Surprise upgrade… (2 Viewers)

[Robert Harris]

I was hoping to put this off until June, however…

I’m currently working on 8 projects, and yesterday realized that my computer, a 2021 iMac 24” with 2TB of memory, was running at just under 90% capacity, after removing some data. The computer itself has been fine reading and writing large files, and working in Final Cut.

We do all of our digital work and final conform via my partner’s post, and at Roundabout in Burbank, so my personal needs are somewhat “basic.”

I run three RAIDS, all in R5, and all with six drives. Once I’ve acquired footage, I don’t want to lose it. Two of the drives, an older Promise Pegasus HDD 10TB, as well as a newer Promise HDD 24TB, are also too close to 90% for comfort.

My third RAID is a G-Tech 6 SSD, which has space, but I’m looking for an alternative, and know that there’s a knowledge base here.

Upgrading to a Mac Studio, 12-38-16, with 96TB of memory, and 4TB of storage. I couldn’t rationalize going the Pro route for my purposes.

Question is this:

After researching the usual suspects, I’m considering going the SanDisc Pro Blade route, with one station and multiple hot-swappable 4TB drives.

Does anyone here have experience with the product? Suggestions yea, or nay? Alternative recommendations?

I don’t want to go the dual HDD route in redundant mode. The best seems to be the 44TB G-Raid Mirror, but that has far less flexibility, and is limited to 22TB.

Thoughts, please…?

 

[Kyle_D]

Do you still plan on keeping the other RAID enclosures? Since you are considering the Pro-Blade, I am assuming the Mac Studio would be directly attached to the RAID enclosures via Thunderbolt instead of via network.

Depending on budget, workflow, and the age of the existing drives, I might consider migrating all the data to a new, dedicated NAS server running a ZFS RAID configuration in something like TrueNAS. It would not be an off-the-shelf solution would take some DIY set-up and elbow grease, but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube and, once configured, it should be more convenient in the long-run. With a 10 gig ethernet connection, you should be able to work directly off the NAS.

 

[Robert Harris]

Do you still plan on keeping the other RAID enclosures? Since you are considering the Pro-Blade, I am assuming the Mac Studio would be directly attached to the RAID enclosures via Thunderbolt instead of via network.

Yes, everything is Thunderbolt

Depending on budget, workflow, and the age of the existing drives, I might consider migrating all the data to a new, dedicated NAS server running a ZFS RAID configuration in something like TrueNAS. It would not be an off-the-shelf solution would take some DIY set-up and elbow grease, but there are plenty of tutorials on YouTube and, once configured, it should be more convenient in the long-run. With a 10 gig ethernet connection, you should be able to work directly off the NAS.

Keeping the older RAIDs, although may repurpose the 10TB. Will look into this. Appreciated, although it may be above my pay grade. I rely upon off-the-shelf configs in most situations.

 

[litofsky]

these guys really know their stuff- especially about NAS and Synology ( https://www.synology.com/en-us )
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[litofsky]

wrong link sent

https://www.youtube.com/@AlexLindsay

 

[JohnRice]

My one question is whether you need that much internal storage, which is very expensive. Years ago I offloaded everything other than OS and apps from the internal drives on my Macs. The internal storage on a Studio is blazing fast, around 6GB/s reads and writes, but with a Thunderbolt enclosure you can still get around half that speed, which should be more than enough.

Maybe something like THIS, which you put much less expensive m.2 drives in. Just a suggestion.

 

[Robert Harris]

My one question is whether you need that much internal storage, which is very expensive. Years ago I offloaded everything other than OS and apps from the internal drives on my Macs. The internal storage on a Studio is blazing fast, around 6GB/s reads and writes, but with a Thunderbolt enclosure you can still get around half that speed, which should be more than enough.

Maybe something like THIS, which you put much less expensive m.2 drives in. Just a suggestion.

Appreciated. My work flow is that I’ll leave a proxy on my computer as well as RAID, and generally work with the computer data, then moving to the RAID.

