Digital Storage

Data storage systems are hardware and software solutions designed to store, manage, and protect large volumes of high-capacity digital data, such as 4K, 8K, RAW video, and audio and graphics files. Unlike conventional storage, these systems prioritize high performance (very fast read/write speeds), redundancy, and scalability to handle the demanding production and post-production audiovisual workflows.
 

Types of High-Capacity and Redundant Storage Systems

In the audiovisual sector, the main storage systems that offer high capacity and redundancy are:
   

1. DAS (Direct Attached Storage)

These are storage units that connect directly to a workstation or server, generally via ports like Thunderbolt or USB. Although they are not a network system, they often incorporate RAID technology.
 

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks): This is a technology that combines multiple hard drives (HDD) or SSDs into a single logical unit. Its objective is to improve performance, increase storage capacity, and provide redundancy to protect data from disk failures. The most common levels in the audiovisual industry are:

RAID 0: Combines the capacity of the drives to achieve maximum performance, but offers no redundancy. If one drive fails, all data is lost.

RAID 1: Mirrors the data from one drive onto another, providing an exact copy. It offers maximum redundancy but only uses 50% of the total capacity.

RAID 5 and 6: Distribute data and parity information (a form of redundancy) across multiple drives. They allow the system to continue operating if one (RAID 5) or even two (RAID 6) drives fail. They are a popular balance between performance, capacity, and redundancy.
   

2. NAS (Network Attached Storage)

These are storage devices connected to a network that allow multiple users and computers to access data simultaneously. They function as simplified "file servers." They are ideal for collaborative work environments.
   
They have their own operating system, processor, and memory, allowing them to manage file access independently. They typically include bays for several hard drives that can be configured in different RAID levels to ensure data security.
 

3. SAN (Storage Area Network)

This is a dedicated, high-speed network that connects servers to storage devices, making the storage appear to be directly connected to the server. Unlike NAS, which shares files at the network level, a SAN manages access to data blocks, offering superior performance and very low latency, which is ideal for high-resolution video editing.
   
They use specialized protocols such as Fibre Channel or iSCSI. These are more complex and costly systems, designed for large production companies, post-production houses, and broadcast facilities.
   

Fundamental Technical Applications

These systems are essential for the following workflows in the audiovisual sector:
   

Ingest and Backup: For quickly transferring footage from camera cards to secure storage and efficiently creating multiple backups to prevent data loss.
   
Collaborative Video Editing: They allow multiple editors to work simultaneously on the same project, sharing high-resolution files without network bottlenecks, which is crucial in film and series post-production.
   
Project Archiving and Preservation: As projects are completed, data is moved to long-term storage systems, such as LTO (Linear Tape-Open) tape libraries. While they offer slower sequential access, they are the industry standard for long-term archival due to their low cost per terabyte, durability, and reliability.
   
Media Asset Management (MAM): They allow cataloging, organizing, and searching video, audio, and graphics assets, facilitating content reuse and efficiency in large media libraries.