PacketExchange and Talon Data Together

PacketExchange, an Ethernet and IP network service provider with reach across Europe, the United States and Asia, together with Talon Data Systems, in networked data storage solutions and appliances for full-resolution digital content, have proven the first global suite-to-suite solution for uncompressed 2K film footage from London to Los Angeles and back.

File transfers were delivered at 450MB/s directly to a Baselight color grading system, a rate nearly twice as fast as real-time transfer for 2K footage. With the ability to deliver 1TB of DPX frames in 37 minutes directly to a far-away color correction system, this new capability has the potential to enable collaborative digital workflows around the world, saving time and money.

PacketExchange’s private and secure global Ethernet network greatly reduces packet loss and jitter while offering 100% availability Service Level Agreement (SLA). Talon’s NetFlight data transfer appliance uses a completely new transfer protocol. Together, PacketExchange’s network and Talon’s appliance enable the highest data transfer rates without the need to compress files, preserving the original quality and associated metadata.

PacketExchange and Talon thoroughly tested the integration of the NetFlight technology across the network infrastructure to prove that uncompressed, end-to-end, high capacity data transfer rates can be delivered with guaranteed integrity across a long distance, quickly and efficiently. The solution substantially accelerates the ability for companies to share and transfer large bandwidth files across an expansive geographic reach.

"PacketExchange’s high performance Layer 2 network has proven ideal to stream and transfer extremely large files efficiently," comments Chuck Stormon, VP of Strategic Accounts at PacketExchange. "The common practice of transferring files to tapes or portable hard disk drives and shipping them via traditional ‘overnight’ or ‘next day’ courier services have traditionally slowed projects down. Sending compressed files over the Internet also takes time, losing quality in the process as well as exposing them to security issues. With NetFlight over PacketExchange’s global private network we significantly improve the Time to Usable Data without sacrificing any of the quality of the original content."

PacketExchange’s network is constructed using a fully resilient mesh of 10Gb wavelengths, leveraging multiple physically diverse transatlantic and terrestrial cable systems. Built over the last 10 years with multi-terabit switching capacities, the network provides a stable and private infrastructure across the globe.

"PacketExchange’s Layer 2 Ethernet network is the ideal transport solution for high-capacity applications to leverage NetFlight’s enhanced file transfer protocol," adds Tom Shearer, CEO of Talon Data Systems. "The high data capacity and speed of NetFlight’s data transfer solution across PacketExchange’s secure network solves inherent problems with large data file transfers. We believe this new solution can assist professionals in Film, Broadcast, Post Production, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Oil/Gas and any other industry that requires large-bandwidth file sharing."

In addition to providing a reliable, end-to-end, real-time, high capacity data transfer solution, NetFlight is also file-system agnostic, compatible with DAS, SAN, and NAS systems and is currently in daily operation at facilities with XFS, Quantum’s StorNext, SGI’s CXFS and Isilon’s OneFS. The Talon solution provides flexible access to both shareable data and/or direct access data across a guaranteed high-bandwidth network. The solution provides an end-to-end service that is not limited by traditional appliance capabilities. The file transport occurs on the network architecture without the need to be copied onto intermediary storage pools, data tapes or portable Hard Disk Drives (HDD). NetFlight is a completely integrated solution that does not require the typical ‘store-and-forward’ process that adds the delay of creating 2 additional copies of the content being transferred. This results in faster workflows and shortening the time to useable data at the location receiving the content.

The combination of the file-system-to-file-system transfer appliance (Talon’s NetFlight), and a global network (PacketExchange), creates the solution for high capacity data transfers and live streaming, that until now, has not been able to be realized due to both network and cost limitations. Customers interested in deploying the solution can connect to PacketExchange at any of its global Points of Presence (PoPs). Alternatively, PacketExchange can extend its network to customer locations using either 1 Gbps or 10 Gbps Ethernet interfaces delivered via fiber-optic cables. Customers using the NetFlight platform will achieve greater end-to-end network utilization, in the most effective, reliable and affordable manner.