"The TVS-473e, with its outstanding 10GbE performance, allows high-volume file transfers and storage tasks relating to high-resolution 3D scanning to be completed by a single machine."
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Slayer Zhuang, Director of Solid Memory
Solid Memory is the first Taiwanese company to offer ultra-high-resolution 3D photogrammetric scanning services. Visitors to its office in Shilin, Taipei are immediately awed by its 360-degree high-speed synchronous shooting system comprising nearly 100 monocular cameras. With 3D scanning , it takes less than a second to capture details as fine as the pores on your skin. Its precise color capturing function can record the materials, traces and features of the scanned objects entirely. Solid Memory has been offering 3D scanning services to numerous artists for the purpose of creating micro movies or animations, and digital commercials with special photography. In addition, Solid Memory also offers 3D printed merchandise and artwork scanning services, all of which are highly acclaimed.
The 3D scanning system comprises of hundreds of single-lens cameras that capture the same object at multiple angles, and the images are then put together to create a solid or digital video. Each time the shutter is pressed, over 100 original images of the subject captured at various angles will be generated. These are then edited and processed using Adobe Lightroom. If each image is approximately 2-3 GB in size, the final image file size may reach up to 500 GB. This has led to a pressing need for an easy-to-use storage solution that supports instant access, as well as high capacity storage and expandability.
Solid Memory was using a self-built server and internal network to facilitate file sharing. Limited by a 1 Gb/s network speed provided by the old system, the high number of file transfers and staff working on images created bottlenecks that impacted overall performance. Solid Memory have also grown wary of the potential impact of ransomware, and require additional data security measures. Solid Memory therefore needed a storage solution that addressed the limits of their existing file transfer system, and also a solution that offers high-speed transfers and instant data protection.
Upon detailed evaluation and considering its future business needs, Solid Memory decided to adopt the TVS-473e NAS - a high-performance SMB model - as their storage solution. The TVS-473e features a high-end AMD R-series embedded processor (APU) that offers high performance, low power consumption, and excellent graphics and computing power. These factors make it an excellent choice for digital imaging applications. The TVS-473e supports flexible PCIe expansion, 10GbE high-speed transmission and SSD cache acceleration to provide users with a high-resolution, multimedia data browsing experience. By using Toshiba N300 6TB NAS hard drives that feature 7200 RPM speed and 128 MB buffer memory, the TVS-473e ensures high-speed operation and provides a stable multimedia working environment.
The high-volume file transfers that precedes 3D printing work is very often inefficient and time-consuming. The QNAP TVS-473e is equipped with two PCIe expansion slots. By installing QXG-10G1T network expansion cards, the TVS-473e is empowered with 10GbE connectivity to boost applications requiring high-speed transfer speeds. A typical file generated by the 3D scanning process can be as high as 1TB. With the 10 GE transfer speed offered by the TVS-473e, each file can be completely transfered within two minutes. In contrast to the slow access rate offered by the old system, the TVS-473e's superior 10GbE transmission performance has significantly improved the overall work efficiency of the Solid Memory team.
The Solid Memory team has to process a large number of original image files every day. In addition to requiring massive storage space, the files and materials must also be backed up. The TVS-473e supports up to 256 snapshot versions of a single volume/LUN, and allows differentiated snapshot backups of different parts of its archive on a regular basis. If data loss should occur, users can quickly restore the entire system to the previous state recorded by the snapshot, helping to reduce potential losses and business impact.
During the 3D printing process, workstation servers often need to perform a large number of random data read/write tasks within a short period of time. The original storage solution was limited by its performance and took too long for these tasks. With Qtier's automatic tiered storage technology and intelligent sensing capabilities, SSDs can be deployed to store critical data while performing cache applications. This is the answer to the Solid Memory team’s needs in relation to highly IOPS-intensive applications.
To ensure the security of company data, Solid Memory has established different internal and external network architectures based on project needs. This prevents important data from being exposed on external networks, and reduces the risk of data being maliciously stolen by hackers. At the same time, with the QTS Network & Virtual Switch utility, Solid Memory can configure overall bandwidth according to the resource requirements of each project, and deploy network resources with more flexibility.
Solid Memory uses Toshiba N300 NAS hard drives to support 24/7 uninterrupted and high-frequency data access. Toshiba N300 has anti-collision and shock-proof technologies, and multiple integrated impact sensing technologies that detect and slow down impacts. They also help to reduce instances of shutdown due to vibration to ensure overall system stability. The Toshiba N300's error repair control feature also greatly reduces data error recovery time and ensures data security and integrity.
Solid Memory uses a QNAP TVS-473e with a QXG-10G1T network expansion card, and is able to effectively shorten the 3D printing post-processing time through 10GbE high-speed transmission. They are also able to secure and control their data through automatic snapshot scheduling and backup features. Qtier's automated tiered storage technology optimizes the NAS hard drive and SSD storage to ensure smooth project progress. QTS 4.3.5's Network & Virtual Switch utility not only provides Solid Memory with flexible bandwidth allocation, they are also able meet the demands of virtual applications. Their use of high-performance Toshiba N300 NAS hard drives also provides the stability and performance to ensure uninterrupted system operations. This system offers the strongest support for Solid Memory’s work.
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