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Apple xsan logo1/5/2024 Apple is famous for its ease of use but it was lacking in the previous version of Xsan. It was complex to set up, it didn't "just work" and it was difficult to manage. My major complaint about Xsan 1.4 (and the same goes for Color and Shake) is that it didn't feel very Apple-like. This is very cool and is a great way to keep everything organized without having to impose rules on everyone. You can automatically set certain types of files to go to certain volumes such as dailies in one place, audio in another, project files in a third. My number one favorite feature though would have to be the ability to direct files to a specific location. There's also a new MultiSAN feature that allows you to connect to other SANs on the same server, such as a SAN for dailies and a different one for stock footage for example. There is now an Easy Setup wizard, a new filesystem offering up to 2 PB per volume (1 petabyte = 1024 terrabytes), and templates that optimize the system for a particular task (e.g. New features include a completely overhauled Xsan Admin (yay) which offers greater speed, greater stability and more monitoring features. It is commonly used for managing video editing storage networks (we use Xsan 1.4 here at Digital Rebellion) so while it's probably not particularly exciting for most people, it is a big deal. It also allows you to control access to the data on these volumes. It manages the reading and writing to the volumes through one machine (a server), otherwise data corruption can occur if two machines are reading and writing to the same area at once. SAN software allows you to manage storage devices on a network. The Xserve RAIDs were in need of a update, so it is refreshing to read the specs on this machine:Īpple releases Xsan 2Apple today announced Xsan 2, a brand-new edition of its popular Storage Area Network (SAN) software. I can see why Apple did it, as the price and complexity did not help sales, and endorsing an established third party is cheaper and easier. It's a shame as I love our Xserve RAIDs (we have three), even though they do put out a lot of heat and noise. There was no official statement from Apple but the old Xserve RAID page now points to the Promise VTrak E-Class RAID Subsystem. It's bad news but it's bad news with a decent solution. The good news is that Xsan 2 was released and it looks GREAT, and the bad news is that Apple has now discontinued the Xserve RAID. ![]() Xserve RAID replaced by third party solutionToday has been a day of good news and bad news. ![]() ![]() Update 2/29/08: Engadget has some benchmarks showing that the speed is slightly faster between the new MacBook Pro and the old one but the heat output is considerably less. So a MacBook Pro is recommended but you can get by with a MacBook if you are only editing SD footage and you will not be using Motion or Color. The MacBook Pro also has the advantage of FireWire 800 ports for faster data transfers to external hard disks - essential for HDV editing. Color will not start up at all on a MacBook because of this reason. The biggest difference between the two is the fact that the MacBook Pro has dedicated graphics, which means that you will experience much better performance in applications like Motion. You are paying a premium for Apple's assurance that it will work, but I have never run into problems with third-party memory. Apple's memory is notoriously expensive compared to other retailers, even though it is identical. Buy the minimum amount of RAM and get it somewhere else for much less. If you are buying an editing machine, you will want to choose a non-glossy display (preferably LED) with as fast a processor as you can afford. New Macbooks and MacBook ProsApple just refreshed its MacBook and MacBook Pro lines to support Intel's new Penryn chipset.
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