TerraBlock Users Guide - Creative Video

Version 2.0

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LOCAL LAW, NEITHER FACILIS TECHNOLOGY NOR ITS THIRD PARTY 

SUPPLIERS MAKE ANY OTHER WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR 

IMPLIED, WITH RESPECT TO THE FACILIS TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS, AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM THE 

IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, AND FITNESS 

FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. 

Limitations of Liability 

To the extent allowed by local law, the remedies provided in this Warranty Statement are the customer's sole and 

exclusive remedies. 

TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LOCAL LAW, EXCEPT FOR THE OBLIGATIONS SPECIFICALLY SET FORTH IN THIS 

WARRANTY STATEMENT, IN NO EVENT SHALL FACILIS TECHNOLOGY OR ITS THIRD PARTY SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR 

DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, 

OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY AND WHETHER ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. 

Local Law 

This Warranty Statement gives the customer specific legal rights. The customer may also have other rights that vary from 

state to state in the United States, from province to province in Canada, and from country to country elsewhere in the 

world. 

To the extent that this Warranty Statement is inconsistent with local law, this Warranty Statement shall be deemed 

modified to be consistent with such local law. Under such local law, certain disclaimers and limitations of this Warranty 

Statement may not apply to the customer. For example, some states in the United States, as well as some governments 

outside the United States (including provinces in Canada), may: 

Preclude the disclaimers and limitations in this Warranty Statement from limiting the statutory rights of a consumer (e.g., 

the United Kingdom); 

Otherwise restrict the ability of a manufacturer to enforce such disclaimers or limitations; or Grant the customer 

additional warranty rights, specify the duration of implied warranties which the manufacturer cannot disclaim, or not allow 

limitations on the duration of implied warranties. 

FOR CONSUMER TRANSACTIONS IN AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND, THE TERMS IN THIS WARRANTY STATEMENT, 

EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT LAWFULLY PERMITTED, DO NOT EXCLUDE, RESTRICT, OR MODIFY, AND ARE IN ADDITION 

TO, THE MANDATORY STATUTORY RIGHTS APPLICABLE TO THE SALE OF FACILIS TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS TO SUCH 

CUSTOMERS. 

Facilis Technology Inc. TERRABLOCK Version 2.0 Setup and Users Guide, June 2006 

2

Contents Page Number 

Chapter 1 – Using This Guide 

Who Should Use This Guide 05 

What This Guide Contains 

Symbols and Conventions 

Documentation Comments 

How to Order Printed Copies of this Manual 

Chapter 2 – Hardware 

Overview 06 

Features 

Front Panel 07 

Control and Indicator Functions 

System LEDs 

Drive LEDs 

System Controls 

Enclosure Front Panel Cover 08 

Rear Panel 

Power Supplies 09 

Fans 

VGA 

Ethernet 

Mouse/Keyboard 

SATA Controller Slots 

Fiber Channel Slots 

Mute Button 

Chapter 3 – Installation 

Before You Begin 10 

Mounting the Rack-Mount Enclosure 

Installing the Drives 11 

Cabling the Enclosure 12 

Fiber Channel Cables 


Monitor 

Power Cords 

Turning on the Enclosure 13 

Connecting a Second TerraBlock 

Adding users to a switch 

Chapter 4 – Setup and Administration 

System Setup 14 

Tools Drive Setup 15 

Creating and Managing Volumes 16 

TerraBlock Manager Columns – Volumes Tab 

TerraBlock Manager Functions – Volume tab 19 

Mount 

Unmount 

Update ReadOnly 

Add Users 20 

3

Remove Volume 

Create Volume 

Create Volume Dialogue 

Change Volume 21 

Users Access Permissions 22 

Refresh 

Formatting Volumes for Use 23 

Creating and Managing Users 24 

TerraBlock Manager Columns – Users Tab 

TerraBlock Manager Functions – Users tab 25 

Create User Dialogue 

Add Volumes 26 

User Permission – Users Tab 27 

Chapter 5 – Client Volume Management 

Launching The TerraBlock Manager 28 

Mounting volumes 29 

Updating Volumes Manually 30 

Updating Volumes with the ROUpdater Utility 

Unmounting Volumes 31 

Chapter 6 – Workflow for Shared Storage 

User Access to Volumes 32 

Volume Creation and Allocation 

Project Sharing 33 

Fiber to Ethernet 34 

Chapter 7 – Facilis Migration 

Setup and Usage 35 

Scanning Volumes and Workspaces 36 

Optional Settings 

Migration and Verification 37 

Appendix A – Additional Setup Tools 

SMManager 38 

Remote Mounting 41 

Tools Drive Configuration 

Appendix B – Working with Tandem Volumes 

Creating Tandem Volumes 42 

Mounting Tandem Volumes 43 

Formatting Tandem Volume - Mac 43 

Formatting Tandem Volume – Windows 45 

Appendix C – Specifications 47 

Dimensions and Weight 

Environment 

Electrical Load 

Connectivity 

4

Chapter 1 - Using This Guide 

Congratulations on your purchase of the Facilis Technology TERRABLOCK TM . This 

product is designed to provide shared storage for video and audio applications requiring 

high bandwidth access to active data. 

Who Should Use This Guide 

This guide is intended for any user or administrator of the TerraBlock system. 

What This Guide Contains 

This guide covers the information you will need to: 

• Understand the concept behind the TerraBlock 

• Install the enclosure and drives 

• Administrate the volumes and user access 

• Use the volume mounting and refresh tool 

• Understand the workflow of the TerraBlock 

Symbols and Conventions 

� Important Caution or Instruction 

� Related Information or Tip 

� Checklist 

� Description or Definition 

Documentation Comments 

If you have comments relating to the documentation, please Email 

Support@facilistech.com, and specify the page and error or omission in the guide. 

How to Order Copies of this Manual 

If you’d like a hard copy of this documentation in binder form, please Email 

Support@facilistech.com. Include your company name and shipping address. 

5

Chapter 2 - Hardware 

Overview 

The TerraBlock is a shared storage system designed for use in the postproduction of 

video and audio programming. The features discussed here are designed to facilitate 

active collaboration between different editorial rooms within the same facility, or different 

editors collaborating on the same project. The TerraBlock can also be used as central or 

local storage with non-shared workgroups, or with high-bandwidth clients like 1080i HD 

edit systems. 

Server Features 

TerraBlock comes standard with 8, 12 or 24 drives, striped for full bandwidth. All of the 

drives are hot swappable with automatic recovery of a failed drive. 

Some TerraBlock systems ship with redundant power supplies. The TerraBlock 24D 

system can run on 3 power supplies; there are 4 in the base configuration. The 

TerraBlock 12D system can run on 2 power supplies; there are 3 in the base 

configuration. 

TerraBlock systems ship with between 2 and 5 hot swappable fans, up to two blowers, 

and two high-speed fans on the back panel. Any one of these can be disconnected for 

any length of time to facilitate replacement. 

TerraBlock employs the Dyna-RAID protection scheme to protect selected volumes. This 

means that if a drive fails, there are other drives holding duplicates of the necessary 

files. 

• In a mirrored volume, data on one drive is protected by another drive or set of 

drives. This means that if an individual drive fails, there is a backup of the 

information. The system will then automatically restore data from the mirrored 

drive to rebuild the volume. 

• In a RAID5 Parity volume, the data is compressed and saved as parity 

information. The compression algorithm reduces the space required for 

protection of data, to about 9% in Parity Dyna-RAID. When a drive fails, the data 

is read in real-time from the parity information. 

• In a non-mirrored volume the data is unprotected, so if a drive fails within the 

group that hold the volume, that media is lost and will need to be re-captured 

from tape, or re-imported from graphics files. The 12D and 8XS servers have one 

group, the 24D has two. 

� Parity RAID5, while more effective for reducing storage overhead for 

protection, is not able to maintain a high performance level when a drive is 

missing or failed. Time needed to recover a failed drive also increases. For 

uncompressed HD video or multiple uncompressed SD clients, or time critical 

projects, consider mirroring for best results. Spanning volumes across drive 

groups can help decrease the performance limitations. 

