Servers Web Content Serving Ingest Servers Consolidated Storage Infrastructure Real-Time Broadcast Streamline Workflow, Keep Artists Busy and Hit Production Deadlines 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 5

6 DDN is the one company that delivers storage platforms to consolidate this workflow, from content creation to distribution and archive. With more than a decade of experience architecting information solutions for the world s most content and performance intensive media environments, DDN enables media organizations to build a more collaborative workflow, delivering the ability to distribute content to multiple functional areas across the organization and to the wider ecosystem of external production companies, outsourcers, and business partners. Partner focused, DDN is aligned with the world s leading digital media application partners and system integrators to provide integrated workflow solutions that are optimized to accelerate workflows. Our partners include Cloud Create, Produce And Distribute Any Content, Anywhere, Anytime Whether designing an integrated post production system, broadcasting a live sporting event, rendering a 3D animated feature film or distributing content for end user consumption, DDN is the solutions provider that can shatter technical barriers and create new opportunities to accelerate digital workflows. Let s understand these workflows and how customers are using DDN solutions to automate their digital supply chain. Post Production Post Production can be one of the most time consuming and cost intensive functions in the media creation process. In large studios, it can entail hundreds of artists and editors working simultaneously on terabytes of digital content to perform operations such as color grading, correcting and adding special effects to thousands of encoded files. In recent years, each step in the post production process has required a different kind of storage. Ingest requires a high performance SAN, color grading and composition requires bandwidth intensive Network Attached Storage (NAS), special effects requires random 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 6

7 4GB access to small files whereas the finished content needs to be stored on nearline storage and eventually archived. Having these islands of storage with duplicate copies of content has produced an inefficient workflow where the weakest link determines the overall post production performance. xstreamscaler TM from DDN provides organizations a cost effective way to consolidate these islands of storage and streamline the workflow. Smoke Clients Flame Clients Clipster 1Gig/10Gig Ethernet High Streaming Bandwidth Final Cut Pro Workstations Scanner High Speed Ingest Small Files /Random Access 1Gig/10Gig Ethernet 1Gig/10Gig Ethernet 2D Nuke Workstations 3D Nuke/Maya Workstations USB Data Wrangler 1Gig/10Gig Ethernet 3D Render Nodes Media Server Film Recorder Film Print Reduce production timetables and hit tight deadlines by producing high quality content faster Prepare studio infrastructure for next-generation resolution and revenue enabling content Maximize ROI by increasing the utilization of digital workstations and eliminate lengthy file transfers keeping your creative professionals more productive Reduce costs by minimizing system and data management resources 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 7

8 Broadcast A broadcast workflow, whether it is for live events, sports or breaking news, consists of content acquisition, production and playout/transmission via various multi-format and multi-platform outlets. Similar to post production, each step has typically needed a different type of storage. Content acquisition requires a high performance SAN to ensure uninterrupted ingest. Content production requires access to a high performance NAS system with access to multiple operating systems like Windows, Mac and Linux. Finished content is typically stored on nearline and proxy storage to be encoded into multiple formats that today s multi-device audiences demand. Finally, the playout servers need access to a real time, low latency SAN to ensure uninterrupted play-to-air. Traditional workflows have required islands of storage to be maintained, increasing management overhead and cost. xstreamscaler provides organizations a cost-effective way to implement an advanced workflow to manage every stage of the content lifecycle, and profit from new revenue streams in both traditional and emerging business models. Ingest Workstations Craft Editing Desktop Logging, browse & pre-editing DaletPlus clients Dalet Interweb clients Play-out automation Dalet On Air High Speed File Storage Video Server High Speed SAN Low Latency SAN Playout Video Server Dalet Catalogue Dalet Conversion Servers Scale your services and drive new revenue growth by streamlining the production and delivery of content Broadcast in next-generation resolutions and to any device to maximize revenue and reach Reduce turnaround time for live events and win incremental business Reduce Total Cost of Ownership by minimizing system and data management resources 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 8

9 Animation The creation of animation and visual effects for film and video has become increasingly complex. Both Directors and audiences are expecting vast improvements in character and scene complexity, realism and image quality. Today s 3D animated movies have thousands of objects in each frame of animation, which may take a dedicated computer anywhere from a few minutes to dozens of hours to render. During peak production, the CPUs that perform the rendering can generate over 250 Billion data requests. The ability to deliver animation projects within tight deadlines and budgets can make or break a studio s bottom line. NAS Scaler from DDN is designed to handle the stringent requirements of animation, visual effects and rendering environments to deliver high quality animation and special effects that delight customers. Story Board Whiteboard Layout & Animation Render Farm NAS Protocols High IOPS Final Conform Hub Paperless Drawing Library Film Out Tape Out Maximize ROI by ensuring that workstations and render farm hardware is not lying idle Keep animators busy and hit project deadlines by simply removing the storage bottleneck Create breathtaking 3D animation characters in tight production deadlines and gain the ability to take on any advanced project in the future Reduce Total Cost of Ownership by minimizing system and data management resources 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 9

