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This product is subject to the terms and conditions of a software license agreement provided with the software. The product may only be used in accordance
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This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents.
This guide is protected by copyright. This guide is for your personal use and may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, without permission of
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Part of the software embedded in this product is gSOAP software.
Portions created by gSOAP are Copyright (C) 2001-2004 Robert A. van Engelen, Genivia inc. All Rights Reserved.
THE SOFTWARE IN THIS PRODUCT WAS IN PART PROVIDED BY GENIVIA INC AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT
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Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee,
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This Software may contain components licensed under the following conditions:
Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms
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WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Copyright (C) 1989, 1991 by Jef Poskanzer.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the
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is provided " as is" without express or implied warranty.
Copyright 1995, Trinity College Computing Center. Written by David Chappell.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the
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Copyright 1996 Daniel Dardailler.
Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice
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Modifications Copyright 1999 Matt Koss, under the same license as above.
Copyright (c) 1991 by AT&T.
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ii
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Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.
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“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,”
including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s
failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including
but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use
reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised,
knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.
The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:
“Videomedia, Inc. makes no warranties whatsoever, either express or implied, regarding this product, including warranties with respect to its merchantability
or its fitness for any particular purpose.”
“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN
ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of
applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”
The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:
Avid Interplay contains components licensed from LavanTech. These components may only be used as part of and in connection with Avid Interplay.
Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend
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Trademarks
Avid, the Avid Logo, Avid Everywhere, Avid DNXHD, Avid DNXHR, Avid NEXIS, AirSpeed, Eleven, EUCON, Interplay, iNEWS, ISIS, Mbox, MediaCentral,
Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pro Tools, ProSet and RealSet, Maestro, PlayMaker, Sibelius, Symphony, and all related product names and logos, are
registered or unregistered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission
of the Interplay Entertainment Corp. which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For a
full list of Avid trademarks, see: http://www.avid.com/US/about-avid/legal-notices/trademarks.
The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.:
APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING
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WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH
SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.
Avid NEXIS Administration Guide Version 18.11 • Created 11/26/18 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form
only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.
The Avid NEXIS® software-defined storage system provides a high-performance distributed file system that
contains high-capacity shared media storage for workgroups of connected devices. This user’s guide describes
how to connect your client system to the storage system, mount Workspaces, and configure your system for best
performance.
Unless noted otherwise, the material in this document applies to the Windows
systems.The majority of screen shots in this document were captured on a Windows system, but the information
applies to all operating systems. Where differences exist, information on the differences is provided.
The documentation describes the features and hardware of all models. Your system might not contain certain
features and hardware that are covered in this guide.
Who Should Use This Guide
This guide is intended for users who need to manage the Avid NEXIS media network. You should have a basic
understanding of how to use and manage the Windows operating system or the Mac OS X systems, and you
should be familiar with basic workgroup and network concepts.
®
, Mac OS® X, and Linux operating
Symbols and Conventions
Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:
Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action
n
c
w
A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong
suggestions.
A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you
to lose data.
A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this
document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.
A user tip provides a helpful hint that can aid users in getting the most from their system.
n
n
A shortcut shows the user keyboard or mouse shortcuts for a procedure or command.
>This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the order you select them. For
example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.
This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you
perform one of the actions listed.
(Windows), (Windows
only), (Macintosh), or
(Macintosh only)
This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating system, either
Windows or Macintosh OS X.
Bold fontBold font is primarily used in task instructions to identify user interface items and keyboard
sequences.
Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action
Italic fontItalic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.
Courier Bold font
Ctrl+key or mouse actionPress and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the mouse action. For
| (pipe character)The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as Interplay | Production. In this
If You Need Help
If you are having trouble using your Avid product:
1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important
to check each step of your workflow.
2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published.
Always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is
updated whenever new information becomes available. To view the online versions, visit the Knowledge
Base at www.avid.com/support.
3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or
hardware-related issues.
4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/support. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7
days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error messages, to access
troubleshooting tips, to download upgrades, and to read or join online message-board discussions.
Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.
example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.
document, the pipe is used in product names when they are in headings or at their first use in
text.
Accessing the Online Documentation
The Avid online documentation contains all the product documentation in PDF format. You can access the
documentation from the Knowledge Base site specific to your release. Download and install Acrobat Reader
before you access the PDF documentation.