I have a penchant for accessing my iPad at 3 in the morning (my dog hates this - my wife puts up with it) and double checking frame rates. While I can access my RAID, at that hour I tend to forget where I’m saving things, so keeping major working files on my computer memory makes things easier.

I ended up going for the ProBlade route. Ordered the enclosure and 6 SSD drives, and they (videoguys) not only discounted, but threw in a portable enclosure, which will allow me to run a bladesworth of data at our theater, and see what it really looks like, albeit as a 2k proxy.

Currently working with some silent productions - 1916 - 1926, and figuring out the correct frame rate is a bear.

There’s always room for another piece hardware, so I’ll be checking out your suggestion, for which I thank you!

 

[MUFC]

I know nothing about computers. That’s what IT is for. I will tell you this since nobody else I know would give a monkeys’…
We’re dithering with true end to end 8K. Does it work? Yes. Is it worth it? For me? Nope!
One 20 minute reel is almost 10 terabytes. Playback is limited.
As you’d probably know, a simple 4K 16bit dpx for one frame is roughly 74000kb per frame.
8K is roughly 298000kb per frame.
My work computer has roughly 25 terabytes of local storage - our SAN seems unlimited.
I have no point, but if I did, bigger, faster, better which probably costs money.
Mac for home, PC for work. I think developers would agree.
Saying that, do you have a solid state drive in your local computer or is that standard these days? Our IT guys run fiber all over the place - but as aforementioned, 8K is just silly.

 

[Robert Saccone]

wrong link sent

https://www.youtube.com/@AlexLindsay

Also wanted to aid that Alex Lindsay seems to know his stuff when it comes to Macs and large scale video editing.

Alex Lindsay (podcaster) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He runs a daily discussion on media production called Office Hours.
You might want to get in touch with him.

 

[Robert Harris]

Also wanted to aid that Alex Lindsay seems to know his stuff when it comes to Macs and large scale video editing.

Alex Lindsay (podcaster) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

He runs a daily discussion on media production called Office Hours.
You might want to get in touch with him.

Thank you.

I know nothing about computers. That’s what IT is for. I will tell you this since nobody else I know would give a monkeys’…
We’re dithering with true end to end 8K. Does it work? Yes. Is it worth it? For me? Nope!
One 20 minute reel is almost 10 terabytes. Playback is limited.
As you’d probably know, a simple 4K 16bit dpx for one frame is roughly 74000kb per frame.
8K is roughly 298000kb per frame.
My work computer has roughly 25 terabytes of local storage - our SAN seems unlimited.
I have no point, but if I did, bigger, faster, better which probably costs money.
Mac for home, PC for work. I think developers would agree.
Saying that, do you have a solid state drive in your local computer or is that standard these days? Our IT guys run fiber all over the place - but as aforementioned, 8K is just silly.

I scan large format in 8k, and work in 4. All of our silents are being scanned in 4, and finished as such.

Just discovered the SanDisk Pros unit, that accepts 4 - 4k “blades.” Nice modular unit at a fair price for SSD drives. Works nicely. Looking forward to the Studio being built and delivered.

 

[Wes Candela]

I was hoping to put this off until June, however…

I’m currently working on 8 projects, and yesterday realized that my computer, a 2021 iMac 24” with 2TB of memory, was running at just under 90% capacity, after removing some data. The computer itself has been fine reading and writing large files, and working in Final Cut.

We do all of our digital work and final conform via my partner’s post, and at Roundabout in Burbank, so my personal needs are somewhat “basic.”

I run three RAIDS, all in R5, and all with six drives. Once I’ve acquired footage, I don’t want to lose it. Two of the drives, an older Promise Pegasus HDD 10TB, as well as a newer Promise HDD 24TB, are also too close to 90% for comfort.

My third RAID is a G-Tech 6 SSD, which has space, but I’m looking for an alternative, and know that there’s a knowledge base here.

