Hungarian Digic Pictures Expands Quantum StorNext Installation

Quantum Corporation announced that
animation and visual effects studio, Digic
Pictures, has expanded its Quantum StorNext software installation to speed
the daily file sharing and processing of rich media content that takes place at
its facility.

Digic specialises in full 3D animation and visual effects (VFX) for films,
commercials and video games – including Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Assassin’s Creed III and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow
2. By expanding its StorNext deployment, Digic has improved its productivity,
increased its storage capacity and shortened production schedules for
data-heavy video projects.

Quantum worked with one of its resellers, Silicon Computers, to
streamline Digic’s processes for it to be more competitive and efficient in a
rapidly moving industry. With two StorNext File Systems and 140
StorNext Distributed LAN Clients, Digic benefits from access to stored files
for editing and rendering at speeds approximately 50% faster than traditional NFS. The studio uses Ethernet connections to the LAN
clients to keep costs low. Because the StorNext File System supports multiple
operating platforms, Digic also was able to replace its original UNIX systems
with multiple, lower-cost Linux servers and Windows edit stations.

Gabor Kali, head of systems administration, Digic Pictures, said: "The StorNext solution has significantly
increased our productivity by allowing us to store our raw materials and
rendered files on the same file system. The kind of extreme and random workload
that we demand is beyond what any ordinary file system can support, but
StorNext handles it every day.

"When you are dealing
with lots of data-hungry visual effects processing, the last thing you want is
your teams waiting around to access files. With objects getting bigger and more
complex, speed and efficiency of access are crucial for visual effects work,
especially with 3D projects. Quantum continues to evolve its StorNext solutions
to deliver the performance, scalability and flexibility that enable companies
to address changing market needs."

As well as two separate StorNext file systems, the Digic
installation includes multiple fibre-attached Linux servers and Windows-based
workstations. One of the StorNext file systems is served by approximately 30TB
of high-speed SAS disk storage used for current projects – both the working
files for a project and the files for the texture and effects used during
rendering. The second file system is served by 20TB of a slower SATA disk,
which is used as an archive for inactive projects. Older work is moved to the
second system when it is ready for archive but is easily available if it needs
to be remounted to the work area for re-use.