Shared Storage Systems Now Max Out at 2.88 PB via 48 Media Packs and System Director Appliance

The Avid Nexis storage platform just got bigger, with a new software update allowing Nexis E5, E4 and E2 storage engines to scale to a maximum of 2.88 PB with 48 Media Packs. That doubles the capabilities of the systems, which previously topped out at 1.44 PB with 24 Media Packs.

The Nexis platform has a few different building blocks that can be put together in a number of different ways to customize a shared storage environment. Here's how it all works.

The Nexis E2 and E4 storage engines have a System Director built in, making the system easier to use (and more affordable) for facilities with smaller workgroups. Even so, the embedded System Director allows E2 and E4 storage engines to be mixed and matched to support up to 240 TB of raw storage and total bandwidth of 1.6 GB/sec using four Media Packs. Systems with the embedded System Director can support up to 40 active clients and 8 million files.

Going beyond that requires the use of an external System Director Appliance and an Extended or Advanced File System license. With an Extended File System license, E2, E4 and E5 storage engines can be mixed and matched to reach up to 1.44 PB of raw storage and total bandwidth of 9.6 GB/sec using 24 Media Packs. And with the Advanced File System license, users can scale to 2.88 PB of raw storage and total bandwidth of 19.2 GB/sec using 48 Media Packs. The Extended File System license allows support for up to 165 active clients; the Advanced File System license pushes that to 330 active clients.

Avid Nexis Media Pack

Media Packs come in 20 TB or 60 TB capacities and can be used in different configurations depending on which E2 engine they're connected to. For instance, the E2 engine can connect to only a single Media Pack, an E4 engine can use up to two Media Packs, and each E5 can run up to eight Media Packs.

The low-end Nexis Pro can use only a single 20 TB Media Pack per engine but can be scaled in combination with up to three other Nexis Pro engines (but not with the E2, E4 or E5).

An optional Redundant Controller provides Nexis system redundancy when combined with the System Director appliance.

Of course, the Avid Nexis runs on Avid's Nexis FS file system and works with all of Avid's MediaCentral applications, including Media Composer, Interplay, and third-party applications.