DR Archive Workflows Reach For The Cloud

After years of hype, the cloud is now becoming a viable option for broadcasters and content owners who want secure, long-term storage for disaster recovery workflows, writes Lee Sheppard, SGL's Director of Product Management.

In October this year, SGL announced that its flagship content management software FlashNet is now fully integrated with Data Expedition, Inc.'s ExpeDat Gateway for Amazon S3. This integration enables broadcasters and content owners to transfer media directly to Amazon Web Services (AWS) at maximum speed, providing an additional means of storage and disaster recovery workflows.

FlashNet integrated with ExpeDat Gateway for Amazon S3 provides a highly cost-effective file transfer solution, enabling files to be transferred to and from S3 at up to 700 Mbit/s. Once data is stored in S3, it can be moved to Amazon Glacier using a standard AWS interface, providing a more affordable long-term storage option. The combined SGL and Data Expedition solution can be deployed quickly and is highly scalable.

Storage in the cloud: increasing archive options –
• Use cloud storage from within FlashNet simply as an additional storage device.
• Build cloud and remote destinations into your archiving rules.
• Use AWS S3 to move content to another region within your infrastructure.
• Use Glacier via AWS rules for deep storage or as a DR option.
• Store content in remote locations without using a WAN.

As well as Data Expedition, SGL has also partnered with Aspera, which provides a breakthrough transport technology that fully utilises available network bandwidth, transfers data at maximum speed and scales up as required with no theoretical limit. The SGL integration with Aspera means that broadcasters and content owners can quickly and easily transfer material directly to the cloud from their MAM system using SGL FlashNet.

Key Aspera features:
• High-speed fasp transfers regardless of file sizes, transfer distance or network conditions.
• LDAP directory services integration for user authentication and authorisation.
• Large-scale global project-based file exchange within and outside the organisation.
• Comprehensive security protects important project data in transit over the wire and at rest.
• Monitor transfer progress and performance in real-time.

FlashNet's rules-based implementation provides fully-automated data duplication across multiple storage layers and locations. Using FlashNet operators can create additional rules that send material directly to the cloud. The FlashNet archive is able to track and record exactly where material is at any given time, regardless of long-term storage method, and can alert third-party systems, such as the MAM, that content is available for download.

Using the cloud for disaster recovery purposes provides a secure and cost-effective place for material that's only likely to be restored in the event of a catastrophic failure. SGL FlashNet provides content owners' with a state-of-the-art solution that grows with their business as their archive requirements evolve.

www.sglbroadcast.com

(JP/LM)