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10
Software For Striping
AJA recommends the Disk Utility software provided by Apple with OS X for creating and
striping RAIDs, including 3rd-party, SCSI and Fibre Channel RAIDs. This easy to use utility can
be found in Macintosh HD/Applications/Utilities, where "Macintosh HD" is the name of the
system drive.
Storage Example: AJA KONA 3 and Xserve RAID
For an optimum disk storage configuration with the AJA KONA 3 —working with compressed
media to uncompressed single-link HD media—Apple's Xserve RAID is an effective storage
device when properly configured. Apple's Xserve RAID holds up to 14 drive modules
(resulting terabytes of storage) in a rackmount-optimized 3U enclosure. Each 7200-RPM hard
drive connects to a dedicated ATA/100 drive channel, eliminating a traditional source of
bottlenecks and maximizing the 2Gb/s Fibre Channel host connection(s). Populated with all
14 drive modules and using 512MB cache for each controller, the XServe RAID can support the
ingest and playback of all formats up to and including uncompressed single link HD. Dual Link
HD and 2K formats are not supported on a single XServe RAID.
Note: When creating and striping an Xserve RAID with the Apple Disk Utility provided with
OS X, an ideal configuration is RAID 50: in other words, the internal Xserve RAID drives are
set up as RAID 5 via the RAID Admin application; the Xserve RAID then shows up in Disk
Utility as two drives (regardless of the number of internal drives) which must be
configured together as RAID 0. Apple calls this configuration "RAID 50. "
When considering any high-performance disk storage system, AJA recommends working with
a qualified reseller in order to configure storage appropriate for your needs.
Storage Example: AJA KONA 3 for Dual Link HD and 2K resolutions
AJA can recommend the following examples of drive configurations to support certain
specified video and digital film resolutions and their associated bandwidth requirements. If a
particular drive array or manufacturer is not listed, it may simply be because AJA has no
experience with the company or a particular unit. This guide simply offers examples that AJA
has used with success when working with the specified formats listed. With any device, actual
results may vary from unit to unit and proper configuration of the drive array and any ancillary
items such as host bus adapters, software drivers and cabling is assumed.
Supports 2K, Dual Link HD, Single Link HD, SD:
•
G-Technology, Inc. GSPEED-XL (4Gb Fibre Channel)
Unit must be fully populated and with a minimum 512MB cache per controller.
•
InforTrend EonStor A16F-G2422 (4Gb Fibre Channel)
Unit must be fully populated and with a minimum 512MB cache per controller.
•
Any drive array with comparable specifications to the above examples; 16 or more SATA
drives with 4Gb fibre channel connectivity to host and 512MB cache per controller.
Storage capacity
No matter which storage system you choose, pick one that can scale to meet your needs over
time. Ideally, you should be able to increase storage capacity or switch to a RAID level offering
increased data protection in the future. Balance current and future storage needs with your
budget and choose accordingly.
Note: All of the following numbers are approximations based on 2 channels of 48kHz audio.
More audio channels can increase data rates. AJA also provides a freeware application
called the AJA Data Rate Calculator that can be used to help determine the amount of
storage space and bandwidth requirements needed for a selected format, frame rate,
audio setting and compression. The AJA Data Rate Calculator is also included with
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