Upgrading to a Mac Studio, 12-38-16, with 96TB of memory, and 4TB of storage. I couldn’t rationalize going the Pro route for my purposes.

Question is this:

After researching the usual suspects, I’m considering going the SanDisc Pro Blade route, with one station and multiple hot-swappable 4TB drives.

Does anyone here have experience with the product? Suggestions yea, or nay? Alternative recommendations?

I don’t want to go the dual HDD route in redundant mode. The best seems to be the 44TB G-Raid Mirror, but that has far less flexibility, and is limited to 22TB.

Thoughts, please…?

Mr. Harris,
I would seriously look into LaCie drives.

LaCie: Premium External Hard Drives, SSDs & RAID Solutions | LaCie US

Visit us, explore, and be inspired by premium external hard drives, SSDs, and RAID solutions that give you field-proven reliability and bold performance. Trek the globe with Rugged® durability, sprint through projects with Thunderbolt™ speed, and easily connect to the latest USB-C computers.

www.lacie.com

knock on wood they have never failed me and I’ve been using them for photography and multimedia. Heavy usage for over 10 years now.

The same drives
For your purposes

I would suggest the following:
LACIE 6BIG THUNDERBOLT 3
with capacity from 24 TB all the way to 108 TB

6big Thunderbolt 3 | LaCie US

Rein in the data stampede of data from 4/5/6K cameras with the LaCie 12big and 6big Thunderbolt 3. With the breakthrough performance of Thunderbolt 3, up to 120TB of capacity, and RAID 5/6, you can safely store and edit massive amounts of ultra hi-res footage. These products additionally feature...

www.lacie.com

Lacie was purchased by Seagate which had me worried about quality of product, but in the end, there was no need to worry

The products are phenomenal and dependable

If you're looking for a smaller raid option,
you could go with the LaCie 2 big dock

2big Dock Thunderbolt 3 | LaCie US

The LaCie 2big Dock Thunderbolt™ 3 delivers professional and reliable 2-bay RAID storage, high capacity, and fast speeds—all while charging your devices.

www.lacie.com

but you only have two hard drive bays, even though it will run on RAID 5


however, full disclosure, I have one and have it set up as independent discs, this way I can take advantage of the 16 TB instead of losing eight to RAID

But this is the brand I would point you towards especially since you're going with a MacBook studio
It plays very nicely with Mac's, it's meant to

let me know what your thoughts are, and I hope this helps

Respect always, Mr. Harris
Wes

 

[Robert Harris]

Mr. Harris,
I would seriously look into LaCie drives.

LaCie: Premium External Hard Drives, SSDs & RAID Solutions | LaCie US

Visit us, explore, and be inspired by premium external hard drives, SSDs, and RAID solutions that give you field-proven reliability and bold performance. Trek the globe with Rugged® durability, sprint through projects with Thunderbolt™ speed, and easily connect to the latest USB-C computers.

www.lacie.com

knock on wood they have never failed me and I’ve been using them for photography and multimedia. Heavy usage for over 10 years now.

The same drives
For your purposes

I would suggest the following:
LACIE 6BIG THUNDERBOLT 3
with capacity from 24 TB all the way to 108 TB

6big Thunderbolt 3 | LaCie US

Rein in the data stampede of data from 4/5/6K cameras with the LaCie 12big and 6big Thunderbolt 3. With the breakthrough performance of Thunderbolt 3, up to 120TB of capacity, and RAID 5/6, you can safely store and edit massive amounts of ultra hi-res footage. These products additionally feature...

www.lacie.com

View attachment 215027

View attachment 215028
Lacie was purchased by Seagate which had me worried about quality of product, but in the end, there was no need to worry

The products are phenomenal and dependable

If you're looking for a smaller raid option,
you could go with the LaCie 2 big dock

