Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.
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 with the license
agreement.
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 Avid.
Reasonable care has been taken in preparing this guide; however, it may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology, Inc. disclaims
liability for all losses incurred through the use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.
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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 NOT
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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, provided that
(i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon
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Copyright (c) 1989 The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
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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 above copyright
notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software 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 above copyright
notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without
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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 appear in all
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or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Daniel Dardailler makes no representations about the suitability of this
software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.
Modifications Copyright 1999 Matt Koss, under the same license as above.
Copyright (c) 1991 by AT&T.
Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice is included in all copies of any
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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
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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
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The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:
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for any particular purpose.”
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Trademarks
Avid, the Avid Logo, Avid Everywhere, Avid DNXHD, Avid DNXHR, Avid NEXIS, Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, 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.
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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 2019.5 • Created 5/31/19 • 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 ConventionMeaning 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 ConventionMeaning 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
An Avid NEXIS system can be:
•On-premise—One or more Avid NEXIS chassis, either Engines (Enterprise or PRO) running an embedded
System Director or Enterprise Engines plus a System Director Appliance for system management. You (or
Avid Professional Services) install the system and the software.
-An on-premise system can have Storage Groups built from HDD and SSD Media Packs, and optionally
Cloudspaces.
-Cloudspaces—A combination of an on-premise system plus Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, which are
Workspaces that use cloud storage connected to your on-premise storage. You manage the Cloudspaces
through the same Management Console as the rest of the on-premise system. Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces
is available on a new or existing Avid NEXIS system running version 2019.4 or later. Cloudspaces are
intended for near-line storage, not real-time workflows such as Media Composer or Pro Tools.
•Cloud—Deployed, configured, and managed completely in the Cloud, with no hardware on-site at your
location. This is known as an Avid NEXIS | Cloud Storage system. Avid deploys (provisions) the Avid
NEXIS | Cloud Storage for you. After provisioning, complete the configuration as described in this guide.
This chapter describes how to complete the setup of a new Avid NEXIS system, whether Avid NEXIS | Cloud
Storage or an on-premise system (with or without Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces). For on-premise systems, this
chapter assumes the hardware has already been installed in your environment and updated from the factory
version to the latest Avid NEXIS software version. For instructions, see the Avid NEXIS Setup and Maintenance Guide.
This chapter also covers routine system management, including setting bandwidth limits, and performing software
upgrades.
Avid NEXIS Configuration Overview
To make an Avid NEXIS 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
Media Pack protections you want to use. See “Managing Storage” on page 25.
6. Create Workspaces within the Storage Groups. See “Managing Storage” on page 25.
7. Optionally, activate Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces. See “Activating Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces” on page 30.
8. 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 and Groups” on page 58).
-Configure Avid NEXIS to connect to an LDAP server to authenticate external users (see “Configuring
External Authentication of Users” on page 62).
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 6
•“Changing the BMC Password” on page 7
•“Changing the Storage System Name” on page 10
•“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 (Management Console) 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 before a file system exists 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 on-premise Media Packs to it.
For Avid NEXIS | Cloud Storage or Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces Media Packs, the Cloud performance bind option
n
is applied automatically. Cloud Media Packs have an initial status of Spare - Bound.
2
Binding a Media Pack formats it to a specific performance capability. Some bind options are available only on
specific Engine types, as follows.
Bind OptionIntended UseAvailable On
High Performance (1024KB strip size)High-bandwidth media playback, such as
UHD/4K finish and color-correction
workflows
Scale-Out (512KB strip size)Suitable for a broad variety of workflows up to
the supported client count for your Avid
NEXIS model
SSDUltra-high bandwidth media playbackAvid NEXIS | E2 SSD only
Avid NEXIS | PRO
Avid NEXIS | E2
Avid NEXIS | E4
Avid NEXIS | E5
Avid NEXIS | PRO
Avid NEXIS | E2
Avid NEXIS | E4
Avid NEXIS | E5
Avid NEXIS | E5 NL
Media Pack performance types cannot be changed after the pack is bound. To change a Media Pack’s performance
type, unbind it and then rebind it as a different supported performance type (not supported on Avid NEXIS | E2
SSD Engines, Avid NEXIS | Cloud Storage, or Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces Media Packs.)
To bind 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.
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 Storage Groups” on page 29.
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
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.
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.
4
6. (Optional) To test the notification settings, click Run Test.
The Results area displays the status (success or failure) of the test.
Changing the Administrator Password
The Avid NEXIS system has several passwords:
•The Administrator password, used when you log into the Management Console. You can change this after
creating a file system. This password is separate from the password used to log into the Agent.
•The password for the Agent. This password is used for initial system setup (
systems) and for logging into the Agent.
The Agent password can also be used to log into the Management Console. This is intented behavior to provide an
n
emergency method of logging in to the system. Therefore, Avid recommends changing both the Agent password
(see the Avid NEXIS Setup and Maintenance Guide) and the Management Console password.