6

Front Panel 

The front panel of the TerraBlock system is used to start up and shut down the unit 

and to monitor activity through LED indicators. The drive carriers are inserted in the 

front of the unit during initial assembly, or in the event of drive replacement. Software 

updates are loaded through the CDROM drive in the front of the unit. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

11 

The diagram above shows the 24D enclosure front panel. The 12D unit is similar, with 

the control panel at the top. The panel contains the following controls and indicators: 

1. Power LED 

2. Network LED 1 

3. Network LED 2 

4. HDD Activity LED 

5. Power Supply/Alert LED 

6. Power Button 

Below is a diagram of the 8xs 

1 2 4 6 7 8 

o o o o o o 

PSU 

6 

7 

o 3 

1 

8 9 

10 

7. Reset Button 

8. SATA Drive Carrier Handle 

9. SATA Drive Power LED 

10. SATA Drive Activity LED 

11. CDROM Eject Button 

Control and Indicator Functions 

The following sections describe the front panel 

controls and indicators. 

System LEDs 

The system LEDs provide information about the 

status of the enclosure. The LEDs include: 

� Power – The Power LED illuminates when the 

enclosure is plugged in and started. 

� Network – The Network LEDs blink during 

activity on either of the Ethernet ports. 

� Activity – The Active LED is illuminated when 

the internal drive is processing a command. 

� Power Supply – The PSU LED illuminates 

during failure of a power supply 

7

Drive LEDs 

Each drive has two LEDs associated with the drive: a Power LED, and an Activity LED. 

The LEDs indicate: 

� Power — The Power LED is blue when the drive is connected to the enclosure 

backplane and has power (except in 8sx enclosure, both LEDs are activity). 

� Activity — The Activity LED flashes blue when the drive is processing a 

command. 

System Controls 

The system controls consist of two buttons; a Power switch and Reset switch. 

� Power Switch – The Power switch turns the enclosure on and off. The power 

switch is on the front of the unit at the top of the indicator panel. 

� Reset Switch – The Reset switch resets the system hardware. This should only 

be done when instructed by a Facilis technical support representative. 

Enclosure Front Panel Cover 

The TerraBlock drive enclosure has a removable front cover (12D & 24D) that can be kept in 

place to prevent access to the drives. The cover is attached via two thumb screws on either side. 

Rear Panel 

The following sections explain the features of the rear panel of the TerraBlock 12D and 

24D. The rear panel is the location of the connectivity to the clients, the server data, 

interface and monitor ports, power supplies and fans. 

1 

1 

1 

4 

1 

2 

2 

10 6 6 11 12 12 12 12 11 

13 7 7 

8 9 

10 7 6 7 6 12 11 11 12 12 11 

3 4 

5 5 

3 2 8 1 3 9 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 13 

8 

4

The diagram above shows the 24D and 12D enclosure rear panel. The 8xs rear panel is 

very similar to an upright 12D, but without replaceable fans or power supplies, or the 

second SATA controller slot (11). The panels contains the following controls and 

indicators: 

1. PSU Retaining Screw/Clip 

2. AC Power Receptacle 

3. Removable Power Supply 

4. Blower Fan Retaining Screw 

5. Removable Blower Fan 

6. High-speed Fan Retaining Screw 

7. Removable High-speed Fan 

* Varies by server motherboard revision 

8. VGA Port 

9. Ethernet Ports 

10. Keyboard/Mouse Ports 

11. Internal SATA Controller Slots* 

12. External Fiber Channel Slots* 

13. Mute Button 

Power Supplies – One power supply in both the TerraBlock 12D and 24D is redundant 

and replaceable while the unit is running. The 24D unit will run as long as at least 3 

power supplies are active; the 12D will run with 2 power supplies. The 8xs does not 

have a redundant power supply. 

Fans – The high-speed fans (and side blower fans in the TerraBlock 24D) maintain an 

ideal operating temperature within the enclosure. One unit can be removed while the 

TerraBlock 12d or 24D is running to facilitate replacement. 

VGA – The server has the option of being administered locally, or from a fiber-attached 

client. The VGA port is available for monitoring the server locally. A standard 15-pin VGA 

monitor cable is supported. A VGA monitor is not supplied with the server. 

Ethernet – The Ethernet ports are supplied for optional network access to the unit. This 

can be useful for controlling the unit via VNC or other remote access applications. 

� Running network software on the TerraBlock for the purpose of sharing 

volumes is not supported. An optional package is available which includes a 

dedicated server for Ethernet clients. 

Mouse/Keyboard – The mouse/keyboard ports are available for direct control of the 

server locally. Standard PS2 mouse and keyboard are supported, but are not included. 

SATA Controller Slots – The controller cards for the internal SATA drives use slot 2, 3 

and 6 on the 24D, and 2, 6 on the 12, and slot 6 on the 8xs. Slots are numbered starting 

from the right if facing the rear of the unit. These slots are unavailable for any other use. 

Fiber Channel Slots – The amount and capacity of the fiber channel boards will vary 

depending on your configuration. There will be a minimum of 1 board with 2 usable 

ports, and a maximum of 3-5 boards with up to 12 usable fiber channel ports. The clients 

connect directly to the fiber channel ports via optical fiber. 

Mute Button (12D & 24D)– The enclosure sounds an alarm whenever it detects a 

power supply failure. The Mute button stops the alarm until the next error occurs. 

Pressing the Mute button only silences the alarm—it does not reset the condition that 

caused it (see Power Supply LED, this chapter.) 

9

Chapter 3 - Installation 

This chapter describes how to install and configure your TerraBlock shared storage 

system. Keep the location of the edit rooms in mind when installing the TerraBlock, as 

there is a 300meter (984ft) limitation on the length of the multimode fiber in 2Gbit, and 

150meter (492ft) limitation in 4Gbit. 

Before You Begin 

The location of the unit should be cool, clean and vibration-free. Make sure you have all 

the components that shipped with the system available at the time of installation. If you 

are missing any of the components listed below, do not attempt installation until 

speaking with a Facilis customer service representative. 

Unpack the TerraBlock kit. Check the contents of the kit against the following list to be 

sure you have received all the components. The kit contains: 

� One TerraBlock server enclosure 

� One, three, or four power cords 

� CDROM of the TerraBlock Software and Documentation 

� 8, 12 or 24 SATA drives in carriers (shipped separately) 

� One spare SATA drive 

� A rack-mount kit (optional on 8xs) 

� An enclosure front cover (attached on 8xs) 

� Qlogic 2Gbit or 4Gbit fiber channel switch (optional) 

� ATTO 2Gbit or 4Gbit client fiber channel cards(optional) 

� 1U Eserve Bridge server (optional) 

Mounting the 12D and 24D Enclosure 

The base configuration of the TerraBlock system includes rack rails for mounting the 

system in a standard 19” rack with rear rails. If you are installing the TerraBlock 

enclosure in a rack (recommended), follow the instructions supplied in the rail kit to 

install the rack-mount rails. Be sure that: 

� The rails do not interfere with the power strips, power cords, or other 

cables at the rear of the rack. 

� The rails attach as far forward on the TerraBlock enclosure as possible. 

� The rails allow the enclosure to slide completely into the rack. 

� Do not block power supply vents or otherwise restrict airflow when 

installing the unit in a rack. 

� Be sure that there is adequate power available within the rack. 

� Ensure that a reliable grounding path is maintained within the rack 

system. This unit must be connected to Earth ground. 

� Mounting the TerraBlock enclosure on rack-mount rails is a two-person job! 

The enclosure is heavy, and both sides need to be in alignment to fit properly. 

If you try to mount the enclosure alone, you might damage it or injure 

yourself. 

10

Installing the Drives 

The TerraBlock SATA drives ship separately from the enclosure. They are 

installed in drive carriers that fit into the enclosure. 

To install the TerraBlock SATA drives in the enclosure: 

1. Remove a drive carrier assembly from the antistatic bag. 

2. Press the latch button on the front of the drive to release the latch. The latch opens to 

a 45° angle from the drive carrier. 