Avid Training Services
Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid
understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually
updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and
competitive work environment.
For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit
www.avid.com/support and follow the Training links, or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).
2
1Configuring and Managing the System
This chapter describes how to complete the setup of a new Avid NEXIS system after either physically installing it
and installing the software, as described in the Avid NEXIS Setup and Maintenance Guide, or provisioning anAvid
NEXIS Cloud Storage system. Avid has partnered with Microsoft Azure to offer cloud-based media storage.
To configure an Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage system, you must have a storage account either with Microsoft Azure
or with Avid, and a license from Avid. Avid will provision an Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage system for you.
This chapter also covers routine system management, including setting bandwidth limits, and performing software
upgrades.
Cloud Setup Prerequisites
To configure an Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage system, you need the following.
RequirementDescription or Comment
Azure subscription and credentialsIf you have your own Azure account, you must have the correct credentials
from Azure.
If Avid is provisioning the system for you, Avid will enter the credentials.
Avid NEXIS Storage AccountSupplied either by Azure or Avid.
Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage License FileSupplied by Avid.
Avid NEXIS Setup Overview
To make an Avid NEXIS on-premise or Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage system fully usable to clients, do the
following:
1. Create the file system. See “Creating the Avid NEXIS File System” on page 2.
2. Bind Media Packs to the file system. See “Binding Media Packs to the File System” on page 2.
3. Set the system time. See “Setting the System Time” on page 3.
4. Configure notification to send email to one or more accounts when a problem occurs. See “Configuring the
Notification Service” on page 4.
5. Create one or more Storage Groups from the Media Packs, depending on your hardware and what kind of
Workspace protections you want to use. See “Managing Storage” on page 24.
6. Create user or device accounts to allow clients to connect to Workspaces. You can do one or both of the
following:
-Create user accounts on the Avid NEXIS system itself (see “Managing Users” on page 53).
-Configure Avid NEXIS to connect to an LDAP server to authenticate external users (see “Configuring
External Authentication of Users” on page 57).
7. Create Workspaces within the Storage Groups. See “Managing Storage” on page 24.
In addition, see the following to make your system more secure and robust (some apply only to on-premise
systems):
•“Changing the Administrator Password” on page 5
•“Configuring DNS Service” on page 5
•“Changing the BMC Password” on page 6
•“Changing the Storage System Name” on page 9
•“Enabling Link Aggregation” on page 10
Creating the Avid NEXIS File System
Creating a new file system is the first step to making the storage space usable.
If a file system already exists, creating a new one permanently deletes it and all users, groups, Workspaces,
n
Storage Groups and other objects. All Media Packs are unbound; all other settings, such as External
Authentication and Notification Service, are cleared and must be reconfigured after the new file system is created;
and the Administrator password (if changed) reverts to the default.
To create a new file system:
1. Open a browser and enter either the hostname (if DNS is configured) or the IP address of the System Director.
The Management Console login window opens.
2. Enter the user name “administrator” and the administrator password (default is se-admin) and click Sign In.
3. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then Settings.
4. Click File System.
5. From the drop-down box, select Create New File System, then click Submit.
A confirmation screen appears, asking you to confirm the operation, which will destroy all existing data (if
any) on the Avid NEXIS system, and create a new file system.
6. Click OK.
The Results panel displays progress messages. When the file system is created, you can complete the system
configuration.
Binding Media Packs to the File System
After you have created an active file system, bind the Media Packs to it. For Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage, the only
option is Cloud performance and is applied automatically.
2
Binding a Media Pack formats it to a specific performance capability:
•High performance Media Packs are intended specifically for high-bandwidth media playback, such as UHD/
4K finish and color-correction workflows. Choose the strip size of 1024KB.
•Scale-Out performance Media Packs are suitable for a broad variety of workflows up to the supported client
count for your Avid NEXIS model. Choose the default strip size of 512KB.
•SSD performance Media Packs are available only on an Avid NEXIS | E2 SSD Engine and are intended for
playback of ultra high bandwidth media. Media Packs in this Engine type are bound automatically at a strip
size optimized for the best performance.
•For Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage, the only option is Cloud performance and is applied automatically.