•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. See “Changing the BMC Password” on
admin
page 7.
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 22 for valid password characters and the maximum length.
To change the Administrator password:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click Users, then Administrator.
se-admin
for on-premise
se-
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
5
Configuring DNS Service
For on-premise systems, 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 62.
For Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, you must configure DNS to access the external Cloud storage.
g
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 for your organization. For Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, this is the domain providing the
external cloud storage.
-One or more IP addresses for the DNS servers 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.
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.
Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces Security
If you plan to deploy Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces (available with Avid NEXIS | FS Version 2019.4 and higher),
you must configure DNS to allow communication to the cloud storage service (see “Configuring DNS Service” on
page 6). Communication to the Cloudspace originates from the Avid NEXIS system; there are no inbound calls or
connections.
Avid recommends that the Avid NEXIS system remain behind a firewall, configured to prevent all inbound
connections. To enable the necessary Cloudspaces connections, configure the firewall to allow traffic on ports 443
and 80. All communication from the Avid NEXIS system to the cloud storage service is encrypted during transit
with access controlled by an access key.
All data in Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces is encrypted while stored in the cloud.
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.
6
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.
If your lab environment or company requires it, you can change the BMC password to prevent unauthorized
access to the hardware.
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
, which is the default IP address of the BMC
controller.
root
3. Log in using the user name
and the password
se-admin
.
7
4. In the BMC interface, click the Configuration tab.
5. Select Users from the pull-down menu.
6. Click Modify User.
8
7. Click the Change Password checkbox, enter a new password in the Password and Confirm Password
fields, then click Modify.
8. Click OK.
9. Log out of the BMC interface.
9
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.
c
n
n
Do not rename a storage system that has Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces activated and in use. Changing the
name will cause you to lose access to your cloud data.
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
last.
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, you can log into the Management Console again
The login screen is displayed before the file system might be ready to support logins. When you log in, if the
system is not ready, a counter is displayed showing that the system will retry your login up to four times. If the
system is still not ready after four tries, the message “System not responding” is displayed. Wait a few more
minutes and try 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.)
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.
10
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
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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.
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The switch will lose connectivity to the Avid NEXIS system until LACP is enabled on Avid NEXIS and the
cables are connected.
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 47.
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Upgrading the System (On-Premise Only)
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.
7. Close the browser or tab.
Closing the browser window or tab clears the cache and forces the browser to load the login screen for the
new software version.
8. Open the browser or a new tab and enter either the hostname (if DNS is configured) or the IP address of the
System Director.
The Management Console login window opens.
The login screen is displayed before the file system might be ready to support logins. When you log in, if the
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system is not ready, a counter is displayed showing that the system will retry your login up to four times. If the
system is still not ready after four tries, the message “System not responding” is displayed. Wait a few more
minutes and try again.
9. Log back in to the Management Console.
10. Click Dashboard (if not already displayed) and look under the System heading to confirm the new version.
Changing the System IP Address (On-Premise Only)
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 NEXIS 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
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.
10. After the system reboots, open the Management Console and verify that all the Engines and the SDA are
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
8. Click Save.
9. In the warning dialog box, click OK.
reported.
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 6)
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.
For system security, the Management Console session closes (logs out) automatically after two hours of
inactivity (even if Continuous Refresh is running—see “Action Tools” on page 17), and you must log back in.
Understanding the Management Console Interface
The Management Console user interface has the following main components.
The Management Console presents slightly different functions for Avid NEXIS | Cloud Storage systems, and for
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on-premise systems depending on whether Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces are available and activated. Differences are
noted in this guide.
1Navigation Sidebar—Main menus for managing the Avid NEXIS system. See “Navigation Sidebar” on page 16.
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 “Displaying the System Monitor View” on page 20)
•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
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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.
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. You can display a dashboard for the Avid NEXIS system as a whole,
or just for Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, if configured. See “Dashboards” on page 18.
•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.
•Services—Displays details about your Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces configuration, if applicable, including the
subscription plan and status and the amount of storage and download data included by default. Also lets you
activate cloud storage if not configured (see “Activating Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces” on page 30).
•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.
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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
•External Authentication (on-premise only)—Lets you configure and manage external authentication servers
•Administrator—Lets you change the administrator password, which controls access to the Management
Logs Section
The Logs section contains:
•Event History—Displays the past 5 days (96 hours) of system status information. You can download the
•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
events are sent to the contacts you configure.
for LDAP.
Console.
history as a zip file, and then send the file to Avid Customer Care upon request.
Depending on which section is open in the System Navigation sidebar, various action tools (listed here
alphabetically) are displayed.
Action Tool ActionDescription
AddAllows you to create a new workspace, user, user group, storage group,
bandwidth limit, or contact for email notification.