3. Find the label on the drive that specifies the location of the drive in the enclosure. The 

numbering is 1-24 (or 1-8/1-12), top-left to bottom-right. Below right is the configuration 

of the 24D (and 12D for the first 12 slots), below left is the 8xs setup. 

1 2 3 4 

5 6 7 8 

9 10 11 12 

13 14 15 16 

17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 

4. Slide the drive carrier assembly into the appropriate slot until the latch makes contact 

with the enclosure. 

5. Push the latch toward the enclosure to finish sliding the drive and carrier into the 

enclosure. You will hear the latch click when the drive and carrier are seated in the slot. 

If you encounter resistance do not force the latch closed. Remove the drive and 

check the connector and slot for foreign objects. 

6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for all remaining drives. 

11 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3 

2 

1

Cabling the Enclosure 

The following describes the process of cabling the TerraBlock system. 

Fiber Channel Cables 

Clients are connected directly to the TerraBlock with optical fiber channel cable. The end 

connecting to the TerraBlock system must have an LC form-factor square termination. 

The cable from the client will connect to one of the SFPs on the rear of the TerraBlock 

unit. 

� On the 22HX card (dual-port 2Gbit server HBA), 

the correct ports to use are the middle (2 & 3) 

not the top or bottom (1 & 4). Ports 1 & 4 are 

hub ports that connect to ports 2 & 3 respectively, 

and are not supported for client connection when 

ports 2 & 3 are in use. 

A fiber channel cable is comprised of send and receive strands, these must be mated 

properly to the send and receive ports on the SFP. If your cable was built as an LC-to- 

LC patch cable, the connector should be built to achieve this. If you’re patching through 

another cable via a union or patch field, you may have to determine the send and 

receive sides. 

With the client station powered on and fiber channel card properly installed, place the 

other end of the fiber close to a white card in a low light environment, and look for the 

laser emitting from one of the ends. Avoid looking directly into the light. That side should 

mate to the lower port on the fiber channel SFP. If both lights above the SFP are lit after 

fully powered up, the connection is positive. 


A mouse and keyboard should be installed prior to starting the system. If the mouse and 

keyboard are not installed at time of startup, you may have to restart the system to utilize 

them once installed. 

1. Locate a PS2 mouse and keyboard 

2. Locate the proper PS2 port for each by using the symbols on the rear of the unit 

3. Plug the PS2 connectors into the proper ports securely 

Monitor 

A monitor is supported for use directly on the TerraBlock, and required for initial setup 

and software updates. After initial setup, the monitor may be removed or turned off, as 

administration may be performed from any fiber-attached Windows client. To install a 

monitor: 

1. Locate the VGA port on the rear of the unit. The VGA port is a female 15pin 

DIN connector 

2. Plug the monitor (not supplied) into the VGA port. 

3. Supply power to the monitor, and turn it on. 

12

Power Cords 

To connect the power cords to the enclosure: 

1. Locate the power cords in the TerraBlock kit 

2. Plug the power cords into the power connectors on the rear of the enclosure 

3. Plug the power cord into a power outlet 

Turning on the Enclosure 

Before turning on the TerraBlock, make sure that you have all the drive carriers installed 

in the enclosure. You can now turn on the TerraBlock. 

� If the SATA drives have been left at below 45°F for several hours (a delivery 

truck or loading dock), allow the drives to return to room temperature before 

inserting and powering on the unit. Drive failure may occur if cold drives are 

powered up before warming. 

The Power button is on the front indicator panel. Press it once, and the system will 

power on. The system has been configured from the factory to login to the operating 

system automatically with user account “Facilis” and no password. Upon reaching the 

Windows Explorer (desktop), launch the SMDriveMonitor tool shortcut on the desktop. 

Wording on the screen that appears should state the service has started. 

13

Chapter 4 – Setup and Administration 

The TerraBlock system has a management tool for creating, changing and removing 

volumes, as well as creating, assigning and changing access privilege for users added 

to the system. A user with Administrator permissions, or any user that launches the tool 

on the server itself, will have the opportunity to add, change and remove volumes, add, 

change and remove users, and assign access privilege to users. 

System Setup 

After the server is installed and powered up, no additional configuration is required. The 

software performs striping and disk management internally, and the storage is presented 

to the TerraBlock Manager application to be allocated into virtual volumes. 

When the TerraBlock is shipped from the factory, there are no volumes and no users; 

these will need to be created. Administrator access is default when the TerraBlock 

Manager is launched on the TerraBlock server, and volume/user creation can occur 

here. Alternately, after a user with administrator access is created, and that user 

matches the name of a fiber channel client OS login, all functions can be accessed from 

that attached client. There are three applications that can be launched on the TerraBlock 

server: 

• Facilis TerraBlock Manager 

• SMDriveMonitor 

• SMManager 

Facilis TerraBlock Manager – This is the main tool for both client and administrator 

control of the system. Depending on the login of the client, the Manager will display 

different information and functions. This is the tool that the administrator will use to 

create volumes, users, and assign access and permissions. 

� The Facilis TerraBlock Manager is launched from Program Files/Facilis 

/TerraBlock/Manager or the shortcut on the desktop. The name of the 

program is TerraBlock Manager.exe 

SM Drive Monitor – This tool is used to monitor the output of the service during 

operation. The Monitor will display the state of the service and the drives included in the 

configuration as of launch. The Monitor also displays any errors seen on the drives, and 

recovery or protection activity. 

� The SM Drive Monitor is launched from Program Files/Facilis/TerraBlock or 

the shortcut on the desktop. The name of the program is SMDriveMonito.exe 

SM Manager – The SM Manager tool is a command-line interface for administration and 

management of volumes. All of the TerraBlock Manager functions exist in SM Manager, 

plus the ability to remotely mount and remove volumes. (See Appendix A: Additional 

Setup Tools for more information) 

� The SM Manager is launched from Program Files/Facilis/TerraBlock/Utilities. 

The name of the program is SMManager.exe 

14

Tools Volume Setup 

The Tools volume is used to distribute system applications to all the client stations, by 

using a Read-Only volume that is mounted by default on every connected system. Every 

client will have access to the software tools without the need to run an installer. 

The TerraBlock Manager application is installed onto the Tools volume as a part of the 

factory configuration. There will be Windows and Mac directories, all of which contain the 

respective versions of the Facilis TerraBlock Manager application. 

� The Tools volume will not appear on the TerraBlock server itself. Instead, 

launch from Program Files/Facilis/TerraBlock/, or the shortcut on the 

desktop. 

The Tools volume (named “Tools” by default in the system software), is the first 1GB 

volume on the first group of drives in each TerraBlock system. Tools is preset to be a 

Read-Only volume on every client that connects over fiber channel. The format of the 

volume will be FAT32. The reason for using FAT32 is Mac OSX and Windows crossplatform 

compatibility. HFS+ (Mac OS Extended) could be used in an all Mac-based 

environment, and is required when Mac OS9 clients are involved. 

If there is more than one server attached on the Facilis network, there will be a separate 

Tools volume for each server. For Mac environments, the name of each Tools volume 

must be different, and follow the convention: Tools; Tools1; Tools2; Tools3. If the correct 

name wasn’t entered at time of shipment, the Tools volume will require renaming. 

An Administrator can change the Tools volume format after installation or add new 

versions of the TerraBlock manager software to the Tools volume from a fiber-attached 

client. See Appendix A: Additional Setup Tools for more information. 

� For Mac OS9 clients, each Tools volume must be HFS+ formatted, and the 

format utility must be ATTO ExpressPro-Tools 2.8, which is included in the 

system packaging. The default settings should be chosen when formatting. 

� After formatting, the Tools volume must be made Write-access on a Mac client 

before the TerraBlock Manager is launched for the first time. 

� If HFS is chosen for the Tools volume format, MacDrive TM or similar utility can 

be used to mount the volume on a Windows system and access the contents. 

However, Windows systems may still launch a copy of the Manager application 

from the Windows explorer without access to the Tools volume contents. 

15

Creating and Managing Volumes 

The TerraBlock Manager is used to create and change volumes and users, assign 

volumes to users, mount, unmount and update. These examples show the Mac OSX 

Manager. The Mac OS9, Windows 2000 and XP versions are identical in functionality. 

