Hungarian animation and visual effects studio Digic Pictures has expanded its Quantum StorNext software installation to speed the daily file sharing and processing of content. Quantum worked with its strategic reseller Silicon Computers on the deployment, which the company says has improved Digic’s productivity, increased its storage capacity and shortened production schedules for data-heavy video projects. According to Quantum, with two StorNext file systems and 140 StorNext distributed LAN clients, Digic benefits from fast access to stored files for editing and rendering at speeds approximately 50% faster than traditional network file systems. The studio uses Ethernet connections to the LAN clients to keep costs low. Because the StorNext file system supports multiple operating platforms, Digic was able to replace its original UNIX systems with multiple lower-cost Linux servers and Windows edit stations. “The StorNext system has significantly increased our productivity by allowing us to store our raw materials and rendered files on the same file system,” said Gabor Kali, head of systems administration at Digic. “The kind of extreme and random workload that we demand is beyond what any ordinary file system can support, but StorNext handles it every day.” Added Janae Stow Lee, senior vice president, file system and archive product group at Quantum: “With objects getting bigger and more complex, speed and efficiency of access are crucial for visual effects work, especially with 3D projects.”7.G30
