NAB 2017: SGL To Showcase Flashnet's Growing Cloud Support, New Integration With EditShare Flow, Sony ODS
SGL (booth SL5306), a provider of content archive and storage management software for M&E, is demonstrating its major new version of FlashNet at NAB 2017. The company is highlighting its support for integrated Amazon cloud archiving, S3-based object storage-based private cloud archiving and Sony’s Ci Media Cloud Platform. In addition, SGL is announcing a major third-party technology integration with EditShare’s Flow production MAM solution and Sony’s second-generation Optical Disk Archive System (ODS).
Focus on the Cloud With Amazon, Sony
SGL’s close relationship with cloud solution companies provides the media industry with new workflows and stronger tools. This not only ensures that assets are sent to the correct place but also delivers a way for broadcasters to control storage costs by working out the price to store and retrieve assets to and from the cloud.
Central to SGL’s support for public and private cloud is the ability to manage and monitor the buckets and tiers into which assets can be stored. FlashNet’s powerful lifecycle rules engine easily moves assets between various platforms and storage areas treating each as simply another storage destination. In addition, FlashNet receives notifications about the arrival of assets into the cloud archive from other sources along with information regarding the removal or deletion of assets within the archive using third-party tools. This enables FlashNet to offer effective management of cloud-based archival storage regardless of the workflows in use.
Flashnet Lite Makes U.S. Debut
For the first time in the US SGL will show its new entry-level archive FlashNet Lite. Available in four configurations: FL Disk, FL Tape, FL Hybrid and FL Optical Disk, FlashNet Lite provides options for content storage that is disk only, tape only, optical disk or a combination of disk and tape. FL Hybrid is upgradeable to 50TB of disk support, two tape drives and 100 slots with one server. This provides nearly 600TB capacity with LTO7 tapes. Running on a single server node, FlashNet Lite can grow as the customer’s archive expands. The system includes important FlashNet tools including: integration with a wide range of partner solutions and storage devices; business storage rules; partial file restore; and FlashNet Infinity, SGL’s sophisticated dashboard, which provides users with an archive control centre.
Following its recent successful launch SGL will showcase a host of new Infinity tools to further simplify and significantly improve the storage and archive process for media companies worldwide. Navigator is a powerful addition to the Infinity dashboard that enables users to look at all the assets in the archive on a single, web-based screen regardless of where they’re stored or where they’ve come from. This enables facilities to dive deep into the archive by creating filters, viewing tapes in the library, groups on the tapes, archives on the tapes and files in the archive, all from a single mouse click. SGL’s latest version of FlashNet Infinity takes the archive to maturity, providing a rich way to view what’s in the archive and to very easily navigate through it.
SGL is also demonstrating its new Infinity analytics tool, which analyses the facility’s archive metrics to ensure smooth running of the operation. The sophisticated new tool displays charts to show important information including: number of archives, how many tapes are in each location, how often they’re used, capacity available on each tape, if the tapes are damaged, number of empty tapes, number of files, total size, average age of files at each location, average age content is first restored from a location, how often an asset is retrieved from a group, etc. The charts also highlight trends, for example how many tapes are being used in comparison to how many tapes are coming into the facility. This cutting-edge analytics tool enables much simpler decision making and streamlines the archive.
“For NAB 2017 we’ve further enriched our cloud offering and FlashNet Infinity so that facilities have far greater control of how they’re archive is being used, thereby streamlining the whole operation,” explains Lee Sheppard, SGL’s Director Product Management. “The Infinity launch last year was a huge leap and this new version is state-of-the-art with an exciting road map that will see further announcements made later in the year.”
Integration With EditShare Flow Production MAM, Sony ODS Gen-2
In addition, SGL is announcing a major third-party technology integration with EditShare, the pioneer in networked shared storage and tapeless, end-to-end workflow solutions for the post production, TV and film industries.
The partnership sees SGL’s flagship FlashNet content storage management system fully integrated with EditShare’s Flow production MAM solution. Flow features tools to manage ingest, log, search, retrieve, edit and distribute content and associated metadata, serving as a control and indexing layer across EditShare and third-party storage and archives. New for NAB 2017, Flow Automation now has the option to add third-party archive capabilities to control external long-term storage solutions via SGL FlashNet.
“The integration of FlashNet into the Flow ecosystem is a turning point in the expansion of Flow into new and more complex workflows and opportunities” comments Howard Twine, Director of software strategy at EditShare. “The experience that the SGL team bring along with the scalability and robustness of FlashNet offers intelligent and flexible long term storage control with Flow Automation that has previously not been available.”
Lee Sheppard, SGL’s Director of Product Management adds, “EditShare Flow is a well-respected production MAM system that’s used by facilities all over the world. We’re delighted to make this announcement at NAB further highlighting FlashNet’s open system architecture, which allows leading names in the media industry to access a state-of-the-art storage archive toolset that SGL provides.”
SGL is also highlighting its integration with Sony’s second-generation Optical Disk Archive System (ODS) at NAB 2017. The new Sony optical disc-based cartridges have a 100-year shelf life and can each store up to 3.3 TBs of data. SGL FlashNet allows Sony ODS users to store valuable media safely with ease giving access to a greater choice of storage devices in DR, production, news and sports workflows. This powerful combination opens a world of workflow possibilities from disaster recovery solutions to management of archive material over disparate geographic areas. With SGL’s experience of managing multiple storage devices within production, news and sport, Sony’s ODS can sit anywhere within a workflow, not simply as an ‘end of process’ archive.