Fox Sports deploys new storage pools

Technology behind new production facility.

Fox Sports will house digital media content generated at its new Sydney production facility in pools of EMC Isilon storage.

The broadcaster is deploying pools of Isilon NL and X400 nodes as part of a broader infrastructure decision to base the facility's IT environment on Vblock, the combination of VMware, Cisco and EMC products.

Live high-definition broadcasts require about 50GB of storage every hour, meaning a weekend of programming could require up to 30TB to cater for the various "feeds and versions" of a single program.

"Combining Isilon NL and X400 nodes allows a single namespace that can simultaneously support large near-line media storage requirements with the rigours of high-throughput on-line storage of live HD content — direct-attached to editing workstations and real-time video servers," Fox Sports CTO Michael Tomkins said in a statement.

Vblock notably could provide a basis for cloud computing at the broadcaster, although there was no specific indication that Fox Sports was considering the transition.