Archion Rolls Out 3U Synergy IS Expansion RAID for Avid ISIS 5000

Responding to customer needs for expansion storage options for their Avid storage systems, Archion, Inc. has introduced Synergy IS for the Avid ISIS 5000.

An alternative RAID protected add-on storage for the ISIS 5000, Synergy IS with its patent pending technologies offers plug-and-play integration into ISIS 5000 shared storage systems. Since its introduction in 2010, ISIS 5000 has been recognized as a powerful component of Avid workflows. However, like the Unity MediaNetwork, Avid offers expensive expansion options that can put undue pressure on budgets when it comes to adding expansion storage.

"Since the successful introduction and widespread adoption of our Synergy system for the Avid Unity MediaNetwork, clients that use ISIS 5000 have been consistently requesting a solution from us that avoids that expensive upgrade path," said Reuben Lima, COO of Archion. "Today, we are pleased to announce we have once again responded to our clients’ demands with the introduction of Synergy IS, which offers a powerful expansion engine for the ISIS 5000 with a price that starts at a very attractive $22,995."

During the last five years, an increasing number of post production and broadcast facilities across the country have come to rely on Archion’s solutions for future and past shared storage technology releases from Avid. In effect, Archion has positioned itself as a choice in storage hardware for Avid users. They have become comfortable knowing that they can utilize Archion’s technology for years, while expanding as their storage requirements continue to grow.

"Synergy IS is just another example of the flexibility of our patent pending innovative technologies to adapt to and bond with existing storage systems," said James Tucci, CTO of Archion. "This technology allows us to provide faster, compatible and more reliable expansion storage for Avid and other content creation systems, with an unbeatable cost/benefit ratio."

Patent Pending
Archion engineers originally developed the patent pending Vdisk in 2006 to enable plug-and-play integration of hardware parity RAID into Avid Unity MediaNetworks. Later, this technology was expanded and enhanced to create greater compatibility among applications in creative and collaborative environments. Now, Archion’s technologies are being leveraged to deliver a compatible and seamless integration with Avid’s ISIS 5000 shared storage platform. ISIS 5000 owners can save nearly 50% when adding Synergy IS storage rather than Avid storage.

Synergy IS is as transparent to ISIS 5000 as Archion’s Synergy XTR is to Unity. The 3RU chassis is a direct replacement for the ISIS 5000 engine and offers all of the protection of the Archion standard RAID-5 4+1 configuration, which Avid adopted for use in ISIS 5000. It cannot become or be used as a system director or failover system director. It is designed as additional storage for ISIS 5000, connecting via 10GbE to the Force10 switch and the ISIS 5000 system director. Binding is done as with any ISIS engine, and storage groups and workspaces can then be created.

Technical specifications: