Can a Prof Software be run from a SERVER alone ?

terence_fdes

terence_fdes

wizened Dinosaur
Level H
Hi Guys ........... I dunno where else I could have posted this

The Issue: Can a Professional Software - Avid DS v11 be installed and run only from a server !

The Avid DS (Nitris) v11 was launched a month ago & presently there are just 7-8 installations of this software around the world. This is a high end professional film & video finishing software (with 2K; 4K and 3D Stereoscopic support) Avid | Avid DS System Earlier we were using v8 for the past 5 years (Win Xp & 32-bit only) until it conked off.

The app is normally installed onto a separate workstation (like HP-Z800) and all work is done & stored on a separate local storage (NAS) Avid DS Support Center (all types of video are encoded & saved onto this storage by Avid's propriety format *.gen files)

To reduce costs we decided to install this completely onto a server (eliminating a separate workstation). The specs are as follows

Intel Dual Xeon E5649 processors [LGA 1366] http://ark.intel.com/products/52581/Intel-Xeon-Processor-E5649-%2812M-Cache-2_53-GHz-5_86-GTs-Intel-QPI%29
Intel Workstation Board S5520SC http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/motherboards/server-motherboards/server-board-s5520sc.html
48GB RAM
60GB x 2 Intel SSD's - Windows 7 64 bit professional & Avid DS v11
Nvidia Quadro 5000
Intel RAID Controller RS2BL040
8TB Storage (SCSI 15,000 RPM) on RAID 6
24" Cinetal Broadcast monitor Cinemage 2142
 Awaiting Aja Kona 3G IO card & HP Dreamcolor Monitor [purchase on hold]

Problem is that the output onto the Broadcast monitor appears to strobe/jerky (not seamless or smooth) and Field flickers are also frequent. This makes it practically impossible to start any work on this system (we are already under a tremendous work load and which is being handled by 2 Final Cut-pro's). The Avid Support guys are sure to lift up their hands and not support this type of combined hardware installation.

We also thought that the Quadro 5000 would handle the output smoothly - apparently this is not the case [The Quadro 5000 is not sufficient for a BROADCAST MONITOR 8 & 10bit realtime playback solution for the DS Nitris - It however helps for realtime GPU processing for the TIMELINE playback - where processing/rendering is absent or minimised]. All our work is of 2K resolution (I can chose to work with compressed or uncompressed media)

It also looks like the Aja-Kona 3G card is a must - necessary to support 8 & 10bit HD RGB formats on a DS-equipped workstation. This is a specialised I/O (Input/Output) card KONA 3G - AJA Video Systems

I have been using the Avid DS (earlier a Softimage product) since the past 9 years and found it of be an extremely stable solution for professional broadcast work. Until v10 - Avid sold this system bundled with their own certified hardware (where every hardware component had to match the licence). Since v10 Avid has now offered to sell only the Software and Clients could purchase the Hardware from any 3rd party source.

Also the existing Server Cabinet (everything assembled ) looks too crammed for any further modifications - looks difficult to fit in the Aja-Kona Card; can't add any SATA HDD too (so we have installed some peripheral app's onto the RAID/Media Storage). The overall system also heats up like crazy & my room temp has to be maintained at 20-24 deg's (I love this part). I also cannot provide any pics of the system (goes against my workplace protocols).

So was this a mis-adventure ................ ????

HELP cisco_tech, ALPHA17, Crazy_Eddy, vivek.krishnan, Dark Star, bottle, Gannu, Jakob, linuxtechie ............. ANYONE ELSE

EDIT: Our work is 100% CGI (file based media only from Maya; Nuke and 3ds Max) and we output also file based to our clients.
 
ALPHA17 said:
Sorry terence_fdes not very well read on this topic I am, let others contribute.
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oops .... no probs. U kno wot ... the Quadro 5000 has got me foxed completely (on the Broadcast Monitor Output front only) ....... rest it performs phenomenally (primary & secondary level of color corrections etc) all playback in realtime (no need to render) ....... only advanced effects need rendering (which again is a breeze).
 
whom did you people buy it from? dont they give support or recommend the minimum config required?
i read on wikipedia that the kona 3g is required for v11.

Nitris DNA: Developed by Avid, the Nitris hardware was probably the largest hardware update to the system since it was released. 10-bit HD and SD support was standard. Real-time down and cross convert. This was the only hardware for DS that had on-board effect processing. This allowed a system at the time to play back dual-stream uncompressed HD effects in real-time at 16-bit precision. This was also the first hardware from Avid to support the DNxHD codec. Starting with Pentium 4, Intel Core Xeons were supported. SCSI storage was primarily used.
AJA: First available as a 4:4:4 option to be used in conjunction with Nitris hardware. Current DS systems use the AJA Kona 3 (Xena 2K) card as the only I/O for the system. Current systems ship with two Intel Core Xeon 6-core processors. SAS is the recommended storage for these systems.
Click to expand...

i think the quadro card might be a bottleneck for 10bit output. doesn't look that good compared to the kona card.
 
6pack said:
whom did you people buy it from? dont they give support or recommend the minimum config required?
i read on wikipedia that the kona 3g is required for v11.



i think the quadro card might be a bottleneck for 10bit output. doesn't look that good compared to the kona card.
Click to expand...

Thanks buddy ....... Now regarding "support" ........ Well we tried breaking protocols and experimenting with running the Avid DS 11 directly from a Server..... (which is not working out). So it means we have to stick to Avid's recommended procedure of having the Media Storage & Workstation as 2 separate units.

The Quadro 5000 is definately a bottleneck to handle an OUTPUT of 8 & 10-bit High-end Broadcast formats...... This is now confirmed on a server based set-up (Dunno even if the Quadro 6000 or Quadro Plex 7000 .... the Top 2 cards would also do this job on our set-up?). As stated earlier the Quadro's functions excellently for realtime playback on the Timeline only.

Could "sharing of resources" Quadro on a Server be the bottleneck in running a High-End Broadcast Solution ? Is'nt a Dual 12 core Xeon E5649 capable of handling all this throughput seamlessly .......... probably not !!!

These benchmarks http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu.php?cpu=[Dual+CPU]+Intel+Xeon+E5649+%40+2.53GHz have no meaning when it finally come's to handling of Most High-end professional Broadcast solutions (DS; Smoke; Flame; Lustre; Scratch; Final Cut Pro; Media Composer; Symphony etc .....). All these softwares are installed on a Workstation with Storage being a separate unit. And this is where the Aja-Kona also comes into the picture (Blackmagic Design & Matrox are the others who also provide high-end I/O cards) - whose specific task is MANLY OUTPUT To Broadcast Monitor or Tape.

I hope within the next few days, I would be able to check this out on a separate workstation (using Avid's recommended procedure ............. minus the Aja-Kona 3G Card). And if this again does not work out, then we have to go in for the Aja-Kona.

I am also looking at guys who have worked/handled server's or such apps to offer their feedback.
 
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