Re: Xsan Reshare... Is this right?

Kinda. My short advice is don't do it. I've never had an Xsan reshare work well.

Sounds like we might be in pretty similar shops. I've got eight edit suites tied to the Xsan. However, people also do work at their desktop computers (separate from the edit suites) -- usually graphic design with After Effects or Photoshop. They do not have Xsan access at their desktops, but often need files from the SAN to work with. And, when they're done working with files at their desks, they need a way to push finalized graphics and other things back to the SAN.

So, we have a "Bridge" volume. This Bridge is a normal, simple Apple-based (AFP) file share. I've got an old SCSI RAID directly attached to a server. People can connect to it from their desktops, and I have it set to automatically mount for them when they log in to an edit suite.

If you're in an edit suite and need to go do some AE work at your desk, you copy the files you need to the Bridge. If you're at your desk and just got a new graphic you need in your show, you copy it to the Bridge. However, once you get back into the edit suite, it's critical to copy these files OFF the Bridge and back onto the Xsan. Since the Bridge is a normal file share working over ethernet, it's not nearly as fast as the SAN.

Since the Bridge ends up only housing copies of files (originals are either at a person's desktop or on the Xsan -- or both), the Bridge is routinely cleared off so it doesn't get full. That keeps the Bridge relatively small -- under 1TB.

I know it's extra steps and copies, but we've been doing it since 2005 and it's proven fairly effective for us. Can't say if it's the answer you're looking for.

We're just starting to get into Final Cut Server, which is another effective way to share your Xsan content over normal network connections without doing an Xsan reshare. I have no doubt that it will eventually replace our Bridge method -- the ability to have access to your entire Xsan at once is pretty nice, rather than picking and choosing files to share ahead of time. Plus, FCS gives you lots of nice cataloging features and advanced workflows to render things and save you time.

The downsides of Final Cut Server are that it costs money (mostly for a very good Apple server to run Final Cut Server on), is complicated and requires a bunch of other things to be coordinated -- like a solid directory structure with centralized usernames and passwords. Still, if you are looking to the future, it might be worth some research to see if it would fit for you.

Hope I haven't given you bad news. The lowest stress option might be to either dig up an old RAID you have lying around or buy a good, fairly cheap RAID from someone like LaCie or G-technology. Then, hook it up to another server (or even your backup MDC) and share it as a Bridge. In the end, I think you'll save yourself a big headache by avoiding the Xsan reshare.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to get in touch if you need to bounce ideas off someone!