Mac TerraBlock Manager Volumes Tab– Administration Mode 

TerraBlock Manager Columns – Volume Tab 

Name – This is the name of the volume as given by the administrator at time of creation. 

It is not the same as the formatted name of the volume, which is specified at the time of 

format by a user or administrator on a client workstation. For proper tracking of 

volumes and the successful dismounting of volumes on Mac workstations, the 

formatted name must exactly match the TerraBlock system volume name. 

Current User (“G5” above) – The current mount state of a volume on the local client 

system. 

� W This indicates the volume in that row is mounted on the local station 

with write access, and cannot be mounted again with write access, but can 

be mounted for ReadOnly access elsewhere. 

� R This indicates the volume in that row is mounted on the local client 

station with ReadOnly access, and is free to be mounted with any access 

elsewhere. 

� - (dash) This indicates the volume in that row has not been mounted by 

the local station, and is free to be mounted with any access elsewhere. 

16

Sys (System) – The current mounted state of a volume across the entire network. 

� W This indicates the volume in that row is mounted on some client 

station with write access, and cannot be mounted again with write access. 

� R This indicates the volume in that row is mounted on some client station 

with ReadOnly access, and is free to be mounted with any access. 

� - (dash) This indicates the volume in that row has not been mounted by 

any station on the network, and is free to be mounted with any access. 

State – The state of a volume is related to the drives that comprise the volume. The 

possible states are “OK”; “FAIL”; “DAMAGED”; “RECOVERING”. 

� OK means that the drives that comprise the volume are all present and 

working. This state will exist normally, or after a drive recovery is complete. 

� FAIL indicates that a drive in the group that comprises the volume has 

failed, and the volume has been actively used since the drive failure was 

recorded. If the volume is protected, the state will return to OK once the 

volume recovery is complete. 

� DAMAGED indicates multiple failures have occurred on a single drive 

group. This is very rare, and normally drives can be re-activated and data 

salvaged. The volume designation will continue to be “Damaged” as there is 

no way to tell if the volume was permanently damaged during the failures. 

� RECOVERING indicates that a drive in the group had failed and was 

reactivated or replaced. A protected volume will show “recovering” while the 

recovery process is active and the drive set is being repaired. 

Size – The size of the volume given at the time of creation by the administrator. The 

volume must be maintained at that size during and after format, and not partitioned into 

smaller volumes at the client. Since the drive size cannot change after creation, consider 

creating smaller volumes and adding more volumes when additional space is required. 

Group – The group column is related to the group of drives used to create the volume 

on the respective server. The column value will be either 1 or 2. This number applies to 

each group of 12 drives, or the one group of 8 drives on the 8XS. 

1 2 3 4 

5 6 7 8 

9 10 11 12 

13 14 15 16 

17 18 19 20 

21 22 23 24 

} Group 1 � mirror 

} Group 2 �mirror 

17

In a 24D unit, a mirrored volume spans 2 groups. A non-mirrored or RAID5 volume 

spans one group, with parity data on the alternate group in RAID5. A mirrored volume 

created on group 1 will use group 2 for its mirror; a group 2 volume uses group 1. To 

create a mirrored volume on a given group, the alternate group must have enough free 

space available as well. On the 12D and 8xs units, the mirror occurs within the same 8 

or 12 drive group, so remaining space must be 2 x the intended capacity of the volume. 

To create a RAID5 volume on a given group, that group must have enough remaining 

space for the capacity of the volume, plus 9% of the capacity of the volume. On a 24D, 

9% must be available on the alternate group. 

Dyna-RAID – The designations of “Mirror”; “RAID5” or “----“ are listed for each volume, 

according to the state of protection on the volume. This represents the current state of 

protection, but any volume can be changed from any state to any other state without 

loosing data. In the case of a drive failure, “RAID5” and “Mirror” will maintain data 

integrity. 

� Mirror indicates that the volume is being mirrored. Every file written to a 

disk drive is written again to another drive and on a failure the necessary 

mirror data takes over. A volume may be mirrored when created, and the 

protection state changed later. 

� RAID5 indicates that the volume is being protected parity RAID5. 

Information about the primary data is calculated and compressed into 

1/12 th the size of the primary data, and saved back onto the drive set. On 

a drive failure the necessary RAID5 data is decompressed and used in 

place of the missing primary data. A volume may be RAID5 when 

created, and the protection state changed later. 

� ---- indicates that the volume is not protected. A volume may be RAID5 

when created, and the protection state changed later. This column 

reflects the current state. 

� Parity RAID5, while more effective for reducing storage overhead for 

protection, is not able to maintain as high a performance level when a drive is 

missing or failed. Time to recover a failed drive is also lengthened. For 

uncompressed HD video or multiple uncompressed SD clients, or time critical 

projects, consider mirroring for best results. Spanning volumes across drive 

groups can help decrease the performance limitation. 

Server – Multiple servers can be employed to increase capacity and bandwidth in a 

Facilis network. The names of the servers will be displayed here for ease of volume 

location. 

18

TerraBlock Manager Functions – Volume Tab 

Mount – When the Mount button is clicked, any volume highlighted in the Volume pane 

will be mounted on the local system. If the user has Write access to the volume, a 

dialogue will appear asking if the user would like to mount the volume with Write access. 

Be careful to ensure you have write permissions for all volumes if requesting multiple 

volumes simultaneously with write permissions. 

If using a newer ATTO Celerity fiber channel HBA on Mac OS 10.3 and above, Mount 

will initiate a rescan of the fiber channel bus, and ask that any applications using the 

volumes be closed. However, it is not necessary for all types of applications to be 

closed. Please call Facilis customer support for more information. 

� The first user to mount a volume after it has been created must have Write 

access. Any volume must be formatted on a client station before use. 

� The Mount command in the TerraBlock Manager must be followed by another 

volume mount command from a drive utility in OS9, or by a reboot in OSX when 

using a EPCI 3300 ATTO HBA. The volumes may not appear on the desktop 

without this second step. 

Unmount – The Unmount button will remove any selected volume from the user’s 

desktop. If the volume had been mounted with Write access, Unmount will make the 

volume available for mounting with write access on other workstations which also have 

Write permissions. 

� Mac OS 9 and OS 10 require that the formatted name be the exact same as the 

volume name in TerraBlock Manager. This allows the Unmount, Eject and 

Update ReadOnly commands to find the drive when prompted. 

� The Unmount command will cause Windows 2000 to display an error. Click OK 

and disregard the error. 

Update Read-Only – This button is used for workstations that have Read-Only access 

to a volume, and need to use data that may have been written to the volume since it was 

first mounted on their system. This action will refresh the directories on the ReadOnly 

drives, and present the latest version of the data to the Read-Only client. 

On Mac systems, you will see this dialogue: 

Select “OK” after you see all updated volumes re-appear on the desktop. 

19

Add Users – This button allows an 

administrator to add users to a volume, 

with Read-Only or Write permissions. 

� Many users can be given Write 

permissions to a volume, but only 

the first user to mount the volume 

as writeable will have that access. 

Add User Dialogue 


This dialogue is used to create new virtual volumes on the system. The volumes created 

are allocations of the entire set of storage, but do not affect other volumes on the system 

when created. Size of a volume can be 1GB to 2047GB for basic or 2GB to 2046 for a 

Tandem volume. On the 24D, the volumes can be created on either of 2 groups (the 

emptiest is chosen by default). See “Group” in TerraBlock Manager Columns – Volume 

Tab. 

� Tandem – This selection allows the 

administrator to specify multiple 

groups instead of a single group for 

creation of the full volume size. For 

additional information on the 

Tandem feature see Appendix B: 

Working with Tandem Volumes. 

� Dyna-RAID – This selection 

allows for the designation of 

protection type on a per-volume 

basis. The button indicates the 

protection type; Mirror, RAID5 or 

Unprotected. See TerraBlock 

Manager Columns – Dyna-RAID 

for more information. 

� Add All Users... – This option 

automatically adds all known 

users to the volume with write 

permissions. 