Media Pack performance types cannot be changed while the pack is bound. To change a Media Pack’s
performance type, unbind it and then rebind it as a different performance type (not supported on Avid NEXIS | E2
SSD Engines or Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.)
To bind the Media Packs:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click Storage, then Media Packs.
2. Select a Media Pack.
3. Click Bind.
4. A warning dialog is displayed asking you to confirm the operation. Click OK.
5. In the Media Pack Bind Settings dialog box, choose the bind setting for the Media Pack:
tCloud systems—Only the Cloud bind setting is available
t512KB Scale-Out Performance
t1024KB High Performance
6. Click Save.
When the Media Pack is bound, its icon changes from white to green, and the state is Spare - Bound.
7. Create a Storage Group. See “Creating a Storage Group” on page 28.
Setting the System Time
For on-premise systems, you can configure the system time manually or use one or two external NTP servers. (If
you configure an NTP server and enter the system time manually, the NTP server takes precedence.)
You typically set the system time or configure NTP servers during initial system setup, but you can change the
system time or the NTP server information (for example if the IP address of an NTP server changed) at any time.
For Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage, the system time and NTP Servers are configured automatically during the Azure
provisioning process. You can change the NTP server to one that is accessible from Azure.
To set system time, or add or change and NTP server:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
2. Click the Date/Time tab.
3. To configure an NTP server, check the box and enter the IP addresses or host names for up to two NTP servers
on your network.
3
4. To set the date and time manually:
a.Enter the current date and time in the fields (on-premise only).
b.Choose a time zone from the list.
5. Click Save.
A warning message asks you to confirm the action. Click OK, or click Reset to undo the changes.
Configuring the Notification Service
The Notification service watches the system logs and sends email to one or more addresses you configure. The
service supports filters that allow you to specify the type of error message that triggers an email notification and to
set parameters for each type of error message—Error, Warning, and Information messages.
You can configure Avid NEXIS to send notification emails for one or more of the following subsystem categories
and the severity level that will trigger notification:
•Server Control — Reports messages about internal operations, including problems saving metadata to disk
•System Director — Reports messages about the Avid NEXIS file system, metadata, memory, system drives,
and the System Director IP address and networking
•Avid Storage General — Reports messages about Workspaces (such as changing its size), password changes,
Media Packs, and network communication errors detected by an Avid NEXIS component
•Storage Manager General — Reports messages about general Media Pack operations, such as initialization
and status changes
To configure the Notification Service:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click Users, then Notifications.
2. In the configuration panel, do the following:
a.Enter the IP address for your network’s SMTP (email) server.
b.(Optional) If your SMTP server uses a port other than 25 (default), enter the port number. Port 25 is
appropriate for most cases.
c.Enter at least one email address that will receive the notifications.
d.Click Save.
3. To add more than one name, click Add in the Contacts area. There is no enforced limit to the number of
contacts you can add.
a.Enter a name for the contact in the Name field. This can be any name you want to assign to the user; it
does not have to be the same as the email account name.
b.Enter a valid email address for the contact.
4. In the Filters panel, check the boxes according to which types of errors from which subsystems you want the
contacts to receive notice for.
5. Click Save.
-A confirmation message is displayed in the Results area.
-If you started or stopped the Notification Service, the Service State will change to reflect the new service
state.
6. (Optional) To test the notification settings, click Run Test.
The Results area displays the status (success or failure) of the test.
4
Changing the Administrator Password
For on-premise systems, the default password for the Management Console Administrator is se-admin before a
file system has been created. If a file system exists, the default password is blank. The Administrator password for
Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage is set at the time of provisioning.
Avid highly recommends that you set or change the Administrator password when you configure an on-premise
system.
See “Guidelines for Names and Passwords” on page 20 for valid password characters and the maximum length.
To change the Administrator password:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click Users, then Administrator.
2. Type the current Administrator password in the Current Password field.
3. Type the new Administrator password in the New Password field.
4. Type the new Administrator password again in the Verify Password field.
5. Click Submit.
-The Administrator Password is changed to the new value.
-A confirmation message appears in the Results area.
If you forget the Administrator password you have created, contact Avid Customer Care.
n
Configuring DNS Service
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
If your network environment includes one or more Domain Name servers, you can add the Avid NEXIS system to
the DNS service, and add the DNS domain to Avid NEXIS. This enables you to open the Management Console
using the System Director host name, instead of the IP address. Enabling DNS also allows you to use LDAP for
external user authentication; for more information, see “Configuring External Authentication of Users” on
page 57.
