Long-term data storage in the media and entertainment industry: StrongBox LTFS NAS archive delivers 84% reduction in TCO

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1 Long-term data storage in the media and entertainment industry: StrongBox LTFS NAS archive delivers 84% reduction in TCO Lowering Long-term Archive Storage Costs with Crossroads Systems StrongBox, Brad Johns Consulting L.L.C, 2013

2 Long-term data storage in the media and entertainment industry: StrongBox LTFS NAS archive delivers 84% reduction in TCO The Challenge Expense of ever-growing data archival needs The content is the business when it comes to the media and entertainment (M&E) industry. Be it broadcasting, production, online video, mobile, cable, satellite or Internet protocol television (IPTV), an organization s success often depends on the availability of their digital content. However, securely storing terabytes or even petabytes of video or audio files can quickly become very expensive. Production content requires long-term retention Along with an explosion of new video data, old files are in the process of becoming digitized for the safety and longevity of the content. Whether driven by internal needs or client expectations, the M&E industry must keep data far into the foreseeable future, sometimes indefinitely. This demand for longer data retention along with the desire to maintain high-quality imaging propels the need for more cost-effective storage mediums. While disk has the advantage of high-performance access, hardware acquisition and operational expenses, such as power and cooling requirements, make disk too costly for scalable, long-term storage. Unstructured data management Assigning data to different storage destinations based on performance needs, known as data tiering, helps reduce storage total cost of ownership (TCO) while improving datacenter efficiency. Postproduction or proxy data, such as a broadcast from several months ago, may be stored on low-cost mediums, while active production data, such as today s news clip, remains on high-performance media. But, production teams need the capability to browse through files and search for clips in either category. The performance needs of data change over time, but regardless of where the data lives, it needs to be accessible and online. The StrongBox Solution Long-term, cost-effective data retention StrongBox is a low-cost, long-term, networkattached storage (NAS) archive that combines disk, for rapid file access, and Linear Tape File System (LTFS) tape technology, for scalable, cost-effective digital storage. For M&E professionals, this brings unprecedented possibilities to have archived content files, clips and videos available for rapid access. StrongBox provides a persistent view of all files in the tape library by transforming tape data into an online file system, alleviating the traditional difficulties of tape management and delayed data access. The system has built-in data monitoring, reporting and protection capabilities to ensure that files are always secure and protected. As an enterprise solution for the media and entertainment industry s growing content storage needs, StrongBox provides seamless management of digital archive content for file based workflows. StrongBox Highlights: LTFS tape-based NAS Simplified tape management Universal file access Vendor neutral Data mobility Built-in data protection

3 StrongBox LTFS NAS archive delivers 95% reduction in energy costs Video Storage Cost Breakdown Tape-based vs. Disk Only Solution Different types of data require different storage performance capabilities. Disk-based approaches provide the high-performance needed for active production files, but they can also carry a high price tag. By using a tape-based archive for data that needs to be stored, but may be infrequently accessed, system users can significantly lower content storage and infrastructure TCO. An independent consulting group, Brad Johns Consulting LLC, research the TCO for storing dual copies of 1 PB of video files using Crossroads tape-based StrongBox LTFS NAS as compared to disk only storage. The graph above depicts the findings: utilizing the Crossroads StrongBox solution with LTO 6 brings an 84 percent reduction in TCO over a 10 year period. StrongBox Solution Petabyte storage capacity Advanced digital camera technology and the volume of video files produced today show that capacity needs for video storage are on the rise. StrongBox grows to fit storage needs with the flexibility to add additional disk and tape media. StrongBox seamlessly connects to the tape system via SAN (8Gb Fibre Channel) or directly with SAS, giving users the flexibility to expand the physical tape library as needed. A single StrongBox can hold up to 1.6 billion files to help meet long-term capacity needs. StrongBox provides a scalable destination for production data, optimizing performance based on user requirements. Reducing the amount

