An IEEE 1394-Based Architecture for Media Storage and Networking

As broadcast facilities transition from analog to digital, new disc-based storage systems and integrated networking technologies are changing the landscape of these installations. In the past five years, many different types of storage and networking technologies have been developed to improve the efficiency of media storage and the speed in which that media can be distributed. Videotape is rapidly being augmented by random access devices such as laser disc recorders, still stores, digital disc recorders, standard PCs, and other disc-based storage devices. The advent of cost-effective video compression hardware and low-cost, high-capacity disc drives has made many of the above devices pervasive in today's broadcast environment. — The primary advantage of disc-based systems over tape-based systems is the speed and flexibility in which users can access the stored material. The significant advantage of a well-designed networking topology is low-latency distribution of the material. Video servers are valuable products because multiple users can access any material quickly and simultaneously. Now larger, more flexible disc-based systems are providing storage capacities greater than one thousand hours and shared access to this material through multiple I/O interfaces such as SDI, SDTI, Ethernet, Fibre Channel, ATM, and IEEE 1394. Even though the new storage devices provide significant capacity increases and some shared access to the stored material, the primary mode of accessing content stored on these devices is through a traditional point-to-point video network usually based on a large, multi-layered video and audio routing switcher. As the number of video compression formats increase and as the capacity of storage systems increase, the networks that provide access to this content become more important. By providing simple and efficient access to stored material, control and facility operations are simplified; costs are reduced; and higher-quality, reliable service is possible. — This paper examines the characteristics and benefits of several existing network-based storage architectures including: Traditional storage shared via a standard analog/digital router, networked video file servers, Storage Area Networks (SAN), and enterprise data networks (Ethernet, utilizing Storage Area Networks and Network Attached Storage—NAS). For each system architecture mentioned, we will discuss details of specific device I/O and control, redundancy strategies, and scalability. This paper will also propose a new system architecture based on IEEE 1394 networking and Network Attached Storage. This new architecture provides all of the benefits of the other systems discussed with few of the limitations. New system architectures based on IEEE 1394 networking and Fibre Channel storage technologies will set new standards for flexibility, scalability, access, and reliability at costs far below traditional approaches.

Published

1999-11

Content type

Original Research

DOI

10.5594/M00322

ISBN

978-1-61482-931-7