G-Technology G-Speed eS PRO XL

The PCIe x8 RAID controller supports JBOD and RAID levels 0, 1, 3, 5, and 6. Price: $6,999 (12TB in a 2RU rackmount enclosure)

While local storage works for many postproduction setups, some newer, less expensive technologies are enabling editors to add larger high-speed disk arrays once only affordable by the big players.

Take G-Technology''s G-Speed eS PRO XL, a SAS expansion setup, as a good example. The G-Speed ships with a two-port
mini-SAS RAID controller card and a locking, 2-meter mini-SAS cable. What does that get you? Users can easily and affordably scale, says the company, from an entry-level 12TB 2RU setup to an incredible 192TB. Included are either a 2RU
12-drive or 3RU 16-drive rackmount enclosure, fitted with hot-swappable SATA 3Gbps drives.

This setup delivers some impressive throughput: sustained read/write speeds of more than 650MBps if you''re counting. That''s enough to deliver dual streams of 10-bit uncompressed HD and 2K DPX data, making it “ideal for realtime video editing and digital intermediate film applications,” according to Pete Schlatter, director of marketing at
G-Technology. Not bad, but if you want to consider the next generation of drive technology, Hitachi GST (G-Technology''s owner) released its Ultrastar C10K300 earlier this year. You''ll need an upgraded interface, but the second-
generation power-efficient enterprise hard drive delivers 6Gbps.

G-Technology G-RAID mini 2



Portable storage options give shooters peace of mind in the field


Testing two external storage array options for today's content producer