� When specifying a size for a mirrored volume, be sure to check the remaining space on the 

current group as well as the mirror group. 

20

� When labeling the volume on the client system at the time of format, you 

must use a volume label that exactly matches the volume name. 

� In Windows Disk Manager, use the “Properties” of a volume to 

determine the volume name when it is mounted on the system. The 

Facilis volume name will be displayed with “Hardware Vendor” 

� In Mac OSX Disk Utility, the Facilis volume name is located in “Disk 

Description”. 

� In Mac OS9 drive utilities, the Facilis volume name can be found in 

Device Information (usually Apple-I). 

� Caution: When naming a virtual volume, use only 11 characters if the volume 

will be formatted on a Windows XP platform. Use up to 16 for Mac volumes. 

Change Volume – After the virtual volume is created, protected and formatted, there is 

the option to change the Name, and protection level of the volume. The name change 

will only affect the TerraBlock Manager display, not the formatted label on the client 

station. Because of this, it is necessary to follow up any change in volume name with a 

volume label change on a client with Write access. 

Change Volume Dialogue 

When changing protection level, the volume must be unmounted from all client 

workstations, and depending on the direction of the change, the volume may remain 

21

available only for ReadOnly for the duration of the action. This could take several hours 

for very large volumes. See the matrix below for more information. 

From ↓ To → Unprotected RAID5 Mirror 

Unprotected ---- Online Online 

RAID5 Immediate ---- ReadOnly 

Mirror Immediate ReadOnly Online 

User Access Permissions– The User Access Permissions pane within the Volumes tab 

allows a user to view and allows the administrator to change which users have access to 

a volume, and what permissions the user is allowed. This window also displays the 

current state of the volume on each user with permissions. 

(+) Signifies that user has the volume mounted with write 

access. (-) Signifies that user has the volume mounted with 

Read access. On Windows TerraBlock Manager, write and 

read access is also displayed by bold and italic user name 

text, respectively. 

The Administrator can remove a user from a volume, or 

change the permissions for a user on a certain volume, by 

selecting the user and choosing either “Change Permission” 

or “Remove from Volume”. 

Refresh – The Refresh button is only used to update the display of the TerraBlock 

Manager. The display does not refresh automatically until relaunched, so the Manager 

information may become out of sync. Refresh the tool often to ensure accurate data. 

22

Formatting Volumes for Use 

After creation of volumes and assignment of users, the volumes are ready to be 

formatted for use by the operating systems(s) that will be accessing them. The 

TerraBlock system supports all native drive formats for Windows and Mac. 

Once the volume has been assigned to a user, the administrator must format the volume 

from a fiber-attached client. This client system must have a user account that coincides 

with a user account name in TerraBlock. In Windows and Mac OS 10, the account 

should be the same as the OS log-in name (Long name in OSX). In Mac OS 9, the 

account should be the same as the Owner Name in File Sharing Control Panel. 

� In order to format a volume on a client station, that client must be given Write 

permission to the volume. 

After launching the Facilis TerraBlock Manager on the client system, the volumes 

assigned to the local user should appear. Select the volume and click Mount, and click 

Yes when the application asks to mount with Write permission. The volume can now be 

formatted using the following applications: 

Windows Macintosh OSX Macintosh OS9 

Disk Management Disk Utility ATTO Express Pro-Tools 

Avid Drive Utility 

� When naming the volume on the client system at time of format, you 

must use a volume label that matches the TerraBlock volume name. 

� Never upgrade a volume to a “Dynamic disk” on Windows. 

TerraBlock does not support drive striping or Dynamic disks on 

any system. 

If mounting and using Tandem spanned volumes, please read Appendix B: Working with 

Tandem Volumes. 

23

Creating and Managing Users 

The Administrator can create users based on OS login, manage the users’ access to 

volumes and determine which user login(s) can be given access to administrative 

functions. The user tab is only available to a user who has been given administrator 

access to change user accounts. 

TerraBlock Manager Users Tab– Administration Mode 

In the example above, you see user Name (G5); user’s computer Hostname; World- 

Wide Name of the fiber card in the host; Port designation on the TerraBlock, and user 

Access privilege. 

TerraBlock Manager Columns – Users Tab 

The User tab on the TerraBlock Manager will only be visible if the local user has “Admin” 

access. These are the columns in the TerraBlock Manager Users Tab: 

Name – This is the name of the user as given by the administrator at time of creation. 

The name here is the actual user name as reported by the operating system, thus it is 

case sensitive to the name seen in the user management utility or preference. On OS9, 

the user name will not be a log-in name since there is no log in name, but instead will be 

the exact user name seen in the File Sharing control panel. 

Hostname – The name given to the computer on which the user is logged in. 

Hostnames must be unique to avoid incorrect information being viewed on the Manager 

Volume tab. 

WWN – The World-Wide-Name is one of the ways Facilis protects the users from 

mounting the same volumes with Write access in several places. Every fiber channel 

card has a unique WWN. The WWN Index is also used to mount volumes remotely 

through the SMManager utility when launched on the TerraBlock server. 

24

Port – The Port designation specifies the location of the system on the rear of the 

TerraBlock server. If using a switch, several users may share the same port. 

Access – User access is determined by the administrator, and will have 2 states: 

� Admin – A user may be granted Administrator access to create and remove 

volumes, and create and remove users. Only an Admin will see the User tab on 

the TerraBlock Manager tool. 

� Normal – A user is defaulted to Normal. Normal users will see only the volumes 

they were given either read or Write access to, and will have the option to mount, 

unmount, or update Read-Only volumes. 

TerraBlock Manager Functions – User Tab 

Create User – This function is used to create a user account for a TerraBlock client. The 

window appears as below: 

Create User Dialogue 

User Name – This is the name that the user will use on log in to an operating system 

account on the client. This must be exactly the same name in the account properties. 

� If a user has not been created but can launch the TerraBlock Manager, select 

the Tools drive and “Mount”. This will report the user name to the TerraBlock 

server, and it will appear in the Admin User tab after refresh. 

Administrator – The Administrator check box allows any user to be given the right to 

see every volume, as well as create and remove volumes and users. It is not 

recommended that large numbers of users have Administrator access level, as the 

amount of volumes may become difficult to sort. 

� After a user is created, an Administrator can change the access level of that 

user at any time. 

25

Remove User – Users can be removed from the system with this function. 

Copy User – An individual user’s attributes can be copied to a new user. For example, 

a user on second shift needs their own unique user name for billing purposes, but needs 

identical access privileges to their colleague on first shift. Copy User will duplicate the 

attributes of the user highlighted in the User pane, and will prompt for a new user name. 

If the name given already exists, the existing user account will be appended with the 

new access. 

Change Access – Users can be assigned Admin or Normal permissions after being 

created. It is recommended to have as few Admin accounts as possible to avoid access 

to volume creation and deletion. 

Add Volumes – Volumes can be added to users, just as users can be added to volumes 

in the volumes tab. The window appears as below: 

Add Volumes Dialogue 

When a volume is added, the selected user will 

have either Read-Only (Default) or Write access to 

the volume (if the Write Permission box is 

checked). Several volumes can be added 

simultaneously, but they will all be given the same 

access permissions. Access permissions can be 

changed after volumes are added by using the 

“Change Permission…” button under the Volume 

pane in the User tab. 

Refresh – The Refresh button is used to update the display of the TerraBlock Manager. 

The display does not refresh automatically until relaunched, so the displayed information 

may become out of sync. Refresh the tool to ensure accurate data before managing 

volumes 

26

User Permission – User Tab 

The volume pane in the user tab allows an administrator to add volumes to users, and 

change users’ permissions to volumes. 

Change Permissions – This feature allows an administrator to change a user’s 

read/write permissions to one volume or many. 

Remove from User – Volume permissions can be removed from a user. The user will 

no longer have the ability to mount the selected volume(s). 

Volumes Pane in User Tab 

27

Chapter 5 – Client Volume Management 

The TerraBlock system allows users to mount and unmount volumes locally via the 

TerraBlock Manager. This will provide a step-by-step procedure for creating, mounting, 

and managing volumes. 

