
NAB Reflections: Scale Logic's Bob Herzan on Proactive Monitoring for Storage, Sports' Sophisticated Needs HMS tracks health' of Genesis storage products installed at customer sites By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Wednesday, April 25, 2018 - 8:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Scale Logic was at NAB 2018 showcasing its portfolio of storage solutions and introduced a new feature across the entire range of products: a proactive Health Monitoring Service (HMS). The service communicates directly with installed products at customer sites, using the equipment serial number to track service outages, system temperature, power-supply failure, data-storage drive failure, and dozens of other mission-critical status updates.
SVG sat down with Scale Logic President/CEO Bob Herzan to discuss HMS, the company's recent installation with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Linx, Scale Logic's growing third-party warranty service, and more.
Scale Logic's Bob Herzan: We have a heartbeat built into the [Genesis platform] that reports back to our NOC.
What is the big news at the show this year for Scale Logic?
I think the coolest announcement is that we have introduced 24/7 proactive health monitoring to the entire Genesis platform. That means, when we install these at our customer site, we have a heartbeat built into the system that reports back to our NOC [Network Operations Center]. It is reporting all the basic health symptoms within the system, so it's looking at the drives, the rate sets, the motherboards and heat level, the fan efficiency. This is an enterprise-level feature that this industry has never seen in this level of storage, unless you were buying on the level of IBM or EMC and paying through the nose. And we don't even upcharge for the service.
We have the NOC already in place for all the other services that we're doing for our [Media Storage Services] third-party extended-warranty program. We're just taking that and implementing a new proactive health platform.
All new shipping products will now have the health monitoring, and then we're going to go back and start adding it to our legacy support contracts. To me, it's a genuine game-changer for our customers
We have also introduced HyperLock [at NAB 2018]. HyperLock is a feature set that goes on top of our HyperFS [file system], Genesis NX [NAS solution], and Genesis ZX [software-defined storage] and provides Avid bin locking for all three platforms. Those people looking for traditional Avid workflow can now do that on top of any one of those three file systems.
Scale Logic recently completed a large installation with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Linx. Tell us something about the project.
This type of configuration has become a real sweet spot for us. [The Timberwolves and Linx] are using a multi-tiered configuration that starts with Genesis Unlimited, which is our high-performance, high-capacity storage. It's connected in two ways - via Fibre Channel and Gigabit Ethernet - so that they can have multiple workflows with that shared storage. We also have an agent inside the Genesis Unlimited that will sync the primary data over to our second tier, which is Genesis NX. That's a second instance of the data on spinning disk that they keep as an archive copy. And that same agent inside the Unlimited also can write to a tape library, which they have there.
In the end, this client has three copies of their data across two different technologies, and they can even take some of it offsite if they want to store it elsewhere. It's a very small footprint that gives them a completely automated workflow that protects the data and is scalable as they grow. They're already talking about upgrading more storage because they're starting to go back and digitize a whole bunch of old legacy, historical content now.
How does the T-Wolves and Linx installation reflect where the sports market is headed in terms of storage?
All of the [teams] have the same issues, and they're all struggling with the same types of workflows. [Large organizations like] MLB and NASCAR can spend the money for big, multi-tier infrastructure like that with high availability. But we are giving them that same footprint and doing it at a price point that is a fraction of the cost, depending on the size, of the primary storage that they're putting in. We also try [to integrate] with as many MAM players as we can so that we can show our customer and the resellers a very completed turnkey solution that includes that asset-management layer as well.
In addition to the Scale Logic product portfolio, you've put a major focus on your Media Storage Services third-party extended-warranty business over the past couple of years. How is that segment of the company doing, and how has the market reacted to it?
It's growing hand over fist right now, and we've been very successful in mid and high-end accounts. I think one of the trends that I'm seeing right now is the mid to larger companies are unsure of what the next few years have in store for them. They're trying to figure out what their cloud play is and if they're going to be migrating a lot of content to the cloud or not. At the same time, they're being bullied to either refresh or pay heavy fees for the support [of existing equipment]. And they feel each decision is rotten because either they are going to spend a whole bunch on opex and keep this thing alive or they are going to refresh and be stuck for the next three to five years anyway. We are saving them from having to make those decisions right away; we give them a chance to breathe a little bit. We customize this SLA for them and save them a ton of money, and now they can really start to focus in on what they think they can do.
This interview has been edited for leng
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
22/04/2026
Solid State Logic is advancing its System T platform with a stronger focus on IP...
22/04/2026
From immersive audio to live streaming, Dolby Laboratories is focused on the fut...
