29/01/2020

TV station saves 50% cost in future storage infrastructure

Iceland’s largest private TV station (Stöð 2), creates, licenses and broadcasts thousands of hours every week. However, as media content grew, the station started to outgrow its storage infrastructure and technology, challenging data safety and security, and demanding huge investments in storage. In a competitive storage market, Origo developed Aurora DataCloud, a hosted solution to store media files in two tier III data centers, storing little used data in less expensive storage, and saving up to 90% of the energy compared to HDD.

Challenge

Huge quantities of video content must be stored for an indefinite time, but at the same time accessible for editing, converting to different formats and finally broadcast on different channels, or streamed on demand. The client has used on-premise storage infrastructures in the past, but the ever-increasing quantity of data, following 4K and 8K video resolution and increased own programming demanded continuous upgrades and scaling of these storage units. The technology was getting fragile and outdated and backup and disaster recovery not up to modern standards.

Solution

The company implemented Origo’s Aurora DataCloud, off-loading 40-60% of less used media data to less costly storage, at the same time making all data available when needed to edit or broadcast.

Results

50% cost savings in future storage infrastructure
40% offloaded to less expensive, energy saving storage, cutting on-premise storage needs
1 month return on investment, no startup cost, volume based cost

Business need

The client runs a TV station (Stöð 2) with several channels and gets revenue from the operation of broadcast media, TV subscriptions, advertisement, distribution systems, set-top boxes, TVOD, SVOD and PPV. The content is both licensed material and own programming.

So, the client wanted to move this content to an off-site cloud environment and at the same time avoid the hassle and cost of constant upgrade and scaling of their current systems. At the same time, they wanted to increase the safety of the media, business continuity, disaster recovery, and mobility of the business.

Also, the customer wished to improve the process of storing content and retrieving for editing and broadcasting to improve accessibility and speed, relevant to the content in question.

Benefits

The client uses fast SSD/Flash disks on-premises for content that is being streamed or edited. All other content is automatically stored in the new solution from Origo: Aurora DataCloud, on cost-effective media, saving up to 90% of the energy, as compared to HDD, easily accessible when needed. At present the client has been able to offload on-premise storage by 40% and aims for 60% in the current year. As on-premise storage growth can be avoided, and corresponding maintenance, service and labor cost reduced, the client estimates that the direct long-term savings in storage cost are more than 50% compared to previous infrastructure.

The process of moving content to a more cost-effective storage based on its actual use, is now automatic based on rules set by the client, yet the content is readily available within seconds or minutes when needed, so user experience and satisfaction has improved considerably.

The client now has the peace of mind, as Modern Data Protection ensures that the valuable data is being automatically and safely stored in two separate geographic locations, accessible from anywhere in case of disaster.

Return of investment was within the first year, as the client’s start-up cost was negligible, and the solution is a subscription service for a monthly fee based on the data quantity. The monthly fee also means that the client can more easily estimate cost and manage cash-flow.

The client estimates that cost of media storage will reduce by more than 50% with the new solution in the long run as data volume grows.

Solution technology

Aurora DataCloud from Origo is a pioneering, cost-effective storage solution for data that needs to be stored in large quantities for a long time. It was designed for the media industry, to serve as an archiving solution for video and audio but has already proven its value to other types of user, including commercial airlines and museums.

Aurora DataCloud was built using an innovative combination of IBM servers, storage and tape systems to create a highly automated, versatile system that users can choose to interact with in a number of ways. It offers customers a low cost, reliable, secure and environmentally friendly solution to the problem of storing large quantities of data for long periods, while keeping the data easily accessible at any time for the users.

Origo's Aurora DataCloud consists of IBM and Lenovo components hosted in two Tier III data centers, utilizing synchronous replication between the two sites with geo redundancy. IBM Spectrum Scale protocol nodes serve as GPFS Clients running on Lenovo SR650 Servers, and IBM ESS GL2c serves as GPFS Native Raid data storage on IBM POWER8 servers. IBM Spectrum Archive is integrated with Spectrum Scale and GPFS with IBM TS4500 backend tape libraries and IBM LTO8 tape drives.

The system offers several advantages over traditional data storage solutions. The innovative mix of disks and LTO tape requires much less electricity than hard drives alone; it is cheaper to replace and integrating new tape technology as it evolves is simple and relatively low cost; and it enables very large files to be stored – up to 12TB on a cartridge the size of two iPhones. The high level of built-in automation also helps to keep labor costs to a minimum.

To mitigate the risk of tape corrosion and data redundancy loss, Aurora DataCloud runs regular automated checks and replaces any tapes that show the slightest hint of deterioration. Aurora DataCloud keeps two synchronous copies of data in two tier III data centers in separate geo-redundant locations, so the data is secure and protected from natural disasters. This means the data can be stored effectively forever.

Iceland’s exclusive use of geothermal and hydroelectric power means all the energy required to run Aurora DataCloud is renewable – a factor that is particularly appealing to European customers looking to offset their carbon footprint.

Aurora DataCloud is among the first instances of IBM’s Spectrum Scale and Spectrum Archive software components being integrated with the IBM ESS server and TS4500 tape library.

For customers with large volumes of data that they want to store for the long term, Origo’s Aurora DataCloud offers a groundbreaking solution that helps keep cost down without sacrificing accessibility, availability or security.