NAB 2012: ATTO Technology

ATTO Technology displayed its entire range of storage and network connectivity products at NAB 2012, introducing its new Thunderbolt Desklink devices ThunderLink and ThunderStream. "When Thunderbolt was announced last year at NAB, everybody asked for it," said Vice President of Sales and Marketing Wayne Arvidson. "We already had it in the works, and now these products - ThunderLink and ThunderStream - will ship in one month. Going from 6Gb/s to 10Gb/s performance is what our customers want."

ThunderLink and ThunderStream products allow portable devices (that in the past incorporated FireWire and USB connections) access to external 6Gb SAS/SATA storage, 8Gb Fibre Channel and 10Gb Ethernet networks via Thunderbolt at performance levels not previously attainable. The new ThunderLink and ThunderStream Desklink devices are the first to be launched for ATTO's new line of products.

The ThunderStream and the ThunderLink

The ThunderLink family allows Thunderbolt-enabled products to leverage ATTO's latest technology for access to Fibre Channel and SAS/SATA storage as well as Ethernet network connectivity previously unavailable for portable devices. The ThunderStream line enhances this connectivity and consists of embedded or desktop SAS/SATA RAID Storage Controller products, designed to optimize unified storage typically found in the media and entertainment market.

Also new at NAB 2012 was ATTO's ExpressSAS 6Gb/s H6F0 Adapter with PCIe 3.0 designed for high bandwidth applications, including real-time capture of High Definition video. Featuring proprietary technology designed specifically for media and entertainment applications, the FastFrame 10Gb Network Interface Card highlighted support of Windows, Mac and Linux platforms, with very low power consumption for its class. The demonstration streamed multiple videos via Ethernet.

ATTO Technology also did a technology demonstration of its Celerity 16Gb/s Fibre Channel HBAs, teamed with a Facilis Terrablock storage solution to exhibit a highly flexible enterprise storage solution. In this consistent, high-performance bandwidth environment, multiple users running any video application can share, store and manage a pool of RAID protected storage. This configuration is ideal for those who need uninterrupted access to media, and maximum performance; users can edit up to five streams of 10-bit uncompressed HD video or 30 streams of DVCPro HD video without needing a Fibre Channel switch. ATTO and NetApp have also teamed together to produce benchmarks of over 22 streams of 10-bit uncompressed HD video by combining the NetApp Media Content Management solution and ATTO Celerity Fibre Channel HBAs with Multipath Director. This is available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux operating systems.

The ATTO ExpressSAS H6F0 GT provides high-speed 6Gb/s performance at 600MB/s per port.

Another demonstration highlighted ATTO's partnership with global engineering company Ci Design, featuring the FastStream RAID controller and Thunderbolt storage solutions focused on shared storage solutions for high-performance workflows for optimized performance for audiovideo assets.

ATTO also teamed up with Telestream for live software demonstrations that showcased Telestream's high-performance video applications for capture, playback, transcoding and management of automated video workflows. Telestream applications highlighted included Vantage, Episode, Pipeline, FlipFactory and Agility 2G, all powered by ATTO's Celerity Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs).

Also at NAB 2012, ATTO Technology announced its participation in the Avid Certified Program, acknowledging the ATTO ExpressSAS 6Gb/s R680 RAID Adapter as fully compatible with Avid DS, Media Composer and Symphony professional editing software. ATTO also expanded Accelerate, an initiative offering unique sales and marketing opportunities for resellers and system integrators, to international partners.

Today's digital workflow relies on network connectivity and storage. Although this piece of the puzzle gets less attention than the glitzier pieces it connects, any workflow is dead in the water without it. ATTO Technology has continued its strategy of staying on top of the latest technology to keep its offerings on the cutting edge, this year with its Thunderbolt-powered products. ATTO's diligent efforts in teaming up with a wide variety of powerful partners ensure its relevance and success in this most challenging environment.

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