AdvancedApplies to Engines, Controllers, and Media Packs.
Lets you view details about the physical components of the shared-storage
system, such as hardware status (fans, system temperature, and other data), and
disk status (operational status, slot number, SSD health if applicable, and other
data).
ClearIn the Logs–Event History section, clears the history status flags.
In the Logs–System Logs section, clears the log viewer.
Delete (All)Applies to bandwidth limits, snapshots and archives, Workspaces and Storage
Groups, users and user groups, system logs and Media Pack logs.
Deletes the selected object or all relevant objects.
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
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Action Tool ActionDescription (Continued)
DownloadIn the Logs–Event History section, lets you download the event history to a file
which you can send to Avid Customer Care if requested.
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.
DuplicateApplies to Workspaces and users.
Lets you duplicate a Workspace or user.
EditToggles edit mode for an object, which also displays additional details for an
object. Select a different object to edit it or display its details. Click Edit again to
close edit mode.
FilterWhen clicked, displays filter options for the displayed objects. See “Filtering,
Sorting, and Searching” on page 19.
RedistributionApplies to on-premise Workspaces only.
Allows you to start, suspend, and resume Workspace redistribution.
Dashboards
The Management Console displays the dashboard for the entire Avid NEXIS system by default—you can toggle
between the Cloud Dashboard and the System Dashboard.
The System dashboard displays the following data:
•Performance, bandwidth, and connection status for the entire system (on-premise and Cloudspaces, if
configured)
Refresh (or Continuous
Refresh)
ResetApplies in Edit mode only.
Take New Snapshot (or
Archive)
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.
Undoes any changes you have made to an object (name, size, password, or other
attributes).
Applies to Snapshots and Archives.
Creates a new system snapshot, or a new archive of existing snapshots.
•On-premise storage usage and system messages
•General information, such as the system name, version, and overall usage data (this panel is common to both
the System and Cloud dashboards) and the status of the Cloudspaces activation
The Cloud dashboard displays the following data:
•Cloud-specific storage usage, bandwidth, and data download metrics
•General information, such as the system name, version, and overall usage data (this panel is common to both
the System and Cloud dashboards) and the status of the Cloudspaces activation
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The cloud-specific data includes:
•Cloud storage in GB/day for the past 30 days
•Cloud bandwidth in MB/sec; also lets you perform a cloud speed test (see “Testing the Network Speed to the
Cloud” on page 19)
•Data download (amount of data downloaded or read from cloud storage over the past 30 days). Depending on
the amount of data being read, the read might come from cache and not the cloud. Data read from cache does
not count against the data download statistics.
•General information, such as the system name, version, and overall usage data (this panel is common to both
the System and Cloud dashboards) and the status of the Cloudspaces activation
For details about your cloud subscription, see “Displaying Cloud Subscription Data” on page 41.
Testing the Network Speed to the Cloud
To make sure your network is performing well between the Avid NEXIS system and the cloud storage, you can
run a cloud speed test. The test runs for the amount of time it takes to upload and then download a 1GB packet of
data to and from the cloud storage account; usually under three minutes. Running the test has no effect on your
Avid NEXIS | Cloudspaces, but might incur a small charge for the download. The data is deleted after the test
completes.
The test will not start if there is current I/O to an Avid NEXIS Cloudspace, and will stop if I/O begins after the test
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is started.
To run a Cloud Speed Test:
1. In the navigation sidebar, click System, then Dashboard.
2. Click the Cloud tab.
3. In the Cloud Bandwidth panel, click Cloud Speed Test.
The test starts and runs until complete, or until I/O starts to an Avid NEXIS Cloudspace. The Cloud
Bandwidth graph displays the progress of the test. Uploads are tested first, then downloads.
The Total bandwidth fields show the peak and average speed of the upload or download while the test is
running. When complete, the status field shows ‘Test completed,’ and the average download and upload
speeds are reported.
Canceling an Operation or Ignoring Changes
During any operation where you are adding an object (such as a Workspace, Storage Group, or User) or making
changes to an object (such as changing a name, size, or other attributes) the Save button becomes active. If you
decide not to complete the operation, click Refresh to trigger a warning message that your changes have not been
saved. Click Ignore to discard your changes and exit Add or Edit mode. The display refreshes and restores the
original information.
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.
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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, 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.
Displaying the System Monitor View
By default, the Management Console logs you out after two hours of inactivity. Instead of running the
Management Console, you can display the System Monitor view, which does not log you out. System Monitor
view constantly displays the Dashboard view without the navigation sidebar, as shown in the following figure:
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To display the System Monitor View:
tIn the Application menu (see “Understanding the Management Console Interface” on page 15), select System
Monitor View.
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. You can toggle the display to view information for the whole system or only the cloud.
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.
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
All itemsClick the All checkbox. See the following example.
The following figure shows the All check box on the Users page.
item.
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