StorageDNA
Key Code Media is currently the leading StorageDNA reseller. This gives us the advantage of having a very close partnership with StorageDNA which allows us to deploy and test their workflow solutions during the early development stages for product and market testing to ensure that we are able to support clients in every demographic. As digital media workflow specialists, we're able to demonstrate, discuss, and provide unique solutions with StorageDNA products to help increase your revenue stream. We test StorageDNA's solutions in our Burbank facility and have multiple certified technicians trained to support the StorageDNA solutions.
The Challenge
The Challenge of Archiving Growing Amounts of File Based Content
We face a tremendous challenge – the amount of file based content continues to grow. This is fueled by higher resolutions, content that is captured directly to file based formats and the need to protect source footage, stock footage and finished projects.
LTO-5 data tape is emerging as the broadly accepted solution for archiving. This is on account of its cost and reliability benefits. However, an equally important decision is what software you should be using to archive to LTO-5.
When faced with the need to archive to LTO-5, end users look to the most commonly used IT solutions. While these solutions address the basic need to write to tape, there are a number of archiving challenges (scalability, manageability, access, search etc.) encountered in a rich media environment that are not addressed by current IT solutions.
LTO-5
DNA Evolution – LTO-5 Archiving Designed To Scale
DNA Evolution is a new LTO-5 archiving solution designed to help rich media environments deal with the inevitability of tremendous growth.
While you may be considering archiving a single SAN today, you will quickly be adding other SANs, workstations and locations to your archival environment. Additionally, the amount of content in your archives is also guaranteed to increase over the next few years making it difficult to find content. DNA Evolution is designed to help you start from a single archive server but grow to hundreds if needed – while providing you the ability to manage it all with one interface. DNA Evolution’s single interface also enables you to search your archives globally – across any number of servers and locations.
DNA Evolution addresses key scalability, size, searchability and access challenges as you grow, including:
- How do I archive multiple SANs, workstations to the same tape hardware?
- How does one archive systems that may be at another location?
- How does one manage separate archive servers, catalog files and tape hardware?
- How do I simplify my archiving process so an end user can perform their own archiving?
- How do I search and browse my archives across terabytes and possibly petabytes of content?
- How do I access my archived tapes?
- How do I exchange these tapes with a customer or partner who does not have the same software?
- How do I guarantee my tapes are accessible 30 years from now?
In the following sections we highlight how DNA Evolution addresses a number of the above key issues.
Infrastructure
Shared, Network Solution
Highlights
- DNA Evolution is built on a shared, networked architecture.
- In the above diagram, an archive server is any workstation connected to tape hardware and has DNA Evolution archive server software.
- In the above diagram, an archive client is any workstation with the DNA Evolution client software. An archive client can be a standalone workstation, a laptop or a SAN client and can be archived over a LAN or WAN to an archive server.
- Similar to a shared SAN, the DNA Evolution architecture turns your tape hardware into a shared resource - allowing you to archive any SAN or workstation in your organization – not just the workstation connected to your tape drives.
- Rather than attach a separate tape drive for every SAN or workstation you want to archive, DNA Evolution enables you to share tape resources and save on tape hardware costs.
Central Web Management
Highlights
- The DNA Evolution controller is a central appliance that is part of every environment. It is responsible for presenting a web management interface.
- Rather than being limited to managing archiving workflows from the archive workstation, DNA Evolution enables workflow management from anywhere.
- The web interface gives you the flexibility to manage all aspects of archiving your content including the ability to create, monitor and edit your archive jobs.
- Additionally, user/group access control enables different users with varying access privileges to use the web interface.
Scalable
Scalability & Global Management
Highlights
- Growth happens unexpectedly. However, most current solutions are not built to help you manage growing environments and archival needs.
- With current solutions, as you need to archive more SANs or locations you can end up with multiple archive servers – where each archive server has to be managed independently – with its own interface and its own catalog files resulting in a fragmented archive.
- On the other hand, the DNA Evolution architecture is designed to help you manage growth.
- Rather than having to manage each archive server as a standalone entity, DNA Evolution allows you to add archive servers and archive clients while managing all the systems as a group.
- Not only can you manage archive servers and clients at one location but a single controller can scale to manage multiple locations – each with its own archive servers and clients.
Enables a Global Archive
Highlights
The DNA Evolution centralized controller also acts as the central storage for all catalog information, metadata, tape information and proxy files. This enables a global archive of all your content, across all locations – made searchable from any location using a web browser.
On the other hand, if you add archive servers in standalone architectures, you can end up with a fragmented archive. This becomes a major challenge over time - because of no central catalog file, you have to search multiple separate systems to find content in your archive.
Workflows
Workflows
DNA Evolution enables workflows tailored to rich media environments. The summarized workflows below are explained in more detail over the next few pages.