2big Dock Thunderbolt 3 | LaCie US

The LaCie 2big Dock Thunderbolt™ 3 delivers professional and reliable 2-bay RAID storage, high capacity, and fast speeds—all while charging your devices.

www.lacie.com

but you only have two hard drive bays, even though it will run on RAID 5


however, full disclosure, I have one and have it set up as independent discs, this way I can take advantage of the 16 TB instead of losing eight to RAID

But this is the brand I would point you towards especially since you're going with a MacBook studio
It plays very nicely with Mac's, it's meant to

let me know what your thoughts are, and I hope this helps

Respect always, Mr. Harris
Wes

Thank you, Wes,

I’ve been successfully using a bunch of LaCies over the years, but went with Promise 6-drive RAIDs for my HDD units. Most recently, I added a G-Tech 6-SSD RAID, which is a slow load, but once it’s running is a speedy little bugger.

I decided to go multiple SSD this round, ending up with the SanDisk Blades at 4TB each. I can run them mirrored, but don’t see the necessity, as with each major updated cut of a film, I put on two RAIDs. My plan is to vault finals on SSD Blades.

Fortunately, I’m dealing with small files, running 8-12 GB as proxies. My partner on the left coast is handling the 4k data on his RAIDs.

As proxies, I’m doing the shot selection, running up to 4-5 versions of the same film - multiple tinted Nitrates with decomp, pre-decomp safety dupes, etc.

As a photographer, you’ll probably be interested in one title which we’ve not yet announced. The Nitrate contains tinted, toned, combination tinted & toned, as well as Handschiegl color.

One rather frustrating point dealing with drives is that I’d forgotten how quickly they change: different adapter connections, power adapters, and a myriad of connections, some of which I don’t recall. USB-C is our friend. There’s nothing like finding a 3 pound 500GB HDD drive, with a 1 pound transformer and cables.

 

[Wes Candela]

Thank you, Wes,

I’ve been successfully using a bunch of LaCies over the years, but went with Promise 6-drive RAIDs for my HDD units. Most recently, I added a G-Tech 6-SSD RAID, which is a slow load, but once it’s running is a speedy little bugger.

I decided to go multiple SSD this round, ending up with the SanDisk Blades at 4TB each. I can run them mirrored, but don’t see the necessity, as with each major updated cut of a film, I put on two RAIDs. My plan is to vault finals on SSD Blades.

Fortunately, I’m dealing with small files, running 8-12 GB as proxies. My partner on the left coast is handling the 4k data on his RAIDs.

As proxies, I’m doing the shot selection, running up to 4-5 versions of the same film - multiple tinted Nitrates with decomp, pre-decomp safety dupes, etc.

As a photographer, you’ll probably be interested in one title which we’ve not yet announced. The Nitrate contains tinted, toned, combination tinted & toned, as well as Handschiegl color.

One rather frustrating point dealing with drives is that I’d forgotten how quickly they change: different adapter connections, power adapters, and a myriad of connections, some of which I don’t recall. USB-C is our friend. There’s nothing like finding a 3 pound 500GB HDD drive, with a 1 pound transformer and cables.

As a photographer, you’ll probably be interested in one title which we’ve not yet announced. The Nitrate contains tinted, toned, combination tinted & toned, as well as Handschiegl color.

!!!!
oh wow, you’ve got me interested!!

successfully using a bunch of LaCies over the years, but went with Promise 6-drive RAIDs for my HDD units.

Interesting. How are the Promise units treating you?

And fantastic that you’re going the SSD Route. I would, but the extra money for the solid states holds me back on anything larger than 4TB.

But you simply can’t beat the spread and with the MacMini Studio you’ll be in heaven.

Fortunately, I’m dealing with small files, running 8-12 GB as proxies. My partner on the left coast is handling the 4k data on his RAIDs.

As proxies, I’m doing the shot selection, running up to 4-5 versions of the same film - multiple tinted Nitrates with decomp, pre-decomp safety dupes, etc

You must need the room at this point with 4 projects at once That’s a heavy data load.

