FAQ: How we built our own server for shared storage on the (relatively) cheap

An excerpt from a post on the Videostrategy.org blog:

Earlier this year I set up our own server as a shared storage testbed. Since we got it up and running, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about it so I put together this quick guide that covers just about everything about it from the parts list to performance testing.

Why did you build your own server?

We were evaluating shared storage solutions for the wider team and realized we weren’t quite ready to take the leap into a system that could support 10+ editors working with multiple streams of RED footage. It’d require a lot of hardware and major infrastructure upgrades.

We decided to pivot our focus to a smaller project where we could make a big impact with less work. Thus the graphics server project was born.

Why is shared storage important?

We have a two person internal graphics/VFX department and they collaborate a lot with each other and our team of editors. Using our current storage workflow (individual project drives) means there’s a lot of passing physical drives back and forth between computers and that can get really confusing.

The graphics team also needs to work in parallel with our editors, so giving them their own dedicated storage space is helpful so they’re not waiting on drives to be free or sending files that need to be organized later.

Because the server is networked, the whole team gets access to the server so folks can send assets and browse for content they need on their own time. Just because someone’s out of the office doesn’t mean you can’t get a render you need to get your edit done.

Read the full post at Videostrategy.org.


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