Trying to figure out a workflow and solving issue with a NAS
I recently invested in a NAS Asustor AS 6704T Gen 2 ( a first time), extras 10G switch and everything else to get a better 2 editors workflow using FCP and a better storage solution.
I did spend a lot of time doing research since I am full noob on technical stuffs related to network but...didn't think there could be an issue with FCP libs, NAS not being an APFS volume....thanks Apple.
I have never had the intention to edit directly on the NAS but I realized I may sometimes have to open an FCP lib already archived on the NAS for a quick modification, drag and drop an element or event from one lib to another and so on.
Long story short:
FCP libs get corrupted as soon as my modify a Project name and FCP throw me an error message stating that it can't read my library anymore. I try to open it twice again and then it work again... weird, not trustworthy. Any idea why ?
I have read threads here and there to optimize settings and have done the best (SMB 3, SMB 2 lowest, SMB signing set on default, enable Samba VFS, and even went to the Samba config file through terminal to add a line" Durable Handles 2048 " since the latest ADM version on the NAS doesn't offer a graphical interface to get this setting.
My volume is a 2 x10TB ironwolf in Raid 0 , BRTF file system (remembered hearing it was better than ext4 for some reasons, yet, still not APFS of course), I have 2 x 1TB Nvme used for Read only cache
Long story long :
My network is the following
I work on an external 2TB SSD connected to my laptop for professional work as I have always done, I am connected in 10G to a Qnap unmanaged 10Gbps switch in another room.
My wife works on our personal projects like youtube and others on another 2TB SSD connected to her laptop in that aforementioned other room where is is also connected to that Qnap unmanaged 10Gbps switch. Her older laptop is only using a 2.5G adapter for now though as the whole investment was already a lot for me at the moment. It may be a tad limiting if we want to edit at the same time from her SSD connected to her laptop.
The NAS uses SMB multichannel to benefit of its 2 x 5Gbps LAN ports connected to the 10G switch.
Finally that switch is connected to the entrance box where another Qnap 2.5G + 10G switch receives internet, sends it over to a wifi router, distributes the cables going to the rooms in 10G.
Our workflow is the following:
We work on our own external SSDs plugged into our laptops, I sometimes access hers if I need to work on personal stuffs too, our media files are in a dedicated Footage folder on these SSDS, I don't import them into FCP libraries,
At night, I back up everything these 2 SSDS to a bigger SSD connected to my laptop using CCC, then I back up this big SSD to my NAS also using CCC
Finally I back up that NAS using the Asustor Backpu central app to an Akitio box connected to the NAS through USB with also 2x10TB ironwolf drives which are not aggregated, then the NAS should backup the most critical 10TB to an Hetzner storage box using Syncovery (If I manage to get it work correctly cause for now it keeps getting stuck on an FCP library which contains too many files- I guess - despite having set up exclusion masks...)
Once a project is finished, I planned to consolidate our libraries, export a clean version of the edit and delete all the footage to get a smaller footprint, all contained inside the corresponding FCP library and move it manually to the NAS. Nothing left on the SSDS.
Problem is, it would be convenient not having to copy back these FCP libraries locally if I had to access something or do a quick modification but afraid of getting them corrupted but I could accept this if I was at least sure that simply storing them on the NAS without opening them wouldn't compromise their integrity.
I also wish I can avoid having to compress them to send them to the cloud cause this would add another tasks and I would need to redo all the copies I have already spent doing....
I know it s a messy post, as messy as all this stuff is for me. NAS is complicated, even more so with FCP, I didn't expect that but don't want to go back to my older workflow which became cumbersome as projects increased, and less versatile for collaborative work.
I'd appreciate any feedback.
Take care of you, and your valuable data