Archiving
DNA Evolution allows administrators to create pre-configured jobs. Once enabled, end users can follow a simple two step process for archiving content. DNA Evolution enables three archiving workflows:
- Content can be archived by directly selecting files/folders
- Or files can be archived by selecting an AAF export
- Or files can be archived by selecting an XML export
Search & Browse
DNA Evolution also makes it easy to find archived content. The central controller stores all meta-data and proxy information for all content archived across all archive servers and locations. This enables a global archive that can be searched via a web interface.
Tape Access & Restoring Content
Finally, DNA Evolution enables archived tapes to be accessed on any LTO-5 tape drive, just like a hard drive.
Continuous Backup
DNA Evolution enables you to setup continuous protection for any content you want to protect.
Disk, Tape and WAN
DNA Evolution integrates not only LTO tape archiving but also enables you to integrate disk and WAN based workflows.
Archiving
File system Archiving
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Step 1: Via the web interface, select workstation. Browse and pick files and folders. You can select one file or multiple folders based on how you want to group and tag your content. |
Step 2: Add description, tags, run archive. |
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Avid AAF Archiving
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Step 1: Via the web interface, select an AAF exported file. The exported file is a meta-data export. |
Step 2: The AAF file is parsed and the corresponding media files are picked for archiving. Then add a description, add tags, and run. |
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Final Cut XML Archiving
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Step 1: Via the web interface, select a XML exported file. The exported file is a meta-data export. |
Step 2: The XML file is parsed and the corresponding media files are picked for archiving. Then add a description, add tags, and run. |
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Evolved
Globally Browse and Search Your Archives
Highlights
- DNA Evolution allows you to browse and search your archives across all your archive jobs, servers and locations.
- From the web interface, you can give end users, partners and even your customers the ability to:
- Browse archived file names, size, description, tags, tapes
- Search by tags, descriptions
- Play proxy files from the web
- Find what tapes your content is on
- DNA Evolution enables you to setup access controls so approval users are limited to search, browse and proxy play – without the ability to archive content.
- Once you find the content you are looking for, DNA Evolution enables open and disk-like access to your tapes – on any LTO-5 drive. The next section highlights tape access.
Open Exchange and Access Archived Tapes with the Flexibility of Disk
Step 1: Simply download the free DNA Evolution browser software. On any system connected to an LTO-5 drive, mount the tape using the DNA Evolution browser software.
Step 2: Access content like a hard drive. The DNA Evolution browser allows you to double click and open files, drag n’ drop one or more files directly to Finder/Explorer windows, drag n’ drop files directly into applications.
Continuous Backup
Step 1: Rather than archive files on-demand, you can select folders and setup an automated, continuous backup. Source folders are automatically monitored and new updates are moved to LTO-5 tape.
Step 2: In case you need to recover content, use any LTO-5 drive to mount the tape, browse the tape like disk and drag files to your disk based system.
Integrates Disk, Tape and WAN
Not only does DNA Evolution enable archiving to tape but also integrates disk based synchronization over LAN and WAN links. This capability allows you to integrate both tape and disk workflows. Some sample workflows include:
- Archiving in the field to LTO-5. At the same time, sync low res media over the WAN to a central location for editorial or dailies.
- Sync source footage to LTO-5 tape for archival while also syncing source content to your SANs for editorial purposes.
For more information on disk based and WAN workflows, please refer to DNA Sync product information.
Pricing
Product Details and Pricing
NOTE: The following prices are only approximate to help you understand DNA Evolution pricing. Please refer to your local StorageDNA reseller for up to date pricing information.
DNA Evolution is priced by three components. This includes the DNA Evolution Archive Server, the DNA Evolution Archive Client and the DNA Evolution Archive Controller.
DNA Evolution Archive Server (Call (818) 303-3900 For Price):
The Archive Server is a software component that can be installed on a workstation connected to your tape hardware. The archive server can archive any data directly visible on the archive server and also enables network archiving of any system with the Archive Client installed. The Archive Server is priced per workstation and allows you to attach any number of tape drives.
DNA Evolution Archive Client (Call (818) 303-3900 For Price):
The Archive Client is a software component that can be installed on any system in your organization. It allows you to archive any content on that workstation to one or more archive servers in your environment. For example, you can install an archive client on one of your SAN client systems to archive the entire SAN. Archive clients save you the need to deploy tape hardware at every workstation you need to archive.
DNA Evolution Tape Browser (Free):
The DNA Evolution tape browser is a free software component that allows you to mount an LTO-5 tape with DNA Evolution archived content on any LTO-5 tape drive. The tape browser acts as a more efficient Finder/Explorer enabling disk like access to the mounted tape and its contents.
DNA Evolution Archive Controller Appliance (Call (818) 303-3900 For Price):
The Archive Controller is a one-time investment that enables a scalable archive environment. It can manage multiple archive servers, clients, users and locations. The Archive Controller acts as a central repository, policy controller and web manager. It provides centralized management, scalability, search and access features. Every DNA Archive Controller includes one Archive Server as part of its pricing. The Archive Controller is a hardware appliance that comes in multiple hardware configurations (Rackmount, Rackmount w/ redundant components).
