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Professional video post-production teams should always create three backups of their work. The OWC Gemini RAID enclosure makes this process easier. Additionally, it is a docking station with a 2.5GbE network card
When it comes to archiving data for video projects, the process can quickly get complicated due to the size of the video files. You also have to juggle exports, renders, proxies, versions, and more. And the most secure archiving strategies require storing multiple copies of these assets in multiple locations.
Due to this complexity, most content creators operate without a good archiving strategy. You end up with different types of drives and combinations of docking stations, cables, and different software solutions.
If your archiving strategy needs improvement, OWC Gemini is the easiest way to start a secure and professional archiving process. Here's how to do it.
The 3-2-1 backup rule
According to NinjaOne, “The 3-2-1 backup rule says you should have at least three copies of your data; two of the backups should be stored on different types of media, and at least one backup should be stored off-site or in the cloud .
If you're a professional video creator, you should treat the 3-2-1 rule as the bare minimum when it comes to how you back up your footage. In fact, many filmmakers and other professionals go beyond the 3-2-1 rule, choosing to create more backups in more places than the rule recommends.
However, balance is also important. Ultimately, you don't want your archiving strategy to take up too much time. So it's up to you to determine the exact number of backups and locations your operation requires to avoid losing footage, while also realistically assessing how long it takes to archive each project. Fortunately, OWC Gemini makes this process much easier.
OWC Gemini was designed for easy video archiving, and it is not your typical archiving solution.
In terms of storage, the OWC Gemini has two bays with support for HDD or SSD drives. Because it's a Thunderbolt 3 case, the OWC Gemini is optimized for speed. By connecting OWC Gemini to your computer via Thunderbolt 3, you will achieve data transfer rates of up to 956 MB/s . This means backing up large projects to OWC Gemini will take minutes instead of hours.
But what makes Gemini truly special is its combination of fast storage and Thunderbolt docking capabilities.
Gemini's integrated SD card reader makes it easy to quickly transfer resources from the camera to disk for editing or archiving.
The OWC Gemini allows you to connect an additional Thunderbolt device (or chain of devices), an SD card, two USB-A devices, and an 8K display via the HDMI 2.1 port. The Thunderbolt port can also be used to connect a USB-C device, add another display, or charge Thunderbolt (USB-C) devices.
Additionally, you can connect to a local network to share and transfer content to that network or the cloud via the high-speed 2.5 Gbps RJ45 Ethernet port.
With its combination of storage and connectivity, the OWC Gemini is truly the only thing video professionals need on their desk. Apart from the computer, of course.
Archiving strategies with OWC Gemini
Two hard drive bays and support for RAID creation with SoftRAID make the OWC Gemini an excellent choice for archiving.
In addition to SoftRAID optimization, Gemini has a built-in hardware RAID controller. And if you're working on multiple platforms, you can easily connect Gemini to Mac and PC using OWC's MacDrive software (sold separately).
If you are archiving a single project, start at the 4TB level. And if you archive a lot of projects, you can build RAID up to 40 TB.
Once you've transferred your footage to OWC Gemini itself, it's also a good idea to store your master video export in the cloud. This way you will have your data in a second location. If you think you'll need to go back and edit this video again, you may want to consider uploading everything you shot for this project to the cloud.
However, storing data in the cloud is not cheap. And the thought of paying monthly to store data that may be used someday is a difficult proposition. So, putting the highest quality exports in the cloud makes sense and then making a few local copies on Gemini is a much better approach than most content creators do now.
For example, if you have a YouTube channel, the chances of you going back and using clips that didn't make it into the edit may be quite small. But if you're making a feature-length documentary, you may need interview segments that weren't cut.
Both of these types of projects are great for archiving on OWC Gemini. However, in the case of a movie, it is worth having an additional copy on a separate drive to be stored elsewhere in a fireproof safe.
Different storage levels in OWC Gemini
It's helpful to think about video storage in terms of how quickly you can use the footage. Here are some basic categories:
Online storage
Online storage refers to fast, working storage that is connected to your computer and used for editing. This will likely be the smallest capacity but fastest storage in the system. If you were using an OWC Gemini for this purpose, you would set it to RAID 0 and connect it via Thunderbolt. When using a Gemini for this purpose, you'd probably also want to equip the two available onboard bays with some SSDs instead of HDDs.
Nearline storage
This level of storage isn't as fast as online storage, but you probably won't access it very often. Let's assume you shot a commercial video and delivered the files. You can move your data from online storage to higher capacity, slower nearline storage over the next few months. This way you still have the data at hand if you need to review it again.
OWC Gemini's built-in drives can be used for nearline storage, but you can also connect nearline storage drives via the OWC Gemini's USB-A port for transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This way, you can use the Gemini as an editing drive while the USB-A connected drive is a nearline storage drive.
You can also connect a separate Thunderbolt drive to the Gemini to use it as an editing drive, while the Gemini's built-in OWC drives act as nearline storage.
Offline storage
Let's say six months have passed since we shot the commercial we talked about in the previous section. Perhaps it's time to put these files on the shelf as completely offline.
It's not a bad idea to specify in your contracts how long you will keep customer data. You can open the project in an editing application and use the consolidation feature. You can eliminate renders, old versions and proxies.
Once you've reduced the size of your project, you can use OWC Gemini to create two copies in the case and place them on the shelf. This is "offline". However, it is crucial to store the main export in the cloud. In the event of an earthquake, fire or theft in your office, you will still have full quality exports in the cloud.
"Cold" storage
If you want to create an off-site archive for all your footage, you can use a cold storage service. It's a relatively cheap solution, but it takes forever to upload or download.
Gemini can be used as a “stage” to transfer projects to cold storage. At this time, you can decide to wipe Gemini, but remember that you really still want to have another local copy. Gemini allows you to remove your drives so you can keep a copy for safekeeping.
Just remember that spinning drives and SSDs don't last forever on the shelf, so this Cold storage backup still needs to be periodically checked for data integrity.
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