Warhorse Studios s.r.o.

Background

Warhorse Studios is a game studio founded in 2011 in Prague by a small group of veterans of the Czech game industry. The studio is behind the critically and gamer-acclaimed Kingdom Come: Deliverance, an unconventional medieval RPG set in a faithful historical setting. Warhorse Studios is currently working on an ambitious sequel - Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. The studio is part of the leading video game publisher PLAION.

For the games they develop, they look for new and novel ideas and passion for the subject matter.

Previous challenges

QNAP devices are not new to them. They have been using these devices for over 10 years, continuously adding or replacing them as needed. They consider QNAP devices an integral part of their development infrastructure. Currently, they operate around five different QNAP storage models and have recently implemented a QNAP multigigabit switch as an enhancement to their dedicated code-building ecosystem.

Client devices are divided into two types. The first are dedicated builders connected via 2.5GbE to the switch, enabling fast data transfers to and from storage, operating in a 24/7 environment. The second group consists of approximately 200 users who work with the builds produced by the builders. For these users, a 1GbE connection is sufficient.
As a game development studio, they frequently handle large data volumes, including 4K videos and textures. Their main challenge is to accelerate the development cycle and efficiently deliver results, such as playable builds of games.

To address this, they deployed specific QNAP devices to optimize and expedite the process of building their code and distributing the results to users, such as the QA department, for further work. The dedicated builders are connected via a 2.5GbE switch and communicate with QNAP storage connected through 10GbE ports. This setup allows the builders to load and store data quickly, significantly speeding up the compilation process.

Solution

The cost-effective yet powerful all-flash rack unit TS-h3077AFU-R7-64G, with an extended warranty and high storage density, perfectly meets their continuous integration and delivery needs. Connected with redundant 10GbE Ethernet ports to the core network and 2.5GbE for building machines (clients) via the QSW-M2116P-2T2S multigig switch, it offers excellent value for a reasonable price.

Due to space constraints and the need for high-density storage, all of their QNAP devices are rack-mounted. These devices are installed in a climate-controlled server room and are redundantly connected to the network via 10GbE fiber or metallic links (for larger models) or multiple aggregated 1GbE metallic links (for smaller models). Redundant power is supplied via two separate power branches for these critical devices. Larger models are chosen for their future expandability (and investment protection) with support for expansion units.

Installing QNAP storage is not a matter of days but rather a matter of a few hours, particularly for advanced users. One of the advantages across the model lines is the unified QNAP QTS or QuTS hero environment. For physically installing larger models in the rack, having an extra pair of hands from a colleague is helpful. Beyond that, everything else is straightforward.

Result

One of their favorite apps on QNAP devices is Hybrid Backup Sync. This versatile tool can be used not only for backing up data to cloud storage or a secondary NAS but also for migrating data between storage devices or managing data across multiple storage queues on a single device. As a Linux administrator, they also appreciate that the QTS/QuTS hero system supports SSH protocol access, which allows for more effective debugging through the command line.

QNAP has long been a valuable addition to Warhorse Studios, serving as both high-capacity storage for backups and a high-throughput platform for their development cycle needs. With scalability options like expansion units and additional network cards, it provides investment protection and low-cost upgrade potential. They are also planning to acquire a new QNAP storage system next year to replace an existing one for big data. The unified management interface will streamline the migration process significantly.