To configure DNS:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
2. In the Domain Name Service area, enter the following information:
-The DNS domain you want the Avid NEXIS system to join, without the top level domain.
(For example, if your domain name is Example.com, enter Example in the domain name field, but not
“.com”.)
-One or more IP addresses for the DNS servers in your environment, separated by spaces
-(Optional) Additional domains in your environment (if applicable) to search through when trying to
resolve a host name.
3. Click Save.
If you enter an invalid IP address, an error message is displayed.
4. Add the Avid NEXIS system to your DNS service.
5
Securing the Avid NEXIS Infrastructure
If your environment requires tight security, you can restrict access to the Management Console using TLS
(Transport Layer Security, often referred to as SSL) encryption, and you can change the BMC password.
Securing Access to the Management Console
By default, the Management Console uses unencrypted HTTP. However, you can also run the Management
Console using HTTPS (TLS). When TLS is enabled, the Avid NEXIS generates a self-signed certificate that
prompts a browser warning.
To run the Management Console unencrypted:
tOpen a browser and enter: http://<IP address>
The browser bar looks like the following:
To run the Management Console encrypted:
tOpen a browser and enter: https://<IP address>
The browser bar looks like the following, but the traffic is being encrypted and is secure:
Changing the BMC Password
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
The Avid NEXIS system has several passwords:
•The Administrator password, used when you log into the Management Console. You can change this at any
time.
•The password you use for initial system setup (
•The password for the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller), which is a low-level process on the Storage
Controller that manages the BIOS, MAC addresses, and other internal functions (on-premise only).
By default, the BMC password has been set at the factory to be the same as the system setup password (
), but this could be a security concern in some environments.
admin
If your lab environment or company requires it, you can change the BMC password to prevent unauthorized
access to the hardware.
se-admin
for on-premise systems).
se-
6
To change the BMC password:
1. Connect a computer or laptop to the Management Port on the Storage Controller, as shown:
2. Open a browser window and go to the address:
169.254.10.250
controller.
root
3. Log in using the user name
and the password
4. In the BMC interface, click the Configuration tab.
se-admin
, which is the default IP address of the BMC
.
7
5. Select Users from the pull-down menu.
6. Click Modify User.
7. Click the Change Password checkbox, enter a new password in the Password and Confirm Password
fields, then click Modify.
8
8. Click OK.
9. Log out of the BMC interface.
Changing the Storage System Name
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
The Storage System name represents all the Avid NEXIS Engines (and the System Director Appliance, if
applicable) operating as one shared-storage system.
The name can be up to 31 English alphanumeric characters long, any combination of upper and lower case (a-z
and A-Z), can contain a dash or hyphen (-), and must start and end with a letter or number.
Renaming the system requires a reboot. You might want to perform this change when clients are not connected
and actively using the system.
Change all the non-System Director Engines first, then change the SDA or Engine running the System Director
n
last.
9
To change the Storage System Name:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
2. Select any Engine not running the System Director. Click System.
3. Enter a new name into the Storage System Name field, then click Save.
A confirmation message is displayed stating that the system might reboot. Click OK.
When the system reboots, a message is displayed stating that the system is rebooting and will attempt to
reconnect. The amount of time remaining until reconnection is displayed and counts down in real time.
When the remaining time has elapsed, you can log into the Management Console again.
4. Repeat this procedure on all Engines except the SDA or the one running the System Director.
5. Change the Storage System Name on the SDA or the Engine running the System Director. Make sure this is
the last Engine to be changed.
When the last Engine has rebooted, clients can reconnect to the system. Users might need to refresh the host
list in the Client Manager to see the new name.
Enabling Link Aggregation
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
If your environment supports and requires it, you can configure link aggregation (also called redundant
networking, NIC teaming, link bundling, or port trunking) on the network ports on each controller, which provides
redundancy in case one network port fails. The Avid NEXIS implementation follows the Link Aggregation
Control Protocol (LACP) standard. (Link aggregation is not supported on Avid NEXIS | PRO.)
n
c
LACP is supported in systems with one or two Controllers, but if two Controllers are present, it is enabled on
both. The Ethernet ports on all installed Controllers must be connected to one or more supported switches.
