Quantum Corp. today announced that Atlanta-based Crawford Media Services is using Lattus object storage to build a content repository that supports mass migration of its clients’ legacy content to digital formats and provides ongoing media storage and management. Designed to hold an initial 1.2 petabytes of archived assets as well as content ingested during new projects, the system gives Crawford Media a sophisticated storage infrastructure that cost-effectively accommodates ongoing expansion of the company’s services and customer base.
Increasing Data Footprint Challenges Traditional Archive Approach
At Crawford Media, the mass digitization of clients’ content involves the generation of thousands of media files, all at the high bit rates and large file sizes suitable for production. As its business continued to grow, the resilience limitations of its existing archive architecture became ever more obvious.
“When you are dealing with large archives of media files at preservation quality, you start creating a data footprint and a performance demand that outstrip the capabilities of typical IT departments,” said Steve Davis, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Crawford Media. “Our challenge was to develop a digital archive that would become more robust as it grew in size, rather than more fragile. We explored solutions that would allow us to keep large data sets cost-effectively in perpetuity without degradation, and to survive the costs of media and technology refreshes over time. After extensive research and testing, it became clear that object storage with erasure code — and specifically, Lattus — was the ideal choice.”
Integrating Quantum Technology to Crystalize AMBER
The integration of Lattus with Crawford’s existing archive approach was the final step in the development of the company’s second-generation managed archive, AMBER. Named after the prized substance that preserves prehistoric specimens even today, AMBER provides a level of immunity to system failure and data corruption not previously achievable. Like its namesake, AMBER is extremely effective for long-term preservation of digital data. Crawford’s second-generation archive offers peace of mind for organizations concerned with long-term security and access for their content.