Launching the TerraBlock Manager 

TerraBlock Manager can be launched from the Tools volume, or the folder can be copied 

and launched from another location on the client. The Tools drive is accessible from 

every connected client, and contains an application for each operating system 

supported. If you’re on a Windows, OS9 or OSX system, find your version of the 

Manager in its respective folder on the Tools drive. 

� Macintosh OS 9 systems require an HFS formatted Tools drive, and the drive 

must be formatted with ATTOExpressPro-Tools Utility. (See “Tools Volume 

Setup” for details) 

� Mac OSX systems using ATTO Celerity cards should copy the Manager software 

locally, as the bus rescan will cause errors if the Manager is being run from the 

fiber-attached drive. 

Launch the Facilis TerraBlock Manager from the Tools drive or the location of the folder 

on the client system. If the client is connected to the TerraBlock system correctly, the 

TerraBlock Manager window will populate with the volumes that have been allocated to 

the local user. If only the Tools drive shows in the TerraBlock Manager, there may not be 

any volumes allocated to your user, or the user name may be incorrect. 

� If a user’s name is incorrect (user name is case sensitive), select the Tools 

drive and “Mount”. This will report the user name to the TerraBlock server, 

and it will appear in the Admin User tab after refresh. 

TerraBlock Manager in Normal user mode: 

TerraBlock Manager Volume Tab– Normal Mode 

For a full explanation of columns and functions in the TerraBlock Manager, see “TerraBlock 

Manager Columns – Volume Tab” and “TerraBlock Manager Functions – User Tab”. 

28

Mounting Volumes 

Facilis TerraBlock Manager is used to mount and unmount local volumes on a client 

system. When the tool is launched, volumes that have been allocated to the local user 

will appear. When a volume is selected, the local user’s permissions to the volume are 

displayed in the user pane, as well as other users who have permissions to the volume. 

User Pane on Volume 

Tab in Normal Mode 

In this example, G5 shows up with W+ in the user pane, 

signifying that G5 has Write permission (W) and has 

mounted the volume with Write access (+). The 

Scratch2 user has R- signifying that Scratch2 has 

ReadOnly permission (R) and has mounted the volume 

with ReadOnly access(-). 

The FinalCut and Cyclone users have ReadOnly and 

Write permissions but have not mounted the volume. 

� If a user has mounted a volume with Write 

permission, no other user can write to that volume. 

The user with Write permission to the volume must 

first unmount it to permit another user to write to 

that volume. The first user may then re-mount the 

volume as Read-Only and access the data. 

To mount a volume, select the volume and click Mount. If you have been given Write 

access the volume, the system will ask whether you’d like to mount the volume with 

Write permission. 

If you will be writing to this volume, 

select Yes. If you only need to read the 

contents of the volume, or another 

station will require write access to the 

volume, select No. If selecting No for 

ReadOnly, there will be a secondary 

dialogue on OSX systems. 

In the secondary ReadOnly Dialogue, 

selecting Yes (preferred for most 

applications) will produce a locked 

volume that does not require ReadOnly 

setting in the Mac OS. If selecting No 

(required for few applications), the 

volume will have a ReadOnly attribute 

set in the Mac OS. 

On Mac OSX with a Celerity fiber channel card, a third dialogue may ask you to be sure 

all applications using the TerraBlock volumes are closed, because the ATTO card will be 

rescanned, and this requires all volumes to be ejected temporarily. In Mac OSX, select 

29

OK in the final dialogue presented when the volumes appear on the desktop. If any 

volumes fail to appear on the Mac desktop or in Windows “My Computer”, the volume 

may need to be formatted. See Chapter 4 – Setup and Administration for details. 

Updating Volumes Manually 

Once a user has mounted a Read-Only volume, data written to the volume by another 

user is not visible without an update. This is because the system reads a “snapshot” of 

the Read-Only volume created at time it is mounted. The “Update ReadOnly” button will 

update this “snapshot”. 

� Caution: Read-Only volumes on Windows 2000 and Mac OS 9 will appear to 

accept a small amount of data until the volume is refreshed. The data is not 

actually written to the volume; the OS may require an Update of a volume that 

has been written to accidentally. 

Updating Windows Volumes with ROUpdater Utility 

On Windows clients that need to see updated views of ReadOnly volumes, there is a 

utility that allows a user to set a time interval on updates to all NTFS or FAT32 ReadOnly 

volumes. The application is called SMUpdate, and upon launching on a Windows XP 

system will update all ReadOnly drives every 15 minutes by default. 

If a different interval is desired, ROUpdater can also be launched interactively through 

use of the CMD application (DOS shell). By navigating in CMD to the location of 

RoUpdater.exe, the user may launch the application with a different timing interval. 

ROUpdater Application in Interactive Mode 

30

All standard Facilis ReadOnly volumes will be updated, if a Tandem volume is mounted 

as ReadOnly, a special case allows for the drive letter of the Tandem volume to be 

entered. In the case above, the ROUpdater was copied into the root level of the C: drive. 

Using the command prompt, the ROUpdater was set to 60 minute intervals, and drive 

letter J: was specified as the Tandem ReadOnly volume. The proper usage of the 

argument is . If no time interval is specified, default of 15 minutes will be 

used. 

Changing the interval to less than 15 minutes is not recommended on Ethernet bridge 

servers, as there is a greater possibility of an update happening during a transfer of 

data. 

� Usage of the SMUpdate utility on an Avid editing system is not supported 

while the Avid application is active due to the operation of the database code. 

Unmounting Volumes 

When a user has finished with a volume or wishes to relinquish the volume’s Write 

permission, the Unmount button will remove the volume from the client system. The user 

will still maintain the same access permissions, but the volume will become available for 

another user to mount with Write permission. 

� If volumes will need to be accessed as write by another client, be sure to 

unmount volumes before shutting down the client. The volumes will then be 

made available for other clients with Write permission. 

31

Chapter 6 – Workflow for Shared Storage 

User Access to Volumes 

The workflow model for the TerraBlock shared storage environment is a single-writer, 

multi-reader model. Although multiple users can be granted Write permission to a 

volume, only one user has the ability to both mount the volume and write to it. All other 

users will be limited to reading the volume, even if the administrator has granted them 

Write permission. The only way for a subsequent user to write to that volume is for the 

first user to unmount (release) it. 

Volume Creation and Allocation 

Virtual volumes benefit from the ability to be managed on a project basis. Instead of a 

few huge volumes that encompass all projects in a room or facility, virtual volumes can 

be created on the fly, at any time, in any capacity. This means you don’t have to 

configure or “slice up” the storage until you need to. Create volumes as needed. For 

example: A common practice for multi-room jobs is to have all digitized media locked off 

as ReadOnly, with smaller scratch volumes present on each edit station for renders, 

imports, graphics, etc. 

Edit A 

R Media R Media R Media 

W 

R 

R 

Scratch-A 

Scratch-B 

Scratch-C 

R = ReadOnly access W = Read/Write access 

R 

W 

R 

Edit B Edit C 

Scratch-A 

Scratch-B 

Scratch-C 

Media drive is the captured video and/or audio volume. This volume is locked off to 

ReadOnly for every room after the footage is completely digitized. If more footage comes 

in during the course of the edit, this volume can be mounted as write while the footage is 

brought in without affecting the other edit rooms. 

Scratch A-C are the writeable drives for each room assigned to this project. They can 

be used for renders and imports, or to hold the local project file for each room. 

The sample configuration consists of four volumes; three scratch and one media volume. 

The scratch volumes may be 20-30GB in size, depending on the length and complexity 

of the project. The Media volume may be up to 500GB in size, or more in HD workflows. 

Some things to keep in mind when deciding on volume size: 

32 

R 

R 

W 

Scratch-A 

Scratch-B 

Scratch-C

• There is a 5000 file limitation on Windows 2000 and Mac OS9. Errors could 

occur if volumes mounted for ReadOnly exceed 5000 files. 

• Larger volumes limit flexibility with Dyna-RAID. You may find that having smaller 

volumes makes it easier to free up space in a pinch without changing or 

removing protection on a very large volume to gain a small amount of space. 

