Foolish to buy and set up Final Cut Server now?

We're in the midst of a large project with five FCP7 workstations and are in desperate need of good asset management. How foolish would it be to track down a used/old copy of Server and start using it now? We're not going to upgrade our workstations to FCPX, so compatibility shouldn't be an issue. It's just strange to think about buying discontinued software.

What red flags am I missing?

Just don't try and use FCSvr with AD and Snow Leopard. This probably won't be a problem for you - but it's a BIG problem for us educational media types. Too bad, because Final Cut Server was very, very good to us while it lasted.

- colin.

I believe he means Active Directory. It is the authentication system that Windows uses. Mac's use OD or Open Directory. It is what FCServer uses to log users in, check projects in&out and prioritize permissions throughout FCServers devices and metadata. I still use FCServer every day and it is important to our daily production and automations. The thing about FCServer is that it can do literally anything you want. So the first thing you need to do is tell us what your needs are. From there we can figure out how FCServer can help.

Matt James
Freelance FCP Editor / Organizer
XSAN / FCServer Admin
Denver, CO

Wow! Sounds like you need to implement a full Xsan system, and then put FCServer in place for asset management. If you want to do it right, you'll have to spend a lot of money. Here is a rough idea of what you'll need.

Raid 5 or 6 Storage array via Fibre (how many terabytes is up to you)
Metadata Controller server and Backup MDC server
Fibre switch (can be $100,00.00 by itself)
Fibre connections to all 5 workstations, MDC's, Storage and Switch
FCServer server machine

All of the above is for real-world post production where all 5 edit suites can be working on the same material at the exact same time, in real time, with no delay or speed issues. This full system will probably run you about $300,000.00-$500,000.00 on average, depending on the speed and size of storage you need. Of course if speed is not an issue, you can just get a large NAS (network attached storage) drive that all 5 edit suites can connect to on the same ethernet network. If this is more your angle, I recommend working in ProRes Proxy or LT in an offline/online situation, then finish all sequences in full-res ProRes on a single system that doesn't have to share over the network.

FCServer catalogs all your assets with your own metadata and can control automations in your existing shared xsan system. Xsan is what you need to have all 5 work stations connected and share media together. Does this make sense?

Matt James
Freelance FCP Editor / Organizer
XSAN / FCServer Admin
Denver, CO

Hi Jason,

After ignoring all advice and proceeding with an install last year I can tell you that it's the best thing that's happened to our workflow and I can't remember how we coped before it.

We did it fairly cheaply so let me know if you want to discuss it.