feature green broadcasting
for other media applications that must be kept separated, or they can be used for regular office applications. Cisco Nexus 7000 Series switches directly reduce overall DC power consumption by up to 8% because of efficient system design. Beyond this, the Cisco Nexus 7000 Series facilitates broader implementation of resource virtualisation across the data centre for further power and cooling savings.
Server and storage virtualisation
Broadcast and production systems that are used to implement workflows are increasingly becoming standards- based IT applications that can run on utility computing systems and use utility storage resources. In some application areas like transcoding, this is now the norm rather than the exception. Furthermore, many of these systems are used only infrequently, but when they are needed, they can become a critical bottleneck for the entire workflow. For example, a transcoding function may be required only when moving from an editing process to a mastering process. When the transcoding process is executed, the job’s time-to- completion is a function of the codec complexity, content duration, and the number of CPUs that can be employed simultaneously. If massive dedicated computing and storage resources (which otherwise remain idle for the duration of the editing process), are used to implement the transcoding function, they will dramatically reduce the transcoding time and
consequently the time-to-air. If these resources can be reused for other applications when not needed for
By moving to network- production and IT-based systems, the media industry can start using some of the best practices developed by IT over the last decade. These practices enable IT professionals to design power and cooling efficiencies in their facilities, particularly in their data centres. Applying these practices
will, in turn, help production technology professionals to dramatically decrease their carbon footprints and
ultimately help them achieve carbon neutrality in their own facilities.
transcoding, this can also dramatically reduce the carbon footprint. The Cisco Unified Computing System can be used very efficiently to implement such functions because it consolidates network, server, storage, and virtualisation resources into a single platform. The solution radically reduces equipment, power, cooling, and management costs, and lets media companies deliver exactly the right computing resources to all users, exactly when they need them. Increasing storage and optimising server utilisation allow for the decommissioning of underutilised assets and the setting of higher-use policies by server and storage administrators. In many cases storage asset utilisation can be increased up to 70% by using the network to enable any server to access any storage device, unlocking capacity previously dedicated to one server. This enables consolidation and decreases dependence on appliances that support server groups. Servers can be virtualised using software that allows multiple ‘virtual servers’ to run on one physical server. Fewer servers and better utilisation of storage mean less heat to cool, less energy to operate, less money spent on physical assets, and a smaller environmental footprint.
Local area network and storage area network consolidation
Broadcasters and programmers may maintain several tiers of storage technologies for various media applications, presenting a variety of performance requirements and associated costs. Connectivity to these storage systems is implemented using local area network (LAN) or storage area network (SAN) technologies, and usually both an extensive fibre channel and Ethernet infrastructure has to be maintained through the entire production facility.
The Cisco Nexus family of products gives data centre and production facility designers the opportunity to transform data centre infrastructure from an isolated fabric topology (IFT) to a unified fabric topology (UFT). IFTs rely on equipment that provides fixed- configuration access layer transport, such as devices that support Ethernet and fibre channel only. UFTs use standards-based IEEE Ethernet and IEEE data centre bridging technologies at 10 Gbps to provide a wired-network- speed, lossless fabric that enables
18 l ibe l march/april 2010 l www.ibeweb.com
server I/O consolidation and fibre channel over Ethernet (FCoE). There are many benefits for the infrastructure of implementing UFT. UFT allows you to increase the bandwidth to the server and reduce the number of physical adapters used, the number of active components that need to be managed, and the cable and overall power and cooling requirements.
With a unified fabric, media companies can consolidate servers, storage architectures, and cabling, and substantially improve energy efficiency.
Energy-efficient headends
Once media content is available for playout, it must be encoded and multiplexed for broadcast in the headend. The headend is permanently on and can involve hundreds of power-hungry devices. Thus it is vital that environmental issues are addressed in this area of the broadcaster’s business. Traditionally, headends have consisted of individual encoding devices, one per video service, connected via ASI routers to a number of multiplexers. Recent advances in high-density encoding, routed backplanes, and IP-based routing enable a new headend architecture with a much lower carbon footprint. For example, Cisco’s latest encoder platform, the D9036 encoder, is able to encode eight services within the same 1-RU chassis space that was traditionally used for just one service, while at the same time providing enhanced video quality. This is not simply a matter of reducing the space requirements. It also has a number of environmental benefits, including as little as one sixth of the power consumption compared to previous generation models.
The power and density savings are even more dramatic for transcoding devices. The Cisco Digital Content Manager (DCM), for instance, can provide up to 48 transcoded, standard definition services within a 2-RU chassis, resulting in a power consumption per service of only 4.2W. In addition to the encoding and transcoding improvements, using IP connectivity will significantly reduce cabling requirements while the latest generation of multiplexers can carry out the job of many older-generation devices. In the case of the Cisco DCM, it is possible to generate 50 times more outputs.
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