• Project-based volumes improve the management of some applications that may 

not have the ability to track project-specific data. At the end of the project, simply 

archive or delete media specific to that project, and repurpose the space taken 

by the project volumes. 

• Volumes should always be protected (preferably Mirrored for high-bandwidth 

projects) when created. If storage space becomes an issue, selective Unprotect 

or Change of protection can be employed per volume to create more free space 

on the disk set. 

Project Sharing 

Editor/Assistant 

In the scenario where a single editor is cutting while one or two assistants are digitizing 

footage, the simplest sharing technique is to provide the editor with a smaller scratch 

volume, and lock the volumes being used for digitize. This way the editor could render 

effects and perform other tasks to the single Write volume, and could use the Update 

Read-Only function on a regular basis to acquire the latest footage being digitized by the 

assistants. More detail on this configuration is described in the “Volume Creation and 

Allocation” section of this document. 

Multi-Room Single Project 

In this scenario, there would be several volumes created for digitizing in each room, with 

every volume accessible in the other rooms as ReadOnly. In this case a room-based 

volume scheme may be the best, with example volume names of “Edit1, Edit2”, etc. The 

Project file in each room can be held on that room’s writable drive, so that project file is 

accessible for other rooms to use if necessary. 

Multi-Room Episode Project 

Multiple rooms are working on the same show simultaneously; the show is different from 

week to week. There shouldn’t be a single volume for each room to write to that spans 

the entire season, so every episode will have a volume that is accessible by the 

assistant editors, and dynamically available to the other rooms that need to digitize some 

footage. Additionally, there would be a per-episode effects volume for rendering in each 

room, with Write access granted to the respective rooms for their respective render 

volumes, and Read-Only access to the remainder. Keeping the volumes episode-based 

allows for easier backup and deletion once the show has aired. 

33

Multi-Room Facility 

Another scenario is multiple room access to the storage, while working on different 

projects. The rooms can be isolated by only allowing access to the volumes that relate to 

a particular room. Even though the project volumes are never shared, there can still be a 

common volume containing sound FX, common elements and stock footage. This 

volume could be made accessible to every room as a ReadOnly volume. There could 

also be per-room volumes for backing up projects, and providing a single location for 

archiving by the administrator. These volumes could be provided to each room with 

Write access and to the administrator with Read-Only access. 

Fiber to Ethernet 

The attachment of additional stations in the production workflow can be achieved 

through Ethernet sharing of fiber channel volumes. This can be done through a server 

with a fiber channel attachment to the TerraBlock and a fast network attachment to a 

network switch. The benefit of converting the fiber channel volumes to Ethernet is the 

ability to provide multiple systems with the ability to write to a single volume, or provide 

access to data without the additional fiber channel hardware. 

Volumes would be mounted normally through the TerraBlock Manager on the Ethernet 

server, which is also a client of the TerraBlock over fiber channel. The volumes would be 

writeable on the Ethernet server if the intent is to allow the network clients to write to the 

volume through the Ethernet connectivity. 

Editorial or high-bandwidth clients could have Read-Only access to the same volumes, 

thereby providing them with an easy connection point for picking up graphics and CG 

render files, which can be very large. The copy step between graphics creation and 

editorial import or upload is eliminated. 

34

Chapter 7 – Facilis Migration 

The Facilis Migration will copy and move Avid specific project media from one volume to 

another, and within the volume. Migration allows the user to scan mounted volumes and 

choose the desired project(s) for which they would like to copy OMF or MXF media. Mac 

OSX, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 are supported with Avid Media Composer, 

Adrenaline, and Xpress Pro. 

Migration operates by scanning the database files, so it is necessary to have an updated 

and recent OMFI or Avid MediaFiles directory. If Migration is not displaying the media 

correctly, launch an Avid application while the source volume is mounted with write 

access. The Avid application will rebuild the databases if needed, and Migration should 

have the latest information. 

Setup and Usage 

Migration required at least read access to any volume being scanned, and write access 

to any volume being copied to, or the source volume if the optional “Move copied 

projects…” is selected. Any volume with an OMFI MediaFiles or Avid MediaFiles 

directory will be included in the scan pane, any volume mounted with write access will be 

included in the destination pane. 

To use, simply launch from the Windows (or Mac) Migration Tool folder. 

Migration for Windows XP 

35

Scanning Volumes and Workspaces 

Select which volume(s) or workspace(s) should be scanned for project media by 

checking in the selection boxes, or using Select/Unselect All. When the correct volumes 

are selected, Scan for Projects. This will display any media in the OMFI or Avid 

MediaFiles directories, based on the optional setting for MXF media format (see below). 

The progress bar will show the action of scanning is in process, and upon completion a 

list of projects will display in the center pane. Details will display including the location of 

the project, file count and size. If a project is spread across multiple volumes, the project 

name will display several times. To see the file list for the project, double-click on the 

project row in the center pane. 

Select the project(s) which will be copied or moved, and a single destination volume with 

enough space for the data being copied. 

Optional Settings 

Options include a setting for alternate media format (MXF) and a feature to move the 

copied files into a separate directory during the copy. If the projects being scanned 

consist of MXF Media, the option to “Select MXF Media format” should be chosen. 

� If a project uses both OMFI and MXF (Avid MediaFiles) media, the scan and 

copy will have to be repeated for each format. 

� If a source volume does not contain the media format that is selected to scan, 

the user will be prompted with an error. Example: MXF media format is 

selected under options, but only OMF media resides on the source volume, an 

error stating no MXF project media found will be displayed. Deselect MXF 

media format under options and rescan for OMF project media. 

When copying the project to the destination drive, the option to “Move copied projects to 

a separate directory on source volume” will result in the source volume no longer holding 

that project’s media in a location accessible to the Avid application. The media being 

copied will simultaneously be moved to another directory outside the OMFI or MXF 

media location. This will cause the media on the source volume to go offline to any Avid 

application. 

36

Migration and Verification 

After the options are set correctly, and a scan has been performed on the source 

volumes or workspaces, migration can occur to move the data to the destination 

volumes. To begin the process, select a speed for the transfer. This selection will throttle 

the copy process back to the speed designated. This will keep shared storage systems 

such as Unity from being overloaded by a single TerraBlock client copying data too 

quickly. 

Select “Copy Projects” to start the migration. 

A window will display a status bar for the progress of the copy process. To verify the 

media is present on the destination volume, unmount the source volume from the 

system, or if local attached rename the OMFI or Avid MediaFiles folder. An “x” in front of 

the directory name will hide it from the Avid application and allow the Avid to look for the 

media on the destination volume. 

Launch the Avid application and allow the software to rebuild the databases on the 

destination volume. The media should be online and usable on the destination volume. If 

a second attempt to copy the media is initiated, Migration will skip all files in the source 

volume that already exist on the destination. In this way it’s possible to perform daily or 

weekly incremental backup to a TerraBlock volume. 

37

Appendix A – Additional Setup Tools 

SMManager 

SM Manager tool is a command-line interface for the administration and management of 

volumes. All of the TerraBlock Manager functions exist in SM Manager, as well as the 

ability to remotely mount and remove volumes. Note that the commands are casesensitive. 

SMManager Initial Display 

l – Lists all the information in the system. 

o Volumes 

o Volume ID 

o Volume stats 

o Groups 

o Users 

o User IDs 

o Any connected clients 

o Index number of connected clients 

o Drives mounted by index 

L – Lists the users that have access to each volume by volume ID 

c – Creates a volume. The user is given a choice of the group on which to create the 

volume, the volume size, and the volume protection. 

m – Mount a volume locally (wherever SMManager is running). Not valid when launching 

SMManager from the TerraBlock system. 

38

o – Mounts a volume remotely by index number. The index number of each client is 

revealed after the client is connected to the TerraBlock and has mounted one volume. 

u – Unmount a volume locally (wherever SMManager is running). Not valid when 

launching SMManager from the TerraBlock system. 

v – Unmounts a volume remotely by index number. The index number of each client is 

revealed after the client is connected to the TerraBlock and has mounted one volume. 

