Facilis Technology Delivers Multi-User Write for Mac OS X Over FC and Ethernet

Facilis Technology, Inc., in shared media storage technology for post-production and content creation, announced the availability of new software that improves the collaborative power and flexibility of the TerraBlock product.

                Terrablock
 

The Facilis Shared File System offers content creators:

• Read/write access to project-based Virtual Volumes over high-performance 8Gbit Fibre channel and cost-effective 1Gbit Ethernet
• Seamless integration between Windows and Mac OS X mixed environments
• Simultaneous access (up to 100 users) to all media without the per-seat license fees normally associated with other SAN systems
• Easy upgrades for existing TerraBlock customers, requiring no additional hardware purchases

"We initially bought TerraBlock because we started doing more HD work and our other storage couldn’t handle it," said Greg Light, senior editor at Substation K, Kansas City. "After five years of use and hundreds of jobs without a single hardware upgrade, TerraBlock continues to perform better than anything else out there. Facilis’ new Shared File System turns the TerraBlock into a high-end SAN with many of the features that make other solutions so expensive, yet it’s only a fraction of the total cost."
 
TerraBlock 4.5 gives administrators the power to dynamically assign both file-level locking (Multi-user Write) and volume-level locking (Single-user Write) on a per-volume basis. Multi-user Write Virtual Volumes are available to workstations connected via Fibre channel and Ethernet, and updates of newly-created content are available immediately. This feature set has proven to increase the speed of production and raise the profitability of post-production facilities.

"TerraBlock now supports all creative editorial and finishing projects, uncompressed HD along with the compressed acquisition formats, and gives facilities the flexibility to use cost-effective Ethernet and high-bandwidth Fibre connections at the same time," explains Francis Albert, founder and president of Facilis Technology. "The TerraBlock 4.5 release represents the real purpose of shared storage systems; to advance the creative process without limitations."

The Facilis demonstration at NAB will include: Autodesk Smoke, Assimilate SCRATCH, Final Cut Studio, Avid Media Composer, and CatDV Asset Management. With TerraBlock as the nucleus, these products combine to form a complete workflow from ingest to delivery.