Studio 37 and Fletcher Chicago Build Sonnet Fusion R400Q SATA Storage System Into Mobile Cart for HD Acquisition

Gary Adcock, a pioneer in
advanced HD post-production workflows and founder of consulting firm
Studio 37, has incorporated the Sonnet Fusion R400Q rackmount
four-drive SATA storage system into a mobile solution that supports
flexible, secure storage of all digital content within a tapeless
production environment. Designed in cooperation with Fletcher Chicago, the Fletcher
Digital Management System (DMS) provides users with a convenient and
reliable means of storing and backing up content while on set for
commercial production and feature film projects.
“The world is moving away
from tape and film in the acquisition process at the highest level of
HD and film production,” Adcock says. “The move of major camera
manufacturers to tapeless acquisition presents new challenges in
managing content during production. In some cases, multiple terabytes
of data are being captured each day and every bit of that content must
be guaranteed. Our DMS system provides that insurance and allows the
production team to focus on their creative work rather than data
management.”
The 1U Sonnet system,
equipped with four Enterprise/RAID drives, has been built into a flight
case along with a multicard Panasonic P2 solid-state card reader, a CF
reader for RED ONE and still image content and an AJA
Io HD unit for onset capture and playback. The DMS Cart can be shipped
anywhere and once the unit is powered up, the user can capture content
live and in real time from any SD or HD camera system via the Io HD to
the Fusion system’s four SATA drives, which are configured as two RAID
1 volumes and mirrored for complete redundancy.
With 4TB total capacity
and 2TB aggregate, the Sonnet system maintains the original data and
additional duplicates, thus providing the backup required for high-end
production. Data captured or transferred onto the Fusion R400Q is
automatically copied to the unit’s second volume and triggers an FTP to an attached Quantum SDLT 600A drive to provide
an LTO data tape backup.
The Fusion R400Q combines hot-swap functionality with the convenience of a quad interface (eSATA, FireWire
800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0). This Sonnet SATA storage system
employs a SATA II port multiplier to manage the
enclosed drives, regardless of the interface.
Connected with a single locking eSATA cable to a 4-port Sonnet Tempo SATA host controller installed in a Mac or Windows
computer, an R400Q system provides the potential to
further
increase performance by ganging additional
R400Qs on the same card.
For added flexibility,
users can instead connect the R400Q to virtually any computer through a
single FireWire or USB cable. The system’s drive trays have built-in
levers that double as handles to make swapping drives easy, while the
cable-less connections from drives to enclosure simplify setup and
assure reliability over the long haul. With its built-in
universal power supply and compact dimensions, the Fusion R400Q is
ideal for any application requiring the storage of large amounts of
data in a small package.