Post production has its own language, but as we incorporate the cloud more and more into production and post, we need to integrate and adopt cloud vernacular. In an effort to help pros better understand what it all means, we’ve asked Michael Kammes of 5 Things to explain a few commonly used cloud terms.
Here, Michael explains what CSP, Regions, Latency, Object/Block/Tiered Storage and Egress means as they relate to professional cloud-based workflows.
CSP
Remember back in the ‘90s when the term ”ISP” popped up? That’s your Internet Service Provider. It’s the company whose services get you online. CSP is similar. It stands for Cloud Service Provider — meaning, the company whose cloud services you utilize online. The biggies are usually Amazon’s AWS, Microsoft’s Azure and Google’s GCP. All of these offer hardware and software not only to store content, but also to manipulate it. The whole enchilada. Other providers, like Wasabi or Backblaze, are also CSPs, but they only really offer one thing: storage.
Regions
As I’m sure you know, the cloud is just someone else’s data center, and it can be either public or private. The location of these data centers is what is known as regions. In AWS, for example, the US-West-1 region is located in San Jose, California. This is important, as anyone located in this part of the country would probably be best served to use this region for faster access to the services that that CSP region provides. However, faster access and being located near heavily populated areas usually means a slightly elevated price. Thus, it falls on you to
Latency
With the cloud, latency is the delay it takes for an action to occur. When it comes to cloud computing, this is usually measured in milliseconds. As an example, think of how long it takes for you to request a web page and for it to load on your screen. That time is latency. If you’re using the cloud for realtime functions, like video or VFX editing, latency is the great equalizer. When you hit play on your timeline and it’s referencing media in a data center thousands of miles away, there will be a slight delay between your key press and
So, the key is to use a CSP who has a data center in a nearby region. Also, correct things on your end that will add latency. Things like using Wi-Fi, working on a busy network, having 60 tabs open in Chrome while streaming Netflix or using a dumpster fire screen-sharing app.
Object/Block/Tiered Storage
Storage in the cloud is one of the most misunderstood things out there. It’s also pretty boring, so I understand why it’s misunderstood.
Cloud storage mirrors the usual multiple storage types we have at our office. This is known as a Tiered storage approach. Let’s review that first.
First, we have Online storage – which is usually a fast SAN or NAS that you work directly from. It’s also known as Tier I. It’s the most expensive type of storage.
And as a side note, I know the name is “online.” Sadly, this Tier of storage was named before the internet exploded, and thus Online, in this context, doesn’t mean “on the internet.” Online means always available to the end user.
Next, we have Nearline Storage, which is usually a larger-capacity but slower NAS. It has the content you occasionally need, but you’re not working from it all day long. This is known as Tier II storage and is less expensive that the fast Tier I storage.
We then get into Backup and Archive, which is usually dirt-cheap media that will rarely, if ever, be used. Thus, they’re slower than other storage tiers and not always immediately accessible. They’re known as Tier III and Tier IV, respectively.
How does this play into the cloud? Well CSPs have adopted the same methodology, and that means the performance and pricing differ.
So, your online Tier I storage in the cloud– the fastest and the most available – is the most expensive. In AWS, this is what’s known as EBS, or Elastic Block Storage. Elastic Block Storage provides faster access for many applications and increased speeds with lower latency. It’s what you should always use when editing video or VFX.
Less expensive tiers of cloud storage — such as S3 or even Wasabi, Backblaze, Dropbox, and Google Drive — use Object Storage “under the hood” and are meant as holding areas for media, not to be used in real time for best performance.
Egress
Egress fees, to me, are a slap in the face. CSPs allow you to upload all the content you want. And you pay for it in terms of space used per month. But let’s say you want to download that content or move it to another CSP. Well, certain CSPs feel you should pay for each bit and byte you move off of their platform. This is what is known as egress charges. Prices vary wildly, but a good ballpark is about $75/TB.
Instances
The cloud loves to use the term “Instance.” We can narrow the use of the term Instance down to two variants: Instance Type and Instance Size.
The cloud is an erector set. And that erector set allows users to choose hardware configurations to accomplish what they need. This includes CPU power and sometimes GPU models, RAM and even storage type. Instance Types are the preconfigured sets of hardware.
However, many users want to tweak these Instance Types by boosting certain features, like more RAM or a faster CPU. This is what Instance Size is.
If you were ordering a pizza, for example, the Instance Type would be a small, medium or large pizza. The instance Size would be things like extra cheese.
And of course, each Instance Type and Instance Size has its own associated costs.
And there you have it! Your primer on cloud terms for post production.
Want to learn more about post? Continue to check out postPerspective or my tech web series, 5 Things, and watch my video here.
Michael Kammes is a creative technology workflow consultant, and former audio engineer. He’s also the creator and host of the 5 Things podcast.
