Blackmagic Design 20TB Cloud Store

Blackmagic Design Cloud Store Overview

Designed for feature film productions, where large media files need to be shared between multiple users, the 20TB Cloud Store from Blackmagic Design is well suited for editing, color correction, audio, post, and VFX work. It has a capacity of 20TB, which is made up of multiple NVMe M.2 SSDs, which are preconfigured as RAID 5 and able to handle 12K Blackmagic raw digital cinema files. The Cloud Store is also equipped with four 10GbE ports, which can also function as a network switch, plus two Gigabit Ethernet ports. There are also two 5 Gb/s USB Type-C ports, one of which ingests content from an external drive, while the other backs up cloud data to a USB drive. Both USB Type-C ports also support Ethernet connectivity and an HDMI output that lets you keep track of your Cloud Store's status, including a storage map, speed graphics, sync, active users, and power status.

Designed for Film and Television

The Blackmagic Cloud Store is the perfect network storage solution for any use! It's great for film and television where large media files need to be shared between multiple users for editing, color correction, audio, post, and VFX work. It even handles massive 12K Blackmagic raw digital cinema files. Each user gets zero latency and they don't need to store files on their local computer. It's the perfect solution for DaVinci Resolve, while Dropbox sync allows multiple disks to be synchronized in different locations globally. Then, each location gets the fastest editing experience possible, which is critical for multi-cam editing where multiple media files are playing simultaneously.

Portable and Quiet Design

Unlike IT industry storage products that are rack mounted and have loud cooling fans, the Blackmagic Cloud Store has an elegant vertical design that's portable. It's also whisper quiet so it can be used on location. Internally, it has an array of flash memory cards working in parallel for speed and data protection. There are also two redundant power supplies. The four 10G Ethernet ports operate as a switch so you can connect four separate computers, or they work together using "link aggregation" for a massive 40G Ethernet speed. There is also an HDMI monitoring output so you can watch a live graphic view of the storage operating on a TV or monitor. It can even be maintained and repaired!

USB Type-C Ingest
The USB Type-C ingest port will automatically load from any disk plugged in. It's fully automatic and you simply plug in a USB media dock or a USB disk. Ethernet-over-USB is also supported on this port.

USB Type-C Backup
This USB Type-C port will automatically backup cloud store files to any USB disk plugged into the port. It's a low cost way to protect your critical files. Ethernet-over-USB is also supported on this port.

HDMI Monitor Output
The HDMI monitor output lets you see the status of your Cloud Store in real time. Simply plug in a TV or monitor and you'll be able to see a storage map, speed graphics, active users, and power status.

1G Ethernet
The two 1G Ethernet connections are provided for slower connections, such as the internet or slower computers. They are part of the built- in Ethernet switch and help keep the faster 10G ports free.

10G Ethernet
The 10G Ethernet ports allow four separate computers to be connected. That's great for mobile use, as the 10G Ethernet switch is built in. Plus, all four connections can work together as a 40G Ethernet link.

AC Power
A standard IEC power socket is used for connecting AC power. All international AC voltages are supported, so you can use it globally. Plus, there are two internal power supplies allowing full redundancy.

Flash Memory Allows for Multiple Simultaneous Users

The Blackmagic Cloud Store is available with 20TB of flash memory, so you have lots of space for your business files and video media. With video as the standard for information delivery in business, that's enough capacity to store all your media in a single location on your network. M.2 flash memory cards are used for extreme reliability, high access speeds, and zero seek times. Plus, the M.2 cards are arranged in parallel RAID 5 groups so they can operate much faster than a single card. That ensures massive speed combined with fault tolerance. If a faulty M.2 card is detected, the Cloud Store will automatically enter read only, so you can still access your files.

10G Speed - High Performance for Digital Film Files

With four separate very high speed 10G Ethernet connections, the Blackmagic Cloud Store is extremely fast. The internal memory core has been designed to saturate all four 10G Ethernet ports to their theoretical maximum speed, all at the same time. Plus, file access has very low latency times, so responsiveness is fast, thanks to the massive parallel processing used by the memory core. At maximum speed, the Blackmagic Cloud Store is extremely quiet with very little noise from the cooling fan, even when editing large 12K digital raw files. Multi-cam editing is also incredibly smooth, even if it's used with massive digital film camera files.

Sync to Dropbox

Now you can set up a local cache of your Dropbox files. This makes working much faster because files are instantly available without needing to be downloaded from the internet. The Blackmagic Cloud Store will constantly work to stay in sync. You can save space on your computer by moving cached Dropbox files to the Blackmagic Cloud Store so everyone on your network can share them. You can even sync multiple Blackmagic Cloud Stores via Dropbox so people in different geographic locations can collaborate without latency because everyone has a local copy of the files. That makes it a good home or offsite solution.

Add Cloud Service

Make sure your Blackmagic Cloud Store is connected to the internet. Enter in your Dropbox account details, so the Cloud Store can gain access to allow sync.

Set Sync Folders

Next you need to set the sync folders. That tells the Blackmagic Cloud Store where to sync its files to the remote Dropbox. You can have multiple sync folders for different jobs.

Set Sync Direction

Now set the sync direction. One direction is good when you have local files you want to share, but not enough room for everyone's files. Both directions means everyone gets the same set of files.

Distribute Files Globally

With support for Dropbox sync, you can use multiple Blackmagic Cloud Store units to share files globally. That's important when working with large datasets or massive digital film and video files. These files need to be constantly accessed dozens of times a second, so most internet connections are too slow to handle it. While the internet has too much latency to access large files remotely, you can use it to sync these files. Syncing the files to local storage helps eliminate delays in accessing them. That's because everyone has a local copy of the files on their network. The Blackmagic Cloud Store will constantly sync files, even if your computer is turned off.

Real-Time Monitoring

Using the HDMI monitoring output, simply connect a TV or computer monitor to get a live status of the Blackmagic Cloud Store. The storage map shows a graphic representation of the memory core and real time read and write access happening for the connected users. There are also graphs that show you the data transfers on the Ethernet connection. The main space indicator shows you the capacity of the two USB Type-C disks and how much is currently being used. You can also add a custom name to the Cloud Store . Also, the status for each Dropbox connection is also shown and it's even possible to see connected users and the power status.

Usage Indicator
On the top left, you can see the storage capacity indicator. The number on the left is the space used and the number on the right is the total USB Type-C disk capacity connected to the Blackmagic Cloud Store.