One rather frustrating point dealing with drives is that I’d forgotten how quickly they change: different adapter connections, power adapters, and a myriad of connections, some of which I don’t recall. USB-C is our friend

extremely frustrating. You have to read the fine print.

i’m just very thankful we’ve moved away from USB 3, slowly moving towards USB-C across the board.
a speed uptick you’ll definitely notice more with solid-state drives.

interestingly, Thunderbolt 3 will read/write at 40 GB/ sec

While USB-C/USB 3.2 while it is universal, has different specs to it with each generation change.

and with the newest generation which is USB 3.2 generation 2×2 will transfer at 20 GB/ second

These are fantastic speeds anyway you cut it, but you do have to read the fine print unfortunately when it comes to which version of USB-C you have

so that you are working with a Mac, you can take advantage of Thunderbolt 3.

but yes, once you start looking into it it is very confusing.

so have you formally made a decision on what you’re going to upgrade to form of the new hard drive read set up yet Mr. Harris?

 

[MUFC]

Sorry to interject again, since my mind glosses over when people talk computer stuff - however in my experience I would steer well clear of SanDisk “blades”.
Honestly. I’ve worked with some incredible engineers and the sandisk blades are to be avoided. Can’t tell you why! Just don’t go there.

 

[Robert Harris]

Sorry to interject again, since my mind glosses over when people talk computer stuff - however in my experience I would steer well clear of SanDisk “blades”.
Honestly. I’ve worked with some incredible engineers and the sandisk blades are to be avoided. Can’t tell you why! Just don’t go there.

Interesting. I know there was some negative discussion several years ago when that type of drive gained popularity in terms of the number of read/write cycles. I picked up a G-Tech unit with 8 drives and have had no problems.

The blades are being used on many shoots.

 

[MUFC]

Fair enough. It was about 8 years back, but once bitten….
Let’s hope all goes swimmingly.

 

[Wes Candela]

Interesting. I know there was some negative discussion several years ago when that type of drive gained popularity in terms of the number of read/write cycles. I picked up a G-Tech unit with 8 drives and have had no problems.

The blades are being used on many shoots.

I didn't want to mention it, but I have had some pretty serious run-ins with solid state SanDisk products,

like complete drive failure out of nowhere, loss of all data.

However, the blade drives set up is a top-tier SanDisk product, so I would not compare what I went through wiith a 1 TB SSD flash drive to your product.

The read-write speeds from the SanDisk blades are phenomenal and thunderbolt connect speeds are great.

 

[Robert Harris]

Fair enough. It was about 8 years back, but once bitten….
Let’s hope all goes swimmingly.

Zero problems with the SSDs. Modularity working beautifully, as I’m able to segregate each project on its own blade, or put several on a blade that can co-exist, as each only has a single set of elements.

A film like Beau Geste is being restored from four different elements. The Affairs of Anatol from five - partial 35 nitrate from one archive, a second partial 35 nitrate, a 16mm Kodachrome reduction reversal, and two sets of safety protection elements - one reasonably compete, the other partial.

Loving the ability to grab a 4TB blade, pop it into a transport, and run with it.

 

[Robert Harris]

I didn't want to mention it, but I have had some pretty serious run-ins with solid state SanDisk products,

like complete drive failure out of nowhere, loss of all data.

However, the blade drives set up is a top-tier SanDisk product, so I would not compare what I went through wiith a 1 TB SSD flash drive to your product.

The read-write speeds from the SanDisk blades are phenomenal and thunderbolt connect speeds are great.

I was initially concerned about this, but researched and found that the SanDisk Professional line is a totally different entity.

 

[Robert Harris]

Arrived. Thus far, quite impressed. Great monitor. After downloading new software for Promise RAIDS, all seems well. The Scandisk worked perfectly out of the box. Now waiting for upgraded Caldigit and a few new Thunderbolt 4 cables.

It’s always ongoing.