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A New Approach to Storage for Media and Entertainment: The Two-Tier Model

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Media Assets

Part two of three – Production Storage File Systems

The volume of digital assets created each day by media and entertainment (M & E) organizations continues to grow exponentially over time and shows no sign of slowing down. A two-tier paradigm in content storage systems enables the project tier production storage to use high bandwidth file storage for editing and shared content access while leveraging the perpetual tier for all content that does not require active editing, use or consumption. We presented a high-level introduction to the new two-tier storage model in part one of this blog series here. The active editing and use of data requires high performance systems such as Alcestor, Pure Storage and Qumulo. Read More

A New Approach to Storage for Media and Entertainment: The Two-Tier Model

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Media content storage

Part one of three – Introducing the Two-Tier Model in M & E

Content is the lifeblood of media and entertainment organizations. Content growth, ever increasing raw and edited file sizes and greater resolutions — 4K and 8K formats, virtual reality, augmented reality and high dynamic range — have placed tremendous pressure on storage systems. The modern media organization demands collaboration like never before, meaning timely multi-site access to assets is crucial to success. Furthermore, content workflows rely on efficient analysis and search capabilities, with organizations often requiring multiple workflows within a single infrastructure, exceeding the functionality of the traditional filesystem. Increasing scale, level of collaboration and diversity of workflows are driving the industry toward a new model for media storage. Read More

2019 Bring Your Child to Work Day at Spectra Spelled Fun for Everyone

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Once a year, the children of the Spectra Logic team get a glimpse into what their parents do while they are at work. At this year’s Spectra Bring Your Child to Work Day, more than 50 kids attended and were treated to a day of education and memorable experiences. In addition to learning about what their parents do at Spectra, the children enjoyed many exciting activities at the company’s Boulder headquarters. Needless to say, it was a lively day! The annual event is organized by Spectra’ SUMMIT, a women-led organization within Spectra Logic that fosters an enhanced culture of diversity at the company. Many Spectra employees volunteer to help generate ideas and run activities. Below are a few highlights from the event. Read More

The 2019 NAB Show Buzz – Ideas to Follow Post-Conference

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NAB Show 2019 Header

Another eventful NAB Show is behind us. Once again, the media and entertainment masses ascended upon warm Las Vegas to attend the industry’s largest tradeshow, the National Association of Broadcasters, to learn about new technologies and trends, in the hopes of gaining a leg up on the competition. There were four main buzzes in the Spectra Logic booth to be noted: Cloud, BlackPearl, migration and integration.

Cloud

Everyone is all about the cloud, and it was no different at NAB. So what exactly is it? Plain and simple, its hosting. Cloud is someone else hosting your applications, your computing your storage, etc., on a device somewhere else via https.  Essentially, it means users don’t have to own hardware or physical space to accommodate processing or storage. Including cloud as part of a hybrid storage strategy is commonplace today. Spectra’s BlackPearl hybrid storage ecosystem accommodates cloud mandates by creating a storage environment that stores content both locally, on-premise, as well as in the public cloud. The mix of storing assets on-premise and in the public cloud provides layers of protection for content and the most effective means to accessing assets affordably when they are needed. Read More

Tape Robot Provides Data Storage Solutions for the Next Decade

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What do you do when you need to increase the space available for storing vast amounts of data? One solution is to install a high-capacity automated tape library or ‘Tape Robot’.

​STFC’s Scientific Computing Department (SCD) needed to increase its capacity for storing and managing the vast and ever-growing amounts of data from the JASMIN Facility1 (environment and climate data) and through IRIS ​2 (astronomy, particle physics, and data from national facilities such as ISIS Neutron Source, Diamond Light Source and the Central Laser Facility).

The extra capacity needed to be at least 60 petabytes (PB) – the equivalent of storing more than 10 million DVDs – with the potential to increase again to meet future data demands. Read More

Spectra Logic Just Made It Even Easier for Customers to Use BlackPearl

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To this date, hundreds of Spectra Logic customers have implemented our BlackPearl® Converged Storage System to affordably store data long-term. Spectra’s BlackPearl is a purpose-built storage platform that integrates directly with ”data mover” software applications to simplify workflows and seamlessly manage large volumes of data to multiple storage targets. BlackPearl includes an S3-like interface to move data into its object storage on cloud, disk and tape. In order to help even more customers meet their long-term storage needs, Spectra has recently introduced another, easier system for transferring files into BlackPearl. This new system is called Spectra RioBroker. The announcement, made yesterday, can be read here. Read More

BlackPearl Object Storage Disk, Powered by BlackPearl

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ArcticBlue Low storage total cost of ownership image

While the cost of NAND is declining and the enterprise storage market moves its top tier of storage to flash, Spectra Logic is innovating the exact fit and place for spinning hard disk drives (HDDs) in a tiered storage environment. Its BlackPearl® Object Storage Disk solution, powered by the Spectra® BlackPearl® Converged Storage System, excels at long-term, high-throughput storage in the only platform that is highly complementary to tape. BlackPearl Object Storage Disk’s unique features differentiate it and the BlackPearl platform from any other storage system in the market. This blog will outline a few nuances that are easy to miss, but that emphasize BlackPearl Object Storage Disk’s particular breed of online, object-based disk storage. Read More

First Annual Storage Technology Showcase Sets the Bar High

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Find a full list of upcoming events and tradeshows Spectra Logic is attending here.

Spectra Logic was a Platinum Sponsor for the first annual Storage Technology Showcase (STS) last week. The event was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, from March 12-15. The conference provided visitors with strategic information on the latest disruptive technologies, trends and emerging solutions for organizations managing amounts of data in the petabyte and exabyte ranges.

Executives, system architects and decision makers engaged with their peers, industry thought leaders and other organizations to discuss the challenges of storing, managing, scaling and preserving data in a quickly evolving landscape. Check out the images below for a glimpse of what STS 2019 had in store. Read More

Spectra Associates Educate Students on Life and Business Skills

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Spectra professionals spent a day teaching business basics to elementary school children as part of the Junior Achievement program.  Here are four of the Spectra mentors from left to right: Christa Marsh, Ponemany Yang, Katie Wulliman and Valerie Miller.

On March 11, 2019, Spectra volunteers spent a day at Eisenhower Elementary School in Boulder teaching kids through the Junior Achievement Program.  In particular, Junior Achievement-Rocky Mountain, Inc. (JA) is part of the world’s largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. The Program’s mission fosters work readiness, entrepreneurship and achievement skills in young students. Read More

Spectra Logic’s Customer Reference Program

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Spectra Logic’s Customer Reference Program (CRP) is comprised of an elite community of Spectra customers – IT experts who rely on Spectra to help them protect their valuable data. Spectra brings additional value to its customers through marketing initiatives and public relations activities that showcase their leadership acumen in technological deployments that both enhance their business efficiencies and preserve their data for the long term.

Many Spectra customers participate in a variety of CRP activities, some of which are outlined below. Occasionally, technology and channel partners also participate in webinars, case studies and press releases. Read More