Press Releases
BlueArc Delivers High Performance, Centralized Storage for Digital Effects House
Charlex Achieves Full Potential of Gigabit Ethernet Network With Purchase of BlueArc's Si7500 SiliconServer
SAN JOSE, CA, September 17, 2002
BlueArc Corporation, developer of the SiliconServer Architecture and the world's only network attached storage (NAS) server designed to scale from 1Gbps to tomorrow's 10Gbps networks, today announced that Charlex, a digital design, effects and production house for the advertising, broadcast and entertainment industries, selected BlueArc's Si7500 SiliconServer to accelerate the company's 3D design and rendering processes. BlueArc's high performance and ease of management has enabled Charlex to increase the overall performance of the corporate network by more than 100 percent, avoiding traditional performance bottlenecks.
Charlex's 3D department uses the Si7500 SiliconServer to store and share all of its data, from project information to texture files and scenes from graphically innovative pieces the company puts together for customers in a wide variety of industries, from entertainment to consumer goods and technology. BlueArc's unique SiliconServerTM Architecture provides Charlex with the throughput, scalability and ease of management necessary to thrive and grow in the fast-paced world of digital media.
"What we like about BlueArc is that it's not just a traditional NAS system, but it's specifically designed to push data to and from the disk system," said Harry Skopas, vice president of engineering for Charlex. "The SiliconServer has one goal in life - to get data to and from disk as fast as possible. We like that. We have always been innovators as users of cutting-edge technology in our industry, and BlueArc's Si7500 has definitely made a big change in our lives here."
As the number of artists and size of files grew at the company, Charlex found its direct attached storage (DAS) solution a serious bottleneck, impacting the artists' ability to complete tasks at optimal speed. The company chose BlueArc's high-performance NAS solution over competitive storage area network (SAN) offerings as the Si7500 SiliconServer delivered improved performance and scalability at a much lower total cost of ownership and with simpler storage management.
"BlueArc is a particularly good fit for digital post-production companies such as Charlex, where back-end storage reliability and efficiency are vital to meeting tight deadlines with the highest resolution product possible," said Charles Joseph, senior vice president of worldwide field operations for BlueArc. "The productivity gains and technical innovations our solution enables drive advancements for the industry as a whole and help companies such as Charlex push the envelope of what's possible."
BlueArc centralizes storage for Charlex's multiple-vendor, multiple-platform environment. Charlex runs a number of systems and several sophisticated applications across Apple Macintosh, Microsoft Windows and SGI Irix platforms, requiring that file permissions and security be recognized across the mixed-mode environment. The Si7500 SiliconServer enables Charlex artists to utilize storage in new ways, including accessing storage over the network rather than on local machines, providing multiple clients access to the same file from disparate locations using different platforms without conflict, and reading and writing large graphic files without encountering version-control problems.
Looking ahead, Charlex expects to further enhance its information technology infrastructure with BlueArc at its core. As Charlex's storage needs evolve, the BlueArc storage solution will continue to offer benefits, with the potential to scale to hundreds of terabytes behind a single system, accommodating thousands of concurrent users.
About BlueArc Corporation
BlueArc Corporation and its SiliconServer Architecture deliver the world's only file server designed to scale beyond today's 1 Gbps networks toward tomorrow's 10 Gbps networks. BlueArc's SiliconServer Architecture moves software into programmable hardware and removes the bottlenecks that limit performance in other NAS systems on the market today. BlueArc SiliconServers deliver groundbreaking speed and scalability, simplifying the way our customers design and build their storage infrastructures. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, California with UK operations based in Bracknell, England. More information on BlueArc is available on the Internet at
www.bluearc.com
About Charlex
Charlex is a digital design, effects and postproduction atelier dedicated to working with the advertising, broadcast and entertainment industries to deliver communications and branding solutions. Charlex has earned more than 100 industry awards and produced groundbreaking work for nearly half of the top 100 companies in the Fortune 500, including 8 of the top 10 and all the major broadcast and cable networks.
Charlex is founded on the concept of a collaborative environment comprised of in-studio designers, editors, effects directors, Flame and Smoke artists, sound designers and producers. With this highly responsive creative team Charlex is able to provide an unparalleled range of services, from design, branding, editing, 3-D, animation and live-action supervision to the most technically advanced digital effects and postproduction. More information on Charlex is available on the Internet at
www.charlex.com.
