Video networks
Dec 1, 2007 12:00 PM, By Glenn Hall
Move files in a tapeless workflow.
These servers are scaled to the duty required and typically have strong connections to a storage architecture close by. The file transfers are usually below real time. They can be above real time depending on the nature of the files being moved and the compression and encryption being used. The better systems offer operating control on the trade-off of encryption versus cost of network connections, affording a valuable capability to cost-control transfers and set up routes that are business-effective.
An example network in full deployment is at NBC Universal (NBCU), where multiple nodes (50 at the last count) on multiple sites provide all file-based transfers within the company, including video files, scripts, corporate documents and multimedia. NBCU effectively uses its gigabit connectivity across its major sites and can integrate content other than video and audio files with ease.
The real value of all of these systems is in delivering your content reliably and securely — with proof of delivery — and at high speed, even over poor-quality networks.
So what happens when a news story already in transit needs to be delivered more urgently? In a simple FTP system, there is no option to speed the process. However, with today's managed systems, this can be done, as can rerouting to another site during transfer. From the management server, the real-time overview of a particular transfer can intercede part way through and command a different route, transfer rate or even a new target site.
Another scenario is the journalist in the field, operating across the public Internet. With integrated automation, the newsroom can be alerted to inbound content, and the state of the transfer can be monitored, even accelerated.
Publicly generated materials and user-generated content presents a new set of problems to the news desk. Lightweight forms of the software can be supplied over the public Internet through standard Web browsers that initiate and manage such transfers, aiding the reliability of submission. Authority and job tickets can be issued over the telephone. Thereafter, the inbound content is managed by the station, and the content is routed directly to the right desk, taking advantage of deals on bandwidth costs.
Conclusion
It is time to carefully review such software — not to be confused with simple point-to-point file acceleration — and to remember that adding encryption afterward usually slows things down if not integral to the software design. Costs can be controlled through efficient use of IP-based connectivity, and the load can be partitioned and scheduled to business advantage. Broadcasters can take advantage of multimillion-dollar developments in telco and corporate WAN to add file-based transfers at reasonable costs.
Glenn Hall is a senior associate at the Bakewell House Consultancy.
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