In a configuration with multiple Engines or a System Director Appliance, you enable LACP on each Engine and
the System Director Appliance individually, in any order. Furthermore, you can choose which chassis have LACP
enabled. For instance, you can enable LACP only on the Engine running the System Director (or the System
Director Appliance), or on all Engines (and the System Director Appliance), or any combination, based on your
needs.
The overall procedure for enabling LACP is as follows:
1. Enable LACP on the switch.
2. Enable LACP on the Avid NEXIS.
3. Connect the cables between the switch and the Avid NEXIS.
Enabling link aggregation is a disruptive process that temporarily causes loss of connection. Therefore Avid
recommends enabling LACP during initial system setup and configuration, or during a maintenance window, and
connecting a computer to the Management Port on the target Engine or SDA to maintain access.
To enable link aggregation:
1. Enable link aggregation on the connected switch or switches. For more information, see the Avid NEXIS
Network and Switch Guide.
The switch will lose connectivity to the Avid NEXIS system until LACP is enabled on Avid NEXIS and the
cables are connected.
10
2. Connect a computer to the Avid NEAvid NEXISXIS Engine or SDA via the Management Port.
3. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
4. Click Interfaces.
5. In the Data Interface section, check the box for Link Aggregation.
6. Click Save.
A warning confirmation message warns you that the engine might reboot. Click OK.
When the system restarts, link aggregation is enabled on the network ports on all installed controllers.
If an error occurs with the LACP configuration, a status message is displayed.
7. Connect cables from both NIC ports on the Controllers to the LACP-enabled switch. See the Avid NEXIS Setup and Maintenance Guide for example LACP cable configurations.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 7 on all chassis (Engines or SDA) on which you want LACP enabled.
To disable link aggregation:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
2. Click Interfaces.
3. In the Data Interfaces section, uncheck the box for Link Aggregation.
4. Click Save.
A confirmation message warns you that the engine might reboot. Click OK.
When the system restarts, link aggregation is disabled on the network ports on all installed controllers.
To verify or monitor the status of link aggregation on the controllers, see “Managing Controllers” on page 44.
Upgrading the System
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
When new releases of the Avid NEXIS software are available, you can upgrade the Avid NEXIS clients and
system to take advantage of new features and bug fixes.
All the system components (Engines and System Director Appliance, if applicable) are updated at the same time,
through one operation.
To upgrade an Avid NEXIS System:
1. On your local computer, download the new software from Avid, using your support account.
2. Unzip the software on your computer.
3. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
4. Click the Install tab.
5. Click Choose File (or Browse on Firefox), navigate to the location of the software kit contents that you just
unzipped, and select the .bin file.
6. Click Upgrade.
The kit is installed on each member of the system.
The current login session ends, closing the Management Console. When the system reboots, the login screen
is displayed.
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7. Log back in to the Management Console.
8. Click Dashboard (if not already displayed) and look under the System heading to confirm the new version.
Changing the System IP Address
This section does not apply to Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage.
If your network changes or you need to move your Avid NEXIS shared-storage system to a new location on a
different network, you can change the IP addresses of all the Engines and the SDA (all the Controllers in the
system).
The Avid NEXIS system will reboot during this process. Make sure clients are not trying to access Workspaces.
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If the system uses NTP servers, DNS, LDAP, SNMP or SMTP, and those servers’ addresses are also changing,
you can change the configuration while changing the Avid NEXISI IP addresses.
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Put any Interplay | Media Indexer servers or MediaCentral Media Index services connected to the Avid
NEXIS into standby mode until after all the IP addresses are changed and the entire shared-storage system
has finished rebooting.
Before You Begin
Make sure you have the following:
•Range of new IP addresses for all the system components
•For Avid NEXIS systems using external servers for services, new IP addresses of these servers if they are also
changing
Changing IP Addresses Through the Management Console
To change the system IP addresses:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then System Setup.
2. Select the SDA, if applicable, or any Engine.
3. On the blue System tab, if using DNS, edit the DNS domain, server list and search list, if they are also
changing.
4. Click the blue Interfaces tab.
5. Edit the IP address, netmask and gateway for the installed Controllers. (The second Controller inherits these
values from the first Controller.)
