StorageDNA introduce slick new platform Fabric at NAB
Storage, it’s not one of the most exciting of topics to write about, but it certainly is one to take seriously. As our storage pools evolve and grow to suit our various editorial/finishing/backup requirements, or private and cloud strategies, we need to find better ways to provide data visibility, management and mobility services.
StorageDNA, better known for their tape workflows, come to NAB with a new platform that is focused on this very area. The platform, Fabric, stiches (😉) all storage tiers and all locations into one elegant data management platform with a feature-set that provides administration and production teams, through to C-level staff, a window into how their storage is being used across sites, tiers and at project level.
Fabric’s approach is to be storage tier agnostic. From the outset the platform is able to monitor and use on-prem storage of every kind of product (camera card, SAN/NAS) through to private object and cloud storage, as well as being ready to take advantage of file acceleration and developing network structures.
Fabric offers tools to synchronise, DR, move or copy tech integration with file acceleration for handing massive data sets from storage platforms across local storage tiers, WAN site moves or on-prem to cloud.
You can split Fabrics roles into Data Visibility and Data Mobility workflows and anyone used to StorageDNA Evolution tape backup software will be familiar with the user interface. Where Fabric has evolved is the presentation of disk (NAS/SAN), WAN, Cloud (Public and cloud) targets and workflow design.
We’re big fans of lowering the technical entry point for users, and Fabric has a well thought out wizard approach to building visibility and mobility workflows:
- Visibility – tools are not to replace a PAM/MAM workflow on your storage sets. This is a report-based approach to inform users and management how storage is being used across any storage type and any location, indexed live. Their indexers move data usage information into an analytics pipeline that give you a dashboard view on your storage.
- What storage is being used where, how and how much data is being duplicated.
- Project level usage analysis across all storage tiers such as how much storage is being used for raw, post and graphics and on what storage type with project cost of storage.
- The dashboards are live, fully customisable to give admin and C- level overview, bar graph, timeline views, world map views.
- Mobility – tools allow for moving of data between sites, DR, storage sets such as nearline and back up workflows. You are then asked to choose between Single Site, Multi-Site or Cloud and Object workflows.
- Fabric will use UDP File acceleration when choosing Multi-Site or Cloud workflows though it’s not clear if this is their own system or integration with existing systems such as File Catalyst.
- Fabric then allows you to define if the data move is a File System, Project Level (Avid or Adobe ) or Workgroup (entire NAS or SAN) for a backup, archive or nearline task.
Fabric is an elegant, well considered data management platform by StorageDNA. The team at Tyrell are looking forward introducing it to the world post NAB. For more information please call or email the team at Tyrell.