� Do not perform this function unless you’re sure that the system mounting the 

volume is currently shut down. Removing a volume through this operation 

while it is active could result in data loss. 

D – Deletes a volume. The user is asked which volume to delete by ID number. The ID 

number is shown on the list (l) function. This deletion is permanent. 

s – Scans the fiber channel bus on the local system (wherever SMManager is running). 

Not valid when launching SMManager from the TerraBlock system. 

F – Creates a user. The function will ask for the name of the user 

R – Removes a user from the user accounts by user ID. The user ID is shown in the list 

(l) function. 

J – Adds a user to a volume through user ID and volume ID 

SMManager Volume List Printout (partial) 

When the contents of the system are listed, the drives display first by group (partition), 

then by Volume ID. The Name, Size, Protection Type (mirrored-1 or unmirrored-3), and 

Volume Status (OK- 3, Failed- 1). 

The Drive IDs are used to mount and unmount volumes remotely from the TerraBlock 

system. 

39

SMManager User List Printout (partial) 

After the Volumes, the Users display by ID. The first users created will be on the top of 

the list. The User ID is used to add and remove users to volumes and to remove users. 

SMManager Index List Printout (partial) 

After the Users, the Index list displays by ID. The index numbers coincide with the order 

in which the clients connected to the system. The Index number is displayed, followed 

by the World Wide Name (the fiber channel card identifier in the client), then the port 

number to which the client is connected on the TerraBlock. This is followed by the 

HostName (client computer name) and the user name logged in to the connected client. 

The list beneath is information for each connected computer. It includes the LUN (the 

client’s ID for the volumes), the volume ID mounted on the client, the volume name, 

and how the volume is mounted: Read-Only (Y) or Write (N). 

40

Remote Mounting of Volumes 

SMManager can be used to mount volumes on client stations without having to launch 

the Terrablock Manager on the client station. This is done by finding the hostname or 

user in the index list, and using the “o” command to mount a volume by ID on the Index 

number. The volume will mount the next time the SCSI chain is scanned on the client. 

Tools Drive Configuration 

The Tools drive (named “Tools” by default in the system software), is the first 1GB 

volume on the first group of drives in the Terrablock system. Tools is preset to be a 

Read-Only volume for every client that connects over fiber channel, as such cannot be 

formatted or changed. In order to change the Tools volume (during upgrade of 

TerraBlock Manager software), access can be re-assigned on the fly through the 

TerraBlock Manager. You must be on a Windows platform and have Administrator 

access to use this method. 

1. Launch the TerraBlock Manager Application 

2. Select the Tools Drive 

3. Add User – your local user with Write Permissions. 

4. Select the Tools Drive again, choose “Mount” with Write Permission 

5. Change what you need to on the Tools volume 

6. Reboot to change the Tools Volume back to ReadOnly 

41

Appendix B – Working with Tandem Volumes 

The Tandem Feature in 2.0 allows the administrator to create volumes that will be 

automatically split between multiple groups in a Facilis network. The process of creation, 

mounting and format will be described below. 

� Tandem volumes are not Cross Platform (Mac and Windows) in version 2.0. If 

you require connectivity to a Tandem volume on a different platform than it 

was created, use a network re-share instead of mounting of the volume. 

Creating Tandem Volumes 

The TerraBlock manager has been changed to allow for Spanned volumes among drive 

groups. This change can be seen in the “Create Volume” dialogue. 

Create Volume Dialogue – Tandem Setting 

By selecting the Tandem button, you have access to select multiple drive groups. Drive 

groups may be on different servers or the same server. 

Above, the volume “SpanHDVol” is going to be a total size of 400GB. The TerraBlock 

Manager will divide this up between as many groups as you select, up to four. In this 

case, two 200GB volumes will be created with RAID5 protection. 

42

Mounting Tandem Volumes 

After creation, the volumes will have a designation of followed by 

~1,2,3, etc. Be sure to Mount with write access to format the volume. The Volume tab 

selection below shows the SpanHDVol Tandem set. 

Volume Selection – Tandem Set 

From here, the process is different on Windows and Mac clients. 

Formatting Tandem Volumes – Mac 

The ATTO Express Stripe version 4.02 and later must be used to format Tandem 

volumes. The volumes will first appear normally as un-initialized raw devices, do not use 

the OSX disk utility with these volumes, and select “Ignore” if prompted to initialize the 

volumes. 

� Quit all applications at this time, including TerraBlock Manager. The final 

format step will fail if any volumes are being accessed during the process. 

� The ATTO Express Stripe is a licensed utility, contact Facilis Technology to 

purchase a license for Express Stripe in order to use the Tandem Feature. 

43 

The ATTO Express Stripe utility 

will open with the option to Create, 

Delete or open Utilities. 

Select Create. 

This will be followed by an option 

to create a Standard or RAID0 

Volume. 

Select RAID 0.

Select Next and proceed through the next window as well with no changes. 

Once in the Create 

RAID 0 dialogue, select 

the volumes mounted 

as part of the Tandem 

set. 

The names given to the 

volumes in TerraBlock 

Manager will be 

displayed under the 

Model column. 

On the third window you’re asked to provide a Name, and an Interleave. Name the 

volume the same as the name you first gave the volume in TerraBlock Manager. 

The Interleave should always be set to 1MB. Performance problems will occur if any 

other setting is used. Finish on this step and information will be given to verify before the 

spanned volume is created. 

44

When the rescan of the mounted volumes is complete, a successful completion dialogue 

will appear. At this point you may choose to Continue to another Tandem volume format, 

or quit and start using your Facilis volume. 

Formatting Tandem Volumes – Windows 

The ATTO Power Center version 1.0 and later must be used to format Tandem volumes. 

The volumes will first appear normally as un-initialized raw devices, do not use the Disk 

Manager with these volumes until the span is created. 

� The ATTO Express Power Center is a licensed utility, contact Facilis Technology 

to purchase a license for ATTO Express Power Center in order to use the 

Tandem Feature. 

45 

When the Express Power Center 

first opens, it has no Stripe Groups 

or Members. 

Choose the “Add” button at the top 

of the window to show a location 

to enter the name of the Stripe 

Group. The name of the stripe 

Group should be the same as the 

name given the Tandem Volume.

Select the Members portion of the window and click the “Add” button again. 

The “Add Drives” Selection 

window appears. Select the 

volumes one at a time to add into 

the Tandem Span. The Product ID 

is the name of the volume from 

TerraBlock Manager 

Click the “Add” button once for 

every Tandem volume to be 

added to the span. 

Once all volumes are added to the Members area, set the Interleave to 1024KB. The 

Interleave should always be set to 1024KB. Performance problems will occur if any 

other setting is used. 

Set the Interleave and Save the configuration 

46 

In Disk Management, initialize and create 

partition on the new unallocated space.

Appendix C – Specifications 

Dimensions and Weight 

Product Weight with 

Drives 

TerraBlock 

24D Server 


12D Server 


8xs Server 

140Lbs 

63.5 Kg 

80lbs 

38.2Kg 

60lbs 

28.65Kg 

Environment 

Max Ambient Temp: 30C / 86F 

Min Ambient Temp: 5C / 41F 

Non-Condensing 

Electrical Load 

Auto switching 110/220vac 

24D 

Startup: ~600W 

Idle: ~290W 

Active: ~415W 

12D 


Idle: ~165W 

Active: ~225W 

8xs 


Idle: ~120W 

Active: ~160W 

Depth Width Height 

28in 

71.1cm 

30in 

76.2cm 

25.5 in 

64.77 cm 

17½ in 

44.5cm 

17½ in 

44.5cm 

7 in 

17.78 cm 

Connectivity 

Fiber Channel Cable - Multimode 62.5/125µ Full Duplex 

Fiber Channel Terminations - LC (square small form factor) 

Fiber Channel Tolerance - .5 DB/jump, Max 6DB/run P2P 

Ethernet Cable - Cat5e rated for Gbit 

Ethernet Connector - RJ45 

47 

8¾ (5u) 

22.2cm 

5¼ (3u) 

13.3cm 

18 in 

45.72

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