Image Engine Turns to NetApp Data ONTAP GX

NetApp announced that Image Engine, an Emmy award-winning visual effects
producer, has turned to NetApp to set new standards for high-definition
digital media workflow based on NetApp Data ONTAP GX. Data ONTAP GX
systems are fully integrated, multinode solutions designed to meet the
needs of the most demanding applications in high-performance computing
and digital media workflows, providing customers with significant
network performance improvement and cost savings.

Image Engine, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada,
has more than 13 years of experience providing digital visual effects
for television programs such as Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
With a history of television effects accomplishments, Image Engine
established a film division and has found continued success providing
effects for Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Slither, Blades
of Glory, and Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium. However, this move to
film, as well as continued work in high-definition television, led to
new challenges in data rendering and storage management. Technological
limitations in the company’s production pipeline also bred artistic
challenges.

"We really noticed that the technology that had been adequate
for standard definition TV was no longer adequate for film," said Peter
Muyzers, chief operating officer at Image Engine. "With film, HD
resolution, and the increased storage requirements involved, you have
to measure how fast you want to pull a frame off a central server and
present it to an artist’s desktop. Speed is usually tied to an
increased cost, but Data ONTAP GX successfully satisfied our needs for
both performance and cost-effectiveness."

Image Engine upgraded its 3TB NetApp FAS940 storage system
with a 26TB, four-node FAS3050 cluster running Data ONTAP GX,
immediately realizing the needed performance increases. Best of all,
the higher performance level was consistent regardless of application,
number of users, storage capacity, or network configuration. This led
to not only happier administrators, but also happier artists in an
industry reliant on creativity and greater productivity.

"Since it has been in operation, the NetApp Data ONTAP GX
system has really lived up to its promise of sustained aggregate speed
for everyone at Image Engine," said Jason Navarro, IT lead at Image
Engine. "It doesn’t slow down for anyone, regardless of whether one,
five, or 50 people are connected to it. While we were working on the
Fantastic Four project, the Data ONTAP GX cluster was probably taxed to
the highest level and performed extremely well even when demand
spiked."

With the company’s growth, Image Engine plans to expand its
capabilities and data storage and management needs are sure to grow
with them. NetApp Data ONTAP GX is inherently flexible and allows
specific expansion as it is needed. NetApp controller heads and disk
shelves can be added independently, rather than requiring upgrades to
both at the same time, allowing for less expensive, incremental
upgrades. Built-in technology such as NetApp FlexVol® enables Image
Engine to dynamically allocate storage across aggregates without
interrupting workflow or production, allowing for smooth transitions
and upgrades.

Network Appliance Inc.

Image Engine