Company Develops Low-Cost SAN for Pro Tools® Users
Amsterdam, Netherlands—September 9, 2005 — Studio Network Solutions (SNS), located at booth 7.511, today unveiled its newest product in the globalSAN™ family, the X-4. Among the new and updated storage offerings from SNS, the X-4 is a small yet complete Storage Area Network (SAN) created for multi-room audio studios worldwide that rely on Digidesign’s award-winning Pro Tools® DAW.
“We’ve built the X-4 to be within reach of every multi-room audio studio. Price, performance, capacity – all factors were taken into consideration to make this the best choice for Pro Tools® facilities,” stated Gary Holladay, president of SNS.
The X-4 will be offered as a complete package that includes 1.6 Terabytes of SATA storage in a 1U enclosure. It will contain a single RAID controller and two client licenses of SAN software. One of the most noteworthy aspects of the SAN is the price. While the X-4 is unique in many ways, at $6,999 it offers the lowest point of entry for a complete, multi-user, multi-platform shared SAN.
“Our objective is to enhance the Pro Tools experience,” continues Holladay. With that goal, emphasis is placed on simple administration and ease of use. Audio engineers can connect directly to the X-4 over Gigabit Ethernet and share RAID-protected storage just as easily as they would with a more expensive Fibre Channel SAN.
The X-4 was also designed around the concept of being “stackable.” For example, a small studio may only need one X-4 unit. But as that studio continues to grow, additional X-4 units can easily be added to increase capacity, performance and users.
As with all models in the globalSAN family, the product is based on the iSCSI protocol, which maximizes the performance of Gigabit Ethernet. The X-4 offers more bandwidth and far greater distance capabilities than USB or FireWire. All globalSAN systems provide the ability to create a high-performance SAN using Ethernet components. Using iSCSI as the SAN protocol eliminates the need to purchase expensive components found in a traditional Fibre Channel SAN.
About SNS
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) specializes in the development of shared storage hardware and software solutions for the Media and Entertainment industry. Since day one we’ve applied unmatched ingenuity and experience to create outstanding products that exceed industry expectations while providing outstanding support to our customers.
Our customers range in size from individual freelance engineers to multinational media powerhouses. Our solutions are used to produce everything from books on tape to full track scoring for major Hollywood films. Our products have been at the technical core of the music you listen to, the games you play, the shows you watch and the movies you see.
We have a valued network of resellers located throughout the United States… and the world. Whether you have a product question or you’re ready to place an order, we encourage you to contact us today.