Avid Technology SR2400, Setup Manual, Page: 22 / 90

Chapter 1 PortServer Overview
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The PortServer system can mount and share up to 21 workspaces; this number
is limited by the number of drive letters available in the Windows 2000
operating system. The workspaces that the PortServer system mounts are
defined in a
mount file . The mount file allows you to control which
workspaces are mounted using which drive letter.
You can add several PortServer systems to your MediaNetwork workgroup,
with each one accommodating several PortServer clients. Adding a PortServer
system does not affect your MediaNetwork workgroup’s ability to support
existing MediaNetwork Fibre Channel clients.
Each PortServer system uses one MediaSwitch16 port (reducing the total
number of MediaNetwork Fibre Channel clients you can connect by one). It
also uses one MediaNetwork Fibre Channel client license (reducing the total
number of MediaNetwork Fibre Channel client licenses that are available by
one).
n
A PortServer Pro system does not use a MediaNetwork Fibre Channel client
license.
PortServer Pro Workgroup
A PortServer Pro workgroup provides the same features as a PortServer
workgroup, with the added benefit of enabling you to edit, digitize or record,
and play media files on Avid editing workstations. You can perform these
operations from any Avid editing workstation that is using the Avid Ethernet
client software. You can also perform file copy and file transfer activities from
many Windows, Macintosh, and SGI nonediting clients.
The additional PortServer Pro functionality uses a high-performance
networking protocol optimized by Avid for real-time media transfer. A
PortServer Pro workgroup also includes a dedicated Ethernet switch that
facilitates the real-time media transfer between the PortServer system and its
clients. The Ethernet switch connects to the PortServer system through a
Gigabit Ethernet connection and to the MediaNetwork clients by a
100BASE-T or 1000BASE-T Ethernet connection.
n
Real-time media reads and writes are not possible unless the connected
Ethernet clients are running qualified Avid editing software and have the
Ethernet client software installed.