6. If using NTP, and that server IP address is also changing, click Date/Time.
7. Edit the NTP server IP addresses.
8. Click Save.
9. In the warning dialog box, click OK.
10. After the system reboots, open the Management Console and verify that all the Engines and the SDA are
reported.
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Follow-Up
After you have changed all the IP addresses and the system is back up and running, do the following as needed.
•If Email notification, LDAP, or SNMP is configured and those server IP addresses also changed, make sure to
•Open the Client Manager on all client systems that formerly had access to the Avid NEXIS system and make
update them on the Avid NEXIS system.
sure they can reconnect to the system. You might need to change the Avid NEXIS system IP address in the
Remote Hosts settings.
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2Working with the Management Console
The Management Console is the interface to manage and monitor the Avid NEXIS system.
When you access the Management Console, the Login page opens. Enter a user name and password to log in. If
you type the wrong password, an error message appears and the Login dialog box reappears.
To set or change the administrator password, see “Changing the Administrator Password” on page 5.
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Standard Avid NEXIS client users can log in to the Management Console, but will have limited access to the
Management Console interface (Dashboard and Installers pages only). They can see certain information about the
network through the Client Manager. For more information about the Client Manager, see the Avid NEXIS Client
Help.
Opening the Management Console
The Management Console runs within one of the following qualified web browsers:
•Windows — Microsoft Edge, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome
•OS X — Safari, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome
•RedHat Linux and CentOS — Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome
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Performing administrative functions in more than one instance of the Management Console at the same
time can cause unexpected results.
To open the Management Console as Administrator:
1. Open your web browser and in the address bar enter one of the following:
tSystem Director Name of an on-premise system (if DNS is configured; see “Configuring DNS Service”
on page 5)
tIP address of the System Director. (This is the IP address of the Storage Controller running the System
Director; whether in a single- or multi-Engine configuration or in a System Director Appliance.)
tFor Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage, the Microsoft Azure Public IP address or DNS name.
The Login dialog box for the Management Console opens.
2. Enter the Administrator user name and password.
3. Click Sign In or press Enter.
The Management Console Home page opens.
To log out of the Management Console:
tOpen the drop-down list in the upper right corner of the screen and select Log Out.
The Management Console session closes (logs out) automatically after two hours for security, and you must
log back in.
Understanding the Management Console Interface
The Management Console user interface has the following main components.
The Management Console for Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage does not include all the functionality available for an
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on-premise Avid NEXIS system. Differences are noted in this guide.
1Navigation Sidebar — Main menus for managing the Avid NEXIS system. See “Navigation Sidebar” on
page 15.
2Menu Selection, Messages, and Action tools area — Displays the name of the selected menu item, and action
tools (icons) for available actions based on the objects being displayed. See “Action Tools” on page 17.
Also displays error, warning, or status messages relating to actions taken, such as successful completion of an
operation.
3Main page — Displays detailed information for the menu item selected in the navigation sidebar.
4Application menu — Contains links to actions you can take on the Management Console UI itself:
•Open the Classic Management Console (requires Adobe Flash Player and is not available on Avid NEXIS
Cloud Storage systems)
•Open the System Monitor View (see “System Monitor View” on page 18)
•Log out
Help menu — Open links to the documentation for Avid NEXIS, and a link to the disk slot diagrams for all Avid
NEXIS models
Navigation Sidebar
The Navigation sidebar is divided into the following main sections: System, Storage, Monitoring, Users, and
Logs, each of which expands to display functions or objects related to that category.
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System Section
The System section contains:
•Dashboard (displayed by default when you log into a running, configured system)—Displays overall health
and status information about the system.
•Bandwidth Limits—Lets you create, edit, sort and manage bandwidth limits for clients.
•Installers—Provides links to the installers for the Avid NEXIS Toolbox, LDAP Sync Tool (on-premise only),
Avid NEXIS Client software, and Avid NEXIS software to install on other Engines (on-premise only).
•System Setup—Displays information about the current configuration and lets you edit various attributes and
settings.
•Settings—Manages system preferences, the file system setup, and metadata.
•Snapshots—Lets you create a snapshot of the current state of the Avid NEXIS system.
Storage Section
The Storage section contains:
•Workspaces—Displays current Workspaces and lets you create, modify and delete Workspaces and their
attributes.
