Most church video teams needed help with their video data storage and retrieval before pandemic shutdowns and restrictions hit. So now that working from home has become the norm for many, the need for truly functional and easy-to-use storage is absolutely critical. Add in the fact that media ministries are producing more content for broadcast and streaming than ever before, and the need for professional storage can literally make or break a team’s workflow and effectiveness.
The creative.space OPMS solution leverages DigitalGlue’s experience in integration to provide a uniquely scalable storage system that works across multiple formats.
Stashing away the data for quick recall may sound straightforward enough for today’s remarkable computer systems, but still, storing video data as part of an editor’s workflow continues to be a serious pain point.
Meeting the challenge head-on
These are the typical daily concerns plaguing most church video teams: How much data do we have? How much additional space should we plan for? How will we reserve space for upcoming projects? Who will need access to what data and how will they use it? What is the best way to secure our data, but still allow easy access by our team?
According to Nick Anderson, product manager for creative.space, an On-Premise Managed Storage (OPMS) service from veteran storage integrator DigitalGlue, his company has the ideal solution to make data storage and access truly workable for any team. “We've designed storage to be simple for non-technical users,” says Anderson, “yet there are some things you can't get around, such as how operating systems handle networking, which our team is here to help with. Through our service model, we shoulder the complexity and help team leaders implement practical workflows that are easy and intuitive for creatives.”
“We've designed storage to be simple for non-technical users." Nick Anderson, Product Manager for creative.space, DigitalGlue
Rather than look at the needs of video editors as simply the need for more disk space and fast retrieval, creative.space considers the many aspects of data storage in the context of the video editor’s workflow. Here are some basic tenets of storage employed by creative.space that contribute to a better storage system.
True collaboration requires everyone to have easy real-time access to the same data.
Legacy storage servers look to redundancy in an effort to increase performance, resulting in unneeded expense to add more capacity than is actually needed. Rather than creating duplicate copies, creative.space delivers real-time access based on predetermined user permissions while leveraging computer memory to dramatically improve performance. This not only improves performance, but also reduces cost.
creative.space administrators can set up Spaces (aka Volumes) to control access to data, as well as set up Quotas or Reservations that protect users from accidentally reaching maximum capacity causing performance issues. A Space can be set up and managed as if it were its own storage device, while sharing the same capacity and performance as the rest of the Spaces.
Your data is best protected when you manage it.
As legacy storage systems grow, they become more complex, ultimately requiring IT personnel to manage them. Typical methods to control access rely on binding to an Active Directory or other user management server, leaving teams dependent on someone else to manage their data.
To put users in control without managing additional servers, creative.space has integrated an LDAP server to support extended access control.
To put users in control without managing additional servers, creative.space has integrated an LDAP server to support extended access control. This allows administrators to create users, assign them to specific roles and groups with customizable permission sets to restrict or give access to Spaces, folders, and files simply within their web application.
A solid folder and file naming system is key to effective media asset management.
File and folder names keep our data assets in order and make them readily identifiable, but naming folder structures from scratch or duplicating existing folders with updated project information is time-consuming, prone to human error, and can lead to frustration.
To avoid repeatedly naming folders manually, creative.space's simple and intuitive Folder Structure Templates feature keeps files and folders organized. Templates using custom variables in brackets such as [project name], [date], [client] allow you to just fill out a form and file structures appear with the proper names. Administrators can then restrict user permissions to avoid human error or overwriting.
Recovering data, whether accidental or intentional, should be simple and stress-free.
To have a useful image of just the data you need is incredibly powerful, which is why creative.space software employs comprehensive Snapshot tools, logic, and an intuitive web app to protect and recover data from an accidental misstep or an intrusive attack.
A Snapshot is simply an exact picture of the state of your data at a certain point in time.
More specifically, a Snapshot is simply an exact picture of the state of your data at a certain point in time. It is based upon a single dataset (creative.space calls it a “Space”). Zetabyte File System (ZFS) next-generation storage architecture provides for Snapshots and rollbacks that are almost instantaneous and don’t require additional storage space until any active files are deleted. creative.space’s enhanced features even allow users to browse and restore from snapshots, schedule snapshots in the future, set an expiration date, and assign administrative access based upon user roles.
Allow creatives to work remotely and manage their production assets in one place.
Typical remote workflows via VPN force teams to manage their production assets in two places: local and cloud storage. With creative.space, these two places become one with enterprise storage at your facility that can be accessed remotely at any time. They call it replacing the "cloud" with “fog,” blurring the boundaries between cloud and on-premise workflows.
To promote access from anywhere the creative.space software is VPN agnostic, but a ZeroTier client is also integrated into each creative.space node so users without a preferred VPN provider can get connected remotely for free on their own encrypted virtual network. For customers wanting a hardware VPN, creative.space has partnered with Fortinet, allowing users to log into the VPN using their creative.space credentials.
There is much more to the comprehensive design of creative.space web and desktop apps that take the most complex IT-centric tasks, the ones normally associated with enterprise storage, and streamline them. Apps are designed with an intuitive graphical user experience, eliminating the need to learn command line controls. In fact, the Desktop Application is as easy as opening a ".creative" file, automatically connecting the computer to the creative.space system, so users can log in with their credentials and mount Spaces to their desktop. “One of the most important things about creative.space,” notes Nick Anderson, “is how it fills in that gap between complexity and simplicity. creative.space OPMS is our way of removing bottlenecks in our customers' workflows through storage, as that is what sits at the heart of every workflow.”
The //ROGUE G2 and //ROGUE PRO Portable NAS
//ROGUE G2
The //ROGUE series, within the creative.space line-up, is comprised of two portable storage solutions that provide enterprise-class performance, reliability, and features. The //ROGUE G2 is the second generation of the //ROGUE. Small, but mighty; the //ROGUE G2 is powerful enough to handle Hollywood-level video workflows with up to 1 GB/s of throughout per 10 GbE connection, and is the only product in the creative.space line-up available for purchase. Two built-in 10GbE and two 1GbE ports support up to 4 connected users with the ability to add even more with a switch. Customers can purchase the 48TB //ROGUE G2 for $4,795 or 64TB for $6,395. Alternatively, the 48TB and 64TB systems can be financed for $199/month or $265/month respectively with 0% interest for 24 months.
//ROGUE PRO
The second portable NAS option is the blazing fast //ROGUE PRO. Unlike anything else on the market, the //ROGUE PRO is able to achieve the capacity and performance typically expected from multiple racks of servers in a desktop form factor. Like every other system in creative.space’s On-Premise Managed Storage platform, the //ROGUE PRO bundles blazing fast hardware, intuitive software, and proactive support into one all-inclusive affordable monthly or annual rate. The //ROGUE PRO offers 96TB of RAW storage for $595/month or 108TB for $695/month and includes three years of proactive support. Unlike purchasing or leasing storage, a creative.space service contract is flexible, allowing customers to adapt to changing needs with modular or complete upgrades.
Learn more about the creative.space platform at www.digitalglue.com, then hit the “Let’s Talk” tab.
