Best network solution for Premiere Productions

[PreProPro]

Hello,
It seems like this isn't a hot topic on these forums, but here we go:

Short version: what is the best network (server) solution for Premiere Productions within a professional production house workflow with multiple editors, multiple productions running besides each other in both Full HD and UHD.

It seems like there isn't a lot of information available when it comes to video server solutions, specifically for Adobe Premiere. Since our production house is doing research on renewing our server, I thought it might be a good idea to check in with all of you guys.

Just to be a bit more specific: we're not aiming for online cloud services or a NAS. We're looking for high end solutions. Right now our interest goes out to a Dynamic Drive Pool (DDP). We own a NEXIS Pro by Avid, but given the fact we're Premiere-only, it doesn't seem to give the best performance (it seems like the NEXIS is struggling from time to time, and the larger our projects/sequences become, the harder it gets to get a decent playback).

Are there any members on here that have specific knowledge, experience or preferences when it comes to high speed storage solutions? Is fiber for each set (M2 Mac Studio Ultra's) a requirement or will Cat 6a suffice? Will we need an all SSD storage solution or can we stick with HDD's and a single SSD for cache? Does one storage solution handle MXF files (XAVC-I) better than others? In overall: is Premiere proven to work best at on a specific type of system?

Our workflow centers around Production. Compared to a normal Premiere project, I can imagine that Production benefits from certain technical structures. Let's say it works better on SSD compared to HDD because it seems like it holds on to thousands of connections between multiple projects within the Production (whether if they're open or closed).

We heard back most positive about DDP, which is why it became on top of our list right now.

I'm interested in hearing any thoughts from the community (perhaps even Adobe themselves).

Thank you!

[R Neil Haugen]

@Warren Heaton does a lot of network work, he might have advice. @dhelmly would be a staffer that would know, let's see if he responds. And I don't know Karl Soule's 'ping' name here, so I can't link him in. But check with his Adobe blog pieces, and his YouTube channel for if he has a post on that. @Kevin-Monahan could get or provide an answer also.

Productions is an awesome tool, but it doesn't work like you think it does. The way it does work is what allows it to function so well across many open projects without having to load every project's entire asset list into RAM/cache files, as the stand-alone mode would require.

I use if for everything in my small shop. And also with a partner in Cape Towne, I'm in Oregon, and our shared projects and media are on Amazon S3 servers in London "transported" via LucidLink's incredible service.

Premiere never knows that no media is "local" ... and LucidLInk manages to get clips to our machine as needed for playback. In-freaking-credible.

[AdobeDAV · Accepted solution]

thanks @R Neil Haugen  - also adding Karl for take as well ....  @ksoules 

One thing to keep in mind with Premiere Pro it that it basically works as if all media is local in terms of media file paths which why cloud services like LucidLink work so well with Premiere Pro . Small and simple workgroup NAS systems like QNAP with 10G connectity also tend work well but not really the same type of shared storage solution as a NEXUS or dedicated NLE MAM system.

If you just need straight forward NAS function then it's a simpler conversation  (ie, shared storage vs full NLE integration) 

A few popular ones to consider that our team sees quite a bit in use with Premiere Pro in a Productions Workflow:

Open Drives  (Http://opendrives.com)  

Scale Logic (https://scalelogicinc.com/) 

Studio Network Solutions EVO (https://www.studionetworksolutions.com)

OWC Jelly Fish - (small workgroups)

Qnap or Synology  (small workgroup - make sure it has 10G ) 

LucidLink  - for any remote editing workflow

Lastly, I would always advise reaching out to an Adobe Systems Integrator that specializes in Pro Video like Chesa, Keycode Media, CIS Group, Cinesys.io, Base. and others. You find contact info here: https://www.adobevideopartner.com/find-a-partner/

under the [Businesss Category] select Systems Integrator and it will tell you more about them.

Hope this helps - 

DKH

[R Neil Haugen]

Awesome and timely assistance, David ... thanks!