•Storage Groups—Displays current Storage Groups and lets you create, modify and delete Storage Groups and
their attributes.
•Engines (on-premise only)—Displays current Engines and lets you modify some Engine attributes.
•Controllers (on-premise only)—Displays current Controller information and lets you modify some Controller
attributes.
•Media Packs—Displays current Media Pack information and lets you modify some Media Pack attributes.
Monitoring Section
The Monitoring section contains:
•Client Bandwidth—Displays total system bandwidth use, and bandwidth consumption of each connected
system.
•Connection Status—Displays the users and other entities connected to (or logged into) the system, including
internal users such as the Storage Managers.
•Redistribution (on-premise only)—Displays information about any in-progress redistributions, and which
Media Packs are involved.
•Reservations—Displays any bandwidth reservations set inside the Client Manager.
Users Section
The Users section contains:
•Users—Lets you create, edit, sort and manage user accounts.
•Groups—Lets you create, edit, sort and manage user groups.
•Notifications—Lets you configure an SMTP server for email notifications and filter which types of system
events are sent to the contacts you configure.
•External Authentication (on-premise only)—Lets you configure and manage external authentication servers
for LDAP.
•Administrator—Lets you change the administrator password.
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Logs Section
The Logs section contains:
•Event History—Displays the past 5 days (96 hours) of system status information. You can download the
history as a zip file, and then send the file to Avid Customer Care upon request.
•System Logs—Lets you choose from various logs to display.
•Media Pack Logs—Displays log files for the Media Packs in the system.
Action Tools
Depending on which section is open in the System Navigation sidebar, various action tools are displayed.
Action Tool ActionDescription
FilterWhen clicked, displays filter options for the displayed objects. See “Filtering,
Sorting, and Searching” on page 18.
RedistributionApplies to Workspaces only.
Allows you to start, suspend, resume, and verify Workspace redistribution.
AddAllows you to create a new workspace, user, user group, storage group,
bandwidth limit, or contact for email notification.
Refresh (or Continuous
Refresh)
EditToggles edit mode for an object, which also displays additional details for an
DuplicateApplies to Workspaces and users.
AdvancedApplies to Engines.
ClearIn the Logs–Event History section, clears the history status flags.
DownloadIn the Logs–Event History section, lets you download the event history to a file
Refreshes the display. If a down arrow is present, lets you choose between
Refresh (which refreshes the display once) or Continuous Refresh (which
continues to refresh the display until either you leave the screen or disable
Continuous Refresh mode).
In Continuous Refresh mode, blue text displays “Continuous refresh enabled”
and the blue Refresh icon spins.
object. Select a different object to edit it or display its details. Click Edit again to
close edit mode.
Lets you duplicate a Workspace or user.
Lets you view details about the Engines in the shared-storage system, hardware
status (fans, system temperature, and other data), and disk status (operational
status, slot number, SSD health if applicable, and other data).
In the Logs–System Logs section, clears the log viewer.
which you can send to Avid Customer Care if requested.
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Action Tool ActionDescription (Continued)
Dump All LogsApplies to Media Pack Logs only.
Lets you create a dumpfile of all the Media Pack logs. You can retrieve and send
this file to Avid Customer Care if requested.
Disable LogsApplies to Media Pack Logs only.
Lets you disable or enable collection of Media Pack logs. The color if the action
tool indicates to current behavior:
•Gray — Disabled
•Blue — Enabled
Filtering, Sorting, and Searching
You can filter, sort, and search for specific objects in most of the displays.
Sorting Objects
The sort options depend on the type of objects displayed. To display all objects, click Refresh.
Category or Object TypeSort Options
Bandwidth LimitsName, Bandwidth, Description
WorkspacesName, Storage Group, Engine Protection Mode, Media Pack Protection Mode
Storage GroupsName, Mirror Capable
EnginesName, Product, Product Part Number, Serial Number, Type
ControllersHost Name, BMC Version, Controller Serial Number, Engine Serial Number
Media PacksName, Host Name, State, Engine Serial Number, Storage Group
UsersName, Flags, Bandwidth
GroupsName
Filtering and Searching for Objects
You can search among all objects in a category (for example, among all users or all Workspaces) or you can search
within a filtered list.
