MAXmirror Combines High-Speed and Redundancy Required for Mission-Critical Broadcast Applications
(Montréal, Canada--March 25, 2008) Maximum Throughput Inc., developers of ultra high-performance, software-based solutions for networked storage infrastructure and media management, will introduce the Sledgehammer MAXmirror configuration for creating fully redundant online storage at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2008 convention being held from April 14-17 in Las Vegas.
Maximum Throughput will be in Booth #SL11711 at the show.
Sledgehammer is a powerful, high-performance NAS (Network Attached Storage) file server that delivers over 700MB/s of throughput.
The MAXmirror configuration enables customers to set up Sledgehammer’s server and storage subsystem with no single point of failure to support the needs of mission-critical applications, such as broadcast television. The optional configuration involves two servers, each of which have their own internal or external storage based upon Sledgehammer NAS technology, delivering the same aggregate throughput with no degradation in performance.
With MAXmirror, two servers are configured such that the primary active server mirrors or replicates all of its data onto the passive secondary server. While the secondary server is passive, it monitors the primary server and, in the event of a failure, automatically steps in as the failover back-up. MAXmin, Sledgehammer’s browser-based system management utility, is used to configure MAXmirror.
“Since all content is stored simultaneously onto the primary and secondary servers, when the secondary server takes over for the failed primary unit, the MAXmirror customer is spared a service disruption,” said John Miller, vice president of sales and marketing for Maximum Throughput. “For mission-critical applications, even a brief service disruption can be costly. Broadcasters require full redundancy and automatic failover from their online servers. MAXmirror underscores our commitment to provide the utmost in reliable, redundant, high-performance storage to the broadcast industry.”
Sledgehammer systems with the MAXmirror option have already been installed at several television stations, including WRAL-TV/DT, the CBS affiliate in Raleigh, N.C. WRAL was among the first stations in the nation to broadcast in HDTV. At WRAL, the MAXmirror Sledgehammer now serves as the shared HD storage component of its digital news production system.
According to Pete Sockett, WRAL’s chief engineer, “The MAXmirror Sledgehammer system we purchased has proven to be a solid, reliable NAB solution. “Past solutions we’ve used here have saturated with our team running as few as five edit suites. We’ve thrown all 12 edit suites at Max-T’s solution, and it doesn’t skip a beat. It’s been smooth and problem free.”
The MAXmirror configuration joins Sledgehammer’s other high-availability option—Sledgehammer SOS (Second Online Server) that can be set up in either Active/Passive or Active/Active mode, providing server failover without mirroring the storage subsystem. In Active/Passive mode, a secondary Sledgehammer server monitors the active server and takes over in the event of a failure. In Active/Active mode, a pair of fully redundant servers each operate with their own independent storage subsystem. While services and file systems are configured independently, when one of the servers fails, the second active server automatically steps in and continues serving all data from both sets of storage subsystems. Like MAXmirror, the Sledgehammer SOS options are configured through MAXmin.
About Maximum Throughput
Maximum Throughput Inc. is a media management tool developer and networked storage provider. Max-T's media aware storage solutions deliver extremely high performance over commodity networks, using smart software that runs on industry standard hardware. Software-based, media management tools are tightly integrated within the product line, delivering enriched functionality in a single, versatile solution. Having pioneered the development of shared storage solutions that can be simultaneously accessed over both data and video networks, Max-T offers products with unparalleled performance, capacity management, and capacity availability, as well as having the lowest total cost-of-ownership in their class.
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