4 StrongBox LTFS NAS enables data mobility for efficient collaboration and seamless file sharing of inactive data on high-cost media, by tiering or migrating off high-performance servers to StrongBox, also minimizes network traffic during backup operations, lowering both hardware and operational expenses. StrongBox policy-based data protection reduces overall backup and restore operations since StrongBox data is in a protected archive and does not require backup. Access to files anywhere at any time Accessing files from an offline archive takes time and requires IT resources. In today s fast-paced media world, gaining access to archived files next week, or even tomorrow, could slow or even inhibit production. Functioning as standard network attached storage (NAS), StrongBox gives flexible file access to multiple simultaneous network users, anywhere in the world. The files stored in StrongBox are online, all the time to optimize efficiency and provide ubiquitous access for users. StrongBox simplifies file access through full drag and drop capabilities from a single filebased interface, similar to hard disk, CD/DVD disc or USB media. All read and write operations are transparent to end-users, ensuring continuous accessibility. Vendor-neutral storage with LTFS Collaboration is an important facet of production and broadcast. Different companies may handle each phase of content creation: pre-production, production and post-production. Due to the necessity of file sharing, it is crucial that recorded media be stored in a digital format that is universally accessible. Until LTFS, tape data was locked down by proprietary applications; files were modified when written and only readable by a system running a specific vendor s application. StrongBox never modifies files. LTFS media is readable by any LTFS enabled drive, opening up channels for efficient collaboration and seamless file sharing. Data mobility StrongBox solves the challenge of physically moving large amounts of data. Since many production What is LTFS? Linear Tape File System (LTFS) technology refers to the open-nature, self-describing formatting of LTO 5 and LTO 6 tape media. LTFS gives users a file-system view of the tape data, making it quicker to access specific files. Most importantly, LTFS enables vendor neutrality with tape media. Any LTFS tape can be written, exported and read by any LTFS-enabled system, eliminating proprietary lock-down on tape data. environments need to share files, finding the least expensive way to move large amounts of data from production to editing to distribution is key. With StrongBox, users can export data, via LTFS tape media, for physical mobility. As a much cheaper alternative to shipping a disk array or moving large amounts of data across the wire, LTFS media can be exported and shipped overnight. Due to LTFS non-proprietary formatting, tapes exported from StrongBox can be read by any LTFS drive. Reliability and security To ensure the security of video files, data protection features are built in to StrongBox. The system monitor proactively assesses the disks, tape cartridges, drives and libraries to provide a cohesive view into system utilization, alerting users to potential risks before an issue occurs. To ensure data integrity and prevent corruption, each file is marked with a unique hash code. The code is verified each time the file is ingested into any StrongBox system, and users are alerted of any change in the data. Finally, LTO tape s reliability helps ensure that content is always available by providing one of the best bit-error rates available in a storage medium (1 x 10E17 bits). The multicopy policy allows files to be written multiple times on separate pieces of tape media so that a copy is available should the original file or media be compromised. Optional wide area network (WAN) replication automates data

5 replication between StrongBox systems for offsite data protection. Additionally, WAN replication enables secure, high-performance data transfers to a third party, such as a cloud or managed service provider. Summary For the media and entertainment or broadcast industries, content and digital asset management requires solid solutions that deliver both performance and economy. With budgetary restrictions and ever-growing storage needs, finding a cost-effective, high-capacity digital archive is at the forefront of M&E datacenter needs. Through the combination of disk and LTFS tape, Crossroads StrongBox delivers unmatched cost-savings and simplifies content management for long-term archival. With StrongBox, M&E professionals can have peace of mind in the security, reliability and accessibility of content files while significantly minimizing the total cost of ownership for storage infrastructure. About Crossroads Systems and StrongBox Crossroads Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDS) is a global provider of data archive solutions. The Crossroads StrongBox is a shared storage solution purpose-built for data archiving and preservation. Using Linear Tape File System (LTFS) technology and intelligent storage architecture, StrongBox empowers online, all the time file availability with advanced data protection, full data mobility, non-proprietary file storage and significant cost-savings. StrongBox unifies your archive - past and present - while providing seamless scalability and reliability for the future. TCO Quantitative Analysis: Lowering Long-term Archive Storage Costs with Crossroads Systems StrongBox, Brad Johns Consulting L.L.C, North MoPac Expwy. Ste. 100 Austin, Texas sales@crossroads.com 2013 Crossroads Systems, Inc. - Crossroads and StrongBox are registered trademarks of Crossroads Systems, Inc. Crossroads is a trademark of Crossroads Systems, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. SB_M&E_TCO_043013