For example, on the Workspaces page, you can select Name from the sort options, then start typing in the Search
field. Only names matching or containing the typed characters are displayed. Or you can select Storage Group
from the sort options and type in the Search field. Only Workspaces in Storage Groups matching or containing the
typed characters are displayed.
System Monitor View
When you are logged in as administrator, clicking System Monitor View logs you out and displays the
Dashboard view without the navigation sidebar, as shown in the following figure:
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This lets you keep system information visible on a screen without allowing another user to accidentally or
intentionally make changes to the configuration, and is a safe way to continuously watch system performance and
see any alerts or warnings. The System Monitor View does not automatically log out after the default period.
Click Exit View to log in again for full administrator access.
Updating the Display
You can update onscreen information to reflect recent system changes by clicking Refresh. You can also set the
display to refresh continuously.
To enable Continuous Refresh:
tOn any screen that displays the Refresh icon with a down arrow (drop-down menu), open the menu and select
Continuous refresh.
Continuous refresh mode is enabled, the refresh icon spins continuously, and a status message is displayed on
the screen as long as it remains enabled.
To disable Continuous Refresh:
tClick the spinning Refresh icon, click any other action button on the screen, or click a different navigation
sidebar menu item.
Selecting Multiple Items
You can select multiple items in many Management Console windows, as follows, similar to selecting multiple
items in Windows Explorer or the Mac Finder:
To Select ThisDo This
One itemClick the item or its checkbox.
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To Select ThisDo This
Multiple, non-contiguous itemsCtrl+click each item you want to select, or click the
checkbox for each item.
Multiple, contiguous itemsClick the first item, then Shift+click on the last item, or
click the checkbox for each item.
All itemsClick the All checkbox. See the following example.
The following figure shows the All check box on the Users page.
Guidelines for Names and Passwords
Follow these guidelines when creating object names or passwords in the Management Console:
•Names (Storage Groups, Users, Groups) can be a maximum of 31 ASCII characters in length.
•Workspace names can be up to 31 characters long, must use Unicode characters and cannot include a space.
•The Administrator and User passwords can be a maximum of 127 bytes, which equals 127 ASCII characters.
Other character sets, such as UTF, might result in fewer characters, but the limit remains 127 bytes.
•Do not include a space in any name fields.
•Do not use a period (.) as either the first or last character in the names you create.
•Do not use the following characters in any name fields:
CharacterNameCharacterName
^Circumflex accent|Vertical line
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CharacterNameCharacterName(Continued)
\Backslash[Left square bracket
/Forward slash]Right square bracket
:Colon+Plus sign
*Asterisk=Equals sign
?Question mark%Percent sign
"Double quotation mark;Semicolon
<Less-than sign,Comma
>Greater-than sign@Commercial At symbol
The Management Console does not support displaying regional language characters.
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Customizing the System Settings
You can set parameters that customize the basic functionality of the Avid NEXIS system:
•General Preferences—These control general system behaviors and are described in the following table.
•Logging Preferences—These control what types of logs are collected and the severity and verbosity of the
event being logged. These are not described here; do not change these unless instructed to do so by Avid
Customer Care.
General Preferences
OptionTypeDefaultDescription
Total System Bandwidth
(MB/sec)
Default Bandwidth for
Auto Created Devices
(MB/sec)
Force Manual Device
Creation
Default LCT Threshold
(ms)
text
(numeric)
text
(numeric)
check box DisabledIf enabled, clients without an entry in the Bandwidth Limits list
text
(numeric)
1000 MB/secTotal reservation bandwidth allowed by the system, in MB/sec.
When this value has been reached, Avid NEXIS will no longer
accept bandwidth reservations from clients.
This value does not represent the actual bandwidth capabilities of
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the Avid NEXIS system. For more information about Avid NEXIS
bandwidth capabilities, see Avid NEXIS Documentation.
0Reservation bandwidth allowed for devices that are
automatically created at connection time.
The default value (0) grants unlimited bandwidth.
are not allowed to connect. Manually create an entry for every
client computer that is expected to connect to the Avid NEXIS
system.
0Defines the upper limit of the Long Command Time (LCT)
value, above which the Media Pack will report a Disk Degraded
condition to the System Director.
The default value (0) sets the LCT threshold to the internal
system default of 750ms.
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