This guide covers the following:
- Flame Premium
- Flame
- Smoke for Linux
- Lustre
- Inferno
- Flint
- Backdraft
User prerequisties for installation
- Knowledge Linux, preferably Red Hat.
- Familiarity with computer hardware, storage and networking in a professional video/film production environment.
- Root access to your system. The default root account password on an Autodesk workstation is password.
Install from scratch or upgrade Linux
To reinstall or upgrade the operating system and/or change your hardware or storage setup:
- If you are installing your hardware make the following connections:
- Peripherals such as mouse, keyboard, pen tablet, graphics monitor, house network.
- Autodesk Wire network.
- VTR and a broadcast monitor.
- Audio hardware for your workstation.
- Storage arrays to the workstation, but do not power them on before having installed Linux, to prevent the Linux installer from attempting to format the arrays and use them as system drives.
- Configure BIOS.
- Install Linux.
- Install the DKU and the AJA OEM-2K firmware
- If you are using a new Stone Direct storage array, Configure storage
- Install Flame Premium
- Configure Visual Effects and Finishing Software.
- License your software. If you are not on subscription use Node-locked licensing. On subscription you can use node-locked or Network licensing. Unnecessary if upgrading to a service pack of the same software version or to a service pack of the same extension.
Concepts and Terminology
If this is the first time you are configuring an Autodesk Visual Effects and Finishing filesystem, familiarize yourself with the following key concepts.
- Stone and Wire
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The software package that encompasses local management of media and the transferring of media between Visual Effects and Finishing workstations. This package is installed automatically with the application.
- Partition
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In Stone and Wire, a partition (also referred to as “volume”) is defined as a volume of media storage. When creating a project, the Visual Effects and Finishing applications permanently associate it to one of the available partitions. This association means that the project inherits the rules and media preferences of the partition. You can define up to eight partitions.
- Managed Media
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Media is said to be managed when the media assets, typically DPX files, are managed or “owned” by the Visual Effects and Finishing application. The application deletes managed media it no longer needs. All managed media is stored in a Managed Media Cache.
- Unmanaged Media
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Unmanaged media refers to media assets that are used by, but not exclusively owned by, the Visual Effects and Finishing application. Soft-imported clips are an example of unmanaged media. This is relevant in shared access workflows, where numerous applications are using the same media. Unmanaged media is used in projects and clip libraries in the same way as managed media. However, the application does not delete it when it is no longer needed.
- Managed Media Cache
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A directory residing on a standard FS volume, to which all managed media is written. This includes intermediates, imported media, captured video, audio, and proxies. Although the Managed Media Cache can be accessed by standard operating system tools such as defragmentation and backup tools, it is not meant to be accessed by any other application or user than the Visual Effects and Finishing and Wiretap applications.
- Media Database
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The standard filesystem media database plays a central role in the management of media residing on standard filesystems. It is responsible for mapping frame IDs to the location of the media on disk. Database entries are created for all managed media and soft-imported media. There is one standard filesystem media database file per volume.
- Clip library
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A clip library is a catalog maintained locally by its Visual Effects and Finishing application. It is used, internally by the application, to store clip metadata, including frame IDs. The artist acts upon portions of it indirectly, via the application User Interface.