10 Web and Content Distribution The distribution of digital content is an increasingly complex undertaking for studios. Multiple creative professionals working in different parts of the world often need to collaborate on the same piece of digital content. The storage infrastructure for these locations is typically managed by just a few administrators. In addition to the requirement for large amounts of geographically dispersed storage, studios have to adhere to specific retention policies, store large amounts of metadata that accompanies each piece of finished content and smoothly handle spikes in demand for popular content. This creates management complexities that cannot be handled by traditional storage solutions, creating technical limitations for studios to monetize their assets. Web Object Scaler is an object-based, cloud storage platform designed for distribution and collaboration of exabytes of digital content across geographically distributed sites. Zone: Los Angeles Zone: London Zone: Beijing Complete Interoperability Zone: Sydney Increase the monetization of digital content by delivering it to new global audiences Reduce storage costs by keeping all media assets in one centralized repository and only pay for additional capacity as your library grows Hit tight production deadlines by building a collaborative workflow to simply and easily share content across the globe Simplify management by adding custom tags and metadata to encoded content Improve end user satisfaction by pushing content to the edge and creating multiple copies on the fly to handle spikes in demand for popular content 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 10

11 Storage Platforms Leveraging 12 years of leadership in simplifying, consolidating and optimizing the most content intensive media applications in the world, storage platforms from DDN are designed to solve the dynamic requirements of tomorrow s media organizations. Let s understand these platforms in further detail. xstreamscaler xstreamscaler is a high performance, clustered file system solution with extensive data management features for organizations looking to create an integrated workflow. Complete file system interoperability with Apple XSan and native support for Final Cut Pro and Final Cut Server, improves workflow efficiency by integrating applications that run on both Mac and non-mac operating systems (Windows, Linux and Unix). All platforms can share storage over both high-speed Fiber Channel and Local Area Networks. This solution is designed to deliver high-speed ingest and delivery of concurrent video stream with real-time performance guarantees and zero performance penalty on a disk or enclosure failure. NAS Scaler NAS Scaler is an extremely modular and cost-effective file-based storage solution. Providing the ability to deliver extremely high input/output operations per second, this solution is built to sustain performance even as the environment grows. Simple and cost-effective scaling ensures you will be able to future-proof against tomorrow s capacity and performance demands. In addition to high-performance file-based workflows such as VFX, Animation and Gaming, NAS Scaler s efficiency also makes it an ideal foundation for downstream distribution of digital content with its support for Wide Area Network optimized replication with encryption. Web Object Scaler Web Object Scaler is an object based, cloud storage platform that is designed to simplify the creation, deployment and management of private or public cloud-based global distribution and archive models. Powerful metadata options allow for custom tagging, simplifying index and namespace management. It complements our file system platforms and is designed to scale on demand from terabytes to exabytes, and from a single site to a multi-site platform for efficient distribution and collaboration of media content DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 11

12 Customers Trust DDN DDN has delivered solutions to over 600+ of the world s largest media organizations including - The DDN storage provides us with the scalable capacity, small data center footprint and extremely high performance that we needed in order to design the state-of-the-art post production facility and having the system support 4 concurrent 4K streams at 1.2 GB/sec is proof of that. Also knowing that DDN and DVS have successfully deployed over a dozen solutions together was key in our selection. Roberto Quintanilla Herranz Supervisor Post Production and Chief Image Department for CATA 2011 DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 12

13 Any Content Only DDN storage systems enable today s digital media workflows to capture and serve the largest number of high-resolution digital content streams from 25 Mbps to uncompressed 2K, 4K and stereoscopic 3D. With DDN, studio infrastructures are able to work on any type of content, maximizing their revenue opportunities and creative expression for their artistic vision. Anywhere Simplifying complex distribution challenges, DDN enables rapid and simple access to content from anywhere in the world and from any device. From Hollywood to Bollywood, cinema to smartphone, you can collaborate, distribute or achieve from anywhere. Anytime The world s largest Media and Entertainment organizations demand the highest levels of availability, reliability and durability from their infrastructure. DDN is the only organization that can offer guaranteed access to digital content with zeroperformance penalty even when technology components unexpectedly misbehave. Our systems perform at full-speed even when there is a loss of drives, drive channels or entire disk enclosures. There s no risk of dropping frames or the inability to ingest or deliver data in a production workflow. With DDN s low latency and real-time products, studios smash through production I/O bottlenecks and reduce their time to market of new content. Conclusion The explosion in the amount of content being generated, combined with the convergence of broadcast, production and consumer electronics is changing the Media and Entertainment industry in dramatic ways. Enormous opportunities are open to create innovative business models, reaching new customers and driving new revenue streams. DDN s innovative, enabling technology and it s experience in resolving the challenges of the world s most content-intensive environments provides its customers with a competitive edge in this rapidly changing, highly competitive market space DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 13

14 DDN About Us DataDirect Networks (DDN) is the world s largest privately held information storage company. We are the leading provider of data storage and processing solutions and services, that enable content-rich and high growth IT environments to achieve the highest levels of systems scalability, efficiency and simplicity. DDN enables enterprises to extract value and deliver results from their information. Our customers include the world s leading online content and social networking providers, high performance cloud and grid computing, life sciences, media production organizations and security & intelligence organizations. Deployed in thousands of mission critical environments worldwide, DDN s solutions have been designed, engineered and proven in the world s most scalable data centers, to ensure competitive business advantage for today s information powered enterprise. For more information, go to www. or call TERABYTE. Version 09/ DataDirect Networks. All Rights Reserved 14