About Technodyna
Technodyna is a media technology solutions provider based in Egypt, offering workflow design, implementation, and consultancy services to broadcasters, post houses, and media archives operating in the MENA region. Their engineering team possesses extensive experience in both the technical and operational aspects of media and film workflows.
The Challenge
Technodyna faced a critical challenge when a new film restoration center approached them with demanding requirements:
- Deliver 6 concurrent 4K DPX streams (each stream requiring 1250 MB/s)
- Achieve a total sustained performance of 8000 MB/s (64,000 Mbps)
- Enable any of the 3 workstations to handle 2 concurrent real-time streams simultaneously
- Provide 500 TB of storage capacity
- Implement the solution within the allocated budget of approximately $400,000 for storage and related equipment, which was part of a total project budget of $1,100,000
The Solution: Accusys ExaSAN
After extensive market research, Technodyna chose Accusys as their main storage provider. The solution included:
Key Components
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Hardware Components:
- 4 x Accusys A16S3-PS storage chassis
- ExaSAN SW16-V3 switch
- Accusys Z2M PCIe workstation cards for 32 Gb/s connectivity
- Bluewhale BWFS SAN filesystem
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System Integration:
- Storage: Accusys A16S3-PS chassis (each capable of 2500 MB/s performance)
- Connectivity: ExaSAN SW16-V3 switch for high-speed SAN
- Workstation Integration: Accusys Z2M PCIe cards for 32 Gb/s connectivity
- File System: Bluewhale BWFS SAN filesystem for efficient data management
- Gateway: Hyperminds Inc. gateway for connecting additional 10 GigE and 1 GigE clients
The Benefits
- Exceeded Performance Requirements: Achieved over 9000 MB/s sustained performance, surpassing the client's 8000 MB/s requirement by more than 10%.
- Cost-Effective: Met the client's budget constraints while delivering superior performance.
- Scalability: The solution easily accommodated the 500 TB storage requirement.
- Flexibility: Successfully integrated high-end workstations (HP Z8) and specialized software (Phoenix, PFClean, DaVinci Resolve).
- Efficient Design: Compact solution with minimal hardware, resulting in lower power consumption and reduced running costs.
Client Feedback
"Accusys products are very capable of supplying impressive performance with minimal hardware and at a very reasonable price. Today, we find that even the older model Accusys storages we supplied to some of our clients five years ago are still meeting clients' needs."
- Engineer Ahmed Madkour, Technodyna's CEO
Performance
Benchmark Results
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Single Workstation Performance:
- Write: 2410 MB/s (49 fps for Full Frame 4K 4096x3112)
- Read: 2514 MB/s (51 fps for Full Frame 4K 4096x3112)
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Overall System Performance:
- Sustained performance: Close to 9000 MB/s when all workstations were tested simultaneously
Conclusion
By leveraging Accusys ExaSAN technology, Technodyna successfully delivered a high-performance, cost-effective solution that not only met but exceeded their client's demanding requirements. This case study demonstrates the power and flexibility of Accusys storage solutions in handling complex media workflows, particularly in budget-conscious markets.