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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

storage, backup

B

Bryan Colvin

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A feature film I have been editing for a few months has 2 RAID hard drive arrays.

Master and Backup

I still feel like I want to backup the project in another way, I've heard of tape backups but I've never used such a thing. Does anyone know a cost effective but stable and reliable way of backing up the digital data?

Thanks!
 
If you're new to tape backup an LTO5 or 6 appliance makes it a very simple process.

I have a PrimeCache5 from Cache-A (http://www.cache-a.com/productsprime5.php). It is really simple to use but connects via ethernet and I find the setup can be a little 'tweaky' with Windows. The Primecache is really a little Linux box that has a nice little GUI that catalogs every single tape you put into it. 1Beyond have a new LTO appliance and I think they can even build a RedMag reader into it (http://1beyond.com/product-categories/discoveryarchiveasset-management). looks very simple.

The nice thing with these appliances is that they're using the LTFS standard so anything they can read/write to any LTFS tape written on any system.
 
Can the compression that LTO6 drives provide work with Red footage? 2.5TB to 6.25TB
 
Is this for long-term archive purposes or just another back-up? RAID0 is for performance (editing drives), but because of that they have multiple points of failure (I would never consider RAID storage a back-up, unless its R1/mirrored drives). I like to have the entire project segmented to fit across multiple single disks as a tertiary back-up. Unlike stripped drives, if the single disk fails, it's much easier to recover the data from it. Plus with 4TB drives floating around it's relatively inexpensive and usually a project can fit on one or two drives... It's not an elegant solution, but you'd only lose something if all drives failed at once (which is 5-9s unlikely)... OH, and this isn't a very long-term/archive solution; more for just peace of mind while you're working on the project.
 
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Andy Roberts said:
Can the compression that LTO6 drives provide work with Red footage? 2.5TB to 6.25TB
Click to expand...

I would not compress any R3D as you would it really want it to go through a compression process.

I put my hand up for BRUPE LTO-6 from Tollis Group as a very simple solution for OSX geared toward the film and music industry.

LTO is an investment upfront but pays in the long run. It's also a 30 year archive compared to hard disks which are not all that trustworthy.

david
 
I talked with a very helpful gentleman at 1Beyond.com... super knowledgeable... 1Beyond is focused on Media and Entertainment (M and E)

Here is a testimonial from Reduser Joseph Pontecorvo shooting snow monkeys in the Japanese Alps
http://1beyond.com/additionalpages/snow-monkeys-documentary

They also have a video showcasing the Red Mag reading capabilities.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M0QrbRncac
Pop in the Red Mag and it will start archiving to LTO and also to any editing drive or RAID you want (software configurable), while also doing checksum verification.

The drives aren't cheap $5K-$6K for their Net drive but losing data isn't cheap either.

If you decide to get something from Terry, tell him Andy Roberts sent you. He said they may also be open to a group buy.

And you are correct David... no compression for video files. Straight up transfer. LTO5 is 1.5TB per tape (roughly $25 each) and LTO6 is 2.5TB per tape ($80-$90 each)
 
Well David, I talked with Bob at Tollis Group and he also was extremely helpful. He recommended STRONGLY AGAINST the LTFS Standard, very clear about the risks and downsides involved with using it. (see http://knowledgebase.tolisgroup.com/index.php?View=entry&EntryID=263 )
Their LTO-6 system was Thunderbolt OR PCI capable. He too said a group buy would be possible if several Red users wanted a top notch archive system. He said, and I believe him, that production companies are beginning to have dailies immediately backed up to LTO Tape, and are required to by their insurance companies. He listed a dozen big names (Paramount, Disney, etc) that use their gear. If I had to choose today, I would choose them.
 
Just to give a sense of perspective to this, I just paid $3000 for data recovery on a failed 6 tb raid drive. I got the data back, I'm happy to say, but ouch.
 
Rob Gardner said:
Just to give a sense of perspective to this, I just paid $3000 for data recovery on a failed 6 tb raid drive. I got the data back, I'm happy to say, but ouch.
Click to expand...

Wow, you must work for Bob at Tollis, because now I'm REALLY feeling motivated to buy.
 
I currently have an LTO5 from cache A.

A buddy's production company has one of the 1 beyond systems and raves about it. I checked them out and am pretty sure I will be going with them when it becomes time to go LTO6.
 
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