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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 :)

Windows vs OSX Redcine Performance

BOXXLabs said:
I just added a 3rd drive to my RAID0 array and am now rendering at about 16 fps using the same settings (b16, 4K 16x9, Scratch 481 --> 1080 DPX)

disc write speed is about 110 - 120 MB/s

Adam
BOXXlabs
Click to expand...

Hi Adam,

Are you running on XP Pro (32-bit)? Are you running SAS drives rather than SATA? I assume so since you added a 3rd drive meaning you were only on two before, and with three SATA's in RAID 0 you could only expect 112.5MB/sec, although that's pretty much 110-120 as you just said now.

I'm probably asking too many questions here... if you want to keep your secrets that's fine. I understand. I want to try the Scratch output on XP Pro.
 
4K Hub said:
Redcine 4K RC to 1080p DPX: 1080 project, 4K Redcode 16:9, fit width, process standard, show 1/2res, high, DPX output - 1500 frames at 1min 50secs (13.63fps)
Click to expand...

Is it using all CPU cores?

All down to enabling write cache on the controller card.
Click to expand...

heh, tiny checkbox, big changes
 
BOXXLabs said:
Hey Mark, what'dya got up there - a crystal ball? ;)

So, it's actually a dual-boot system with both XP32 & Server2003 32bit (plus a couple of others that are not "officially" supported").
Click to expand...

Hmm, I heard you mention a client of yours is running OSX Leopard on your system. I would bet that this is one of the non-official boot options on your machine. No crystal ball, but if I were you, curiosity would have got the better of me.

This is probably better put in another thread, but thanks to Laguun I am looking at building my RAID storage into a 16 (or even 32 drive) enclosure with a dedicated server (probably a Xeon again, have to think a bit more about it). I will probably look at using mutliple controller cards to get maximum bandwidth out of the array.

Adam, do you have any experience with any of the open source SAN servers that run on Linux (like Openfiler). If I add Fibre channel to such a home built server and all the workstations I want to access the storage plus a suitable FC switch, is this a workable alternative to something a lot more expensive with a brand name stuck to it?
 
Hi Richard,

We're moving beyond the scope of this thread...but there is nothing cheap about building a SAN - the HBAs and FC switch are going to cost you. There's no way around that.

And with this being the case, you might want to think carefully about going with a commercially supported SAN OS platform.

Configuring SANs are tricky enough without the prospect or working with "open source" code that is likely be buggy and not well documented.

I hear good things about MetaSAN and Facilis. These seem to be feature rich and pretty well priced compared to some of the other options.

my $.02

Adam
 
Looking at the processes running:

Looking at the processes running:

4K Hub said:
Very very strange.

Looking at the processes running:

System idle process: 97%
Redcine.exe: 3%
Click to expand...

Hi, I was wondering what readings you are getting with the write cache turned on in your controler now, did the REDCINE.EXE value go up fro 3% since the disk write time should have gone down by a factor of about 30x?

Also could you check this % for when doing the RED CODE 4K to uncompressed 4K TIFF for your 1m of footage? It, the cpu%, may be lower making TIFF than DPX?
 
I posted my results to 1080DPX, just read back a few posts. Much better performance. I haven't done the 4K or TIFF tests yet, but I will.
 
BOXXLabs said:
Hi Richard,

We're moving beyond the scope of this thread...but there is nothing cheap about building a SAN - the HBAs and FC switch are going to cost you. There's no way around that.
Click to expand...
HBAs and FC switches are pretty inexpensive today.
usual HP / Siemens / Fujitsu switches are ~2.500, and HBA ~350.

BOXXLabs said:
And with this being the case, you might want to think carefully about going with a commercially supported SAN OS platform.
Click to expand...
linux is perfectly commercially supported - but doesnt need to be if one has the knowledge and skill.

BOXXLabs said:
Configuring SANs are tricky enough without the prospect or working with "open source" code that is likely be buggy and not well documented.
Click to expand...
I would hardly call IBMs, Silicon Graphics, Suns or Novells open source linux FS and free SANs buggy.

Besides the large corps linux flavors (who do come with 24/7 worldwide <4h reaction time on site support if preferred), there are several functional and open-source SAN linux distributions. We dont use them so far, but i know some competing larger houses who do, quite successfully if i might add.

Since iScsi, many things in the SAN world generally have become much more available and easy. Its no longer as complex and dangerous as it was in the 90ties, when FC just was introduced to Windows (as, these were funny days, i remember a tech checking >200 9GB FC drives for firmware versions - rebooting the whole array every time :)). And after Apples XSAN massacre, i think some customers have become somewhat sceptical regarding *any* non-open source san in the video-editing world.

For supercomputing, grid and backbone, linux SANs are an excellent choice. No matter if IBM ore another distribution. Its the knowhow and skill of the user/admin who decides between perfect and painful.
 
Laguun, I'm looking at the Chenbro RM41416T2-B enclosure, $565.99 at serversdirect, I've got a 1000W PSU which I hope I can use? I haven't decided on the motherboard / CPU combo for the server yet, any suggestions? 16 x 1TB top of the line Seagate's should do it. Looking at FC HBA's now. This is gonna be fun.
 
4K Hub said:
I haven't decided on the motherboard / CPU combo for the server yet, any suggestions?
Click to expand...
To start and learn, i probably wouldnt spend to much money and go with a recommended board of the linux SAN distribution you intend to use, probably a smaller regular or xeon quad. The HBA and switch combination is the main compatibilty area to check out if you want to go FC. 10G Ethernet and Infiniband system should also be considered.

We actually mainly use the popular "standard" mid-class boards from ASUS, TYAN and SuperMicro.

Some examples of this class are products as
TYAN S2915 (HP XW 9400 / Boxx 7500)
SuperMicro X7DWA-N (Boxx 8400)
TYAN S2895 (HP XW 9300 / Boxx 7400)
SuperMicro X7DA8 / X7DA3 / X7DAE

I am not looking at the market right now to much, as we wont invest until the next relevant generation change which is due within the next 2 quarters.

Socket 775 is replaced by socket 1366 for the Intel Nehalem architecture.
http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=2282

If you intend to use an open source san, i also would recommend to buy a basic support contract from them and follow their recommendations instead of learning everything the hard way.

If you want to go a riskfree linux way, companies as SUN etc offer free tests with their hardware.
http://www.sun.com/software/linux/
IBM and HP also are good linux partners:
http://www-03.ibm.com/linux/
http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/cache/309906-0-0-0-121.html
 
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