After successfully testing the Netstor 24 bay NA381TB Thunderbolt 2 RAID enclosure, LumaForge evaluated and demonstrated the newly launched Netstor NA265A PCIe expansion chassis for use in high-end production and post-production workflows.
“We’ve been working closely with AMD to test drive and launch their new professional OpenCL graphics cards, the FirePro W9100. These GPUs have 16 GBs of VRAM each and over 2800 stream processors and deliver the highest performance possible for 64 bit applications like Blackmagic Design’s DaVinci Resolve 11, Adobe Creative Cloud and RED’s Redcine-X Pro,” says Neil Smith, CEO LumaForge. “These high powered professional GPUs can either be placed inside the PC system or better still inside an external Gen 3.0 PCIe expansion chassis to provide more efficient airflow, cooling and optimal use of PCIe x 16 lane slots. We looked around the world for a well engineered and reliable PCIe expansion chassis and after extensive testing decided that the Netstor NA265A was perfect for the job – both in terms of performance and price!”
The Netstor NA265A is a professional grade, 19" rackmount PCIe Gen3 GPU enclosure and features four PCIe 3.0 ×16 slots and two PCIe 3.0 ×4 slots (optional) on a high speed backplane that accommodates all combinations of PCIe Gen3 ×1, ×4, ×8 and ×16 PCIe cards or multiple, high-performance GPU cards with PCIe Gen2 backward compatibility.
Brian Yu, Vice President, Netstor Technology, notes that, “The NA265A turns a server or workstation int a supercomputer for running GPU accelerated programs like DaVinci Resolve and Adobe Creative Cloud. The new generation of AMD FirePro professional graphics cards dramatically enhances the performance of OpenCL applications providing up to tens of times the processing power of the present-day multi-core CPU technology. Our extremely fast 128 Gbps connectivity bus ensures high-speed data transfer rates between the host PC and the GPU enclosure for high performance applications in the supercomputing, simulation and video post-production markets. We are pleased that a leading edge Solution Provider like LumaForge has thoroughly tested the NA265A and found it to be well suited to the demands of the Hollywood digital content creation market.”
The Netstor PCIe 3.0 GPU enclosure for multiple GPU cards is designed to work with mission critical tasks in the fields of high performance computing, telecommunications, data analysis, surveillance, and 4K post-production workflows. It allows multiple PCIe Gen3 GPU cards, RAID controller cards, FPGA cards, and audio/video accelerator cards to be combined with a server or workstation to extend their functionality without having to buy another PC or server.
The dedicated GPU enclosure provides a more than sufficient server-grade power supply with extra 6+2 pin PCIe power connectors for up to four (4) double-width GPU cards. Moreover, the patented, dedicated ventilation design and big cooling fans inside of NA265A offer highly efficient ventilation for GPUs totally relieving the heat loading of server or workstation.
Smith continues, “In production and post-production environments handling 4K footage, speed and reliability are imperative to the IT solutions we install. But so is the overall noise level of the systems customers require. The remarkable thing about the NA265A is how quiet it is even with three FirePro W9100 cards inside. The super-efficient design from the Netstor engineering team means that the three large, cooling fans inside the chassis can be kept on the lowest level for use with enclosed graphic cards like the W9100. But if facilities want to install passively cooled GPUs like the AMD S10000 range of server cards, then we can simply adjust the fans speeds to deliver a greater throughput of airflow and cooling.”
Key Features of the NA265A:
Solid heavy-duty cold-rolled steel housing·
Extremely High-Speed up to 128Gbps PCIe 3.0 x16 host connectivity
Dedicated server-grade power supply for GPU usage
Three quiet front 120x120x25 mm fan cooling for self-contained ventilation
Capable of up to four dual-slot GPU cards
Environmental Monitoring with Power/FAN/TEMP LEDs and mutable buzzer alarm
The combination of Netstor’s NA265A PCIe expansion chassis running the new AMD FirePro W9100 professional graphic cards offers tremendous benefits in terms of processing and delivering 4K content. “These new AMD OpenCL GPUs inside our Gen3 expansion chassis are bringing supercomputing performance at desktop prices to the post-production industry,” continues Yu. “Around the globe, the Media and Entertainment industry is moving rapidly to more collaborative 4K workflows where editors, VFX artists and colorists work together on digital projects. Being able to share storage and leverage GPU driven render farms is the key to increasing productivity and creativity.”
The combination of powerful PC workstations, Netstor NA265A expansion chassis with AMD FirePro GPUs and OpenCL architected applications like DaVinci Resolve, Adobe’s Creative Cloud and NUKE Studio from The Foundry are dramatically increasing the productivity and creativity of artists working with 4K video content.
“Up until now, post production facilities were limited by expensive and proprietary ‘Roll Royce’ type finishing tools but now with the move toward OpenCL and COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) based solutions running on standard PCs with AMD graphic cards installed inside a Netstor PCIe expansion chassis, the creative community can enjoy the benefits of tightly integrated IT solutions at a fraction of the cost of proprietary, closed legacy systems,” adds Smith.
For more information about LumaForge and its LumaSTATION workstation fitted with AMD FirePro GPUs and the Netstor NA265A expansion chassis, visit www.lumaforge.com.
For more information about Netstor Technologies and its products, visit www.netstor.com.tw.
For more information about AMD and its products, visit www.amd.com
AMD and FirePro are trademarks of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.. DaVinci Resolve and ‘Power Windows’ are the trademark of Blackmagic Design. All other trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.