22/04/2026
Shallow depth-of-field cameras have taken the industry by storm. Its debut a han...
22/04/2026
Riedel Communications (Booth C4908) announced that Eastern Kentucky University (...
22/04/2026
The NAB Show is in full swing, and the SVG and SVG Europe editorial teams are chasing down the hottest stories from all over the Las Vegas Convention Center. He...
22/04/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the URSA Cine 12K LF 100G, a new model in the URSA Cine family adding 100G Ethernet for SMPTE 2110 live production output up to ...
22/04/2026
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, NEP is leaning into hybrid production with the...
22/04/2026
NEP VP, Platform Dan Murphy sits down at the 2026 NAB Show to unpack what NEP P...
22/04/2026
Spotify and the New York Liberty are teaming up to give music and basketball fan...
22/04/2026
New 20-minute documentary explores iconic design The Focusrite Room in Mesa, Arizona, where John Aquilino hosts the Studio Console 005.
In 2025, Focusrite co...
22/04/2026
Offers compact wireless solution for pedalboards
Taiwanese audio brand Cloudvocal have announced the availability of a new pedalboard-friendly wireless syst...
22/04/2026
Latest hybrid sampling/synthesis instrument arrives
Arturia's Augmented series offerings rely on a mixture of sampling and synthesis, allowing users to ...
22/04/2026
Combines three distinct analogue EQ emulations
The latest addition to Acustica Audio's ever-expanding collection of analogue-emulation plug-ins combines...
22/04/2026
Final instalment in vintage-inspired instrument series
Analog Empire: Bass & Lead marks the final instalment in Melda Production's vintage hardware-insp...
22/04/2026
Fuzz pedal joins all-analogue Series A line
Given that Strymons reputation was built on unapologetically digital pedals, it was a little surprising to see t...
22/04/2026
SBS names shortlisted brands for 2026 SBS Media Sustainability Challenge
22 April, 2026
Media releases
National broadcaster also releases its second annual...
22/04/2026
Why Low Band Electronic Warfare Matters...
22/04/2026
The nation unites around football team's World Cup dream
Warsaw, Poland, 20.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data, and media intell...
22/04/2026
Warsaw, Poland, 22.04.26: Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data...
22/04/2026
New market intelligence offering gives businesses a clearer view of local consum...
22/04/2026
Glookast Unveils New UX, YouTube and Social Media Connectors, Premiere Panel, Ci...
22/04/2026
Lightcraft Technology to Preview Spark Story at NAB 2026 with Interactive Previs...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/04/2026
22 Apr 2026
VEON's Banglalink to Bring Starlink Mobile to Customers in Bangladesh Bangladesh becomes the third market where VEON and Starlink Mobile partne...
22/04/2026
U have unveiled exclusive first-look images for their six-part police thriller Hit Point, starring Nick Blood (Day of the Jackal) and BAFTA nominee Saffron Hock...
22/04/2026
What can I watch on UKTV and stream on U this week?
This week on UKTV and the free streaming service U, viewers can watch a range of new and returning programm...
22/04/2026
Wednesday 22 April 2026
Sky announces fifth year of WNT Fund with 30,000 bursa...
22/04/2026
Back to All News
This Earth Day, Discover the Sustainable Productions Behind Our Films and Series
Emma Stewart, Ph.D.
Netflix Sustainability Officer
Enterta...
22/04/2026
The move from Retail Media to Commerce Media is about broadening the scope of th...
22/04/2026
April 22 2026, 07:00 (PDT) Dolby and BMW Bring Dolby Atmos to the BMW 7 Series,...
22/04/2026
RT Documentary On One 7-part series breaks US market for first time
RT Programme Sales has announced its first deal with a US distribution partner for its 7-...
22/04/2026
NVIDIA and Google Cloud have collaborated for more than a decade, co engineering a full stack AI platform that spans every technology layer - from performance o...
21/04/2026
Cloud-based production isnt going anywhere, and BitFire is doubling down by prov...
21/04/2026
The topic of artificial intelligence has a stranglehold on the sports-video-prod...
21/04/2026
5G is still a hot topic in live event production, and this workflow continues to...
21/04/2026
At the 2026 NAB Show, Ed McGivern, GM and President of Appear US, discusses the ...
21/04/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has announced an on-premise AI suite designed for...
21/04/2026
Suite Studios has integrated its file-streaming technology into the newly announced Frame.io Drive, a desktop application from Adobe company Frame.io. The colla...
21/04/2026
Net Insight has integrated InSync Technology's FrameFormer into the Nimbra E...