Problem Statement
Distributed media production teams working across locations face significant challenges: rendering delays on on-premises hardware, high infrastructure maintenance overhead, inconsistent access for remote artists and contractors, and storage complexity across live projects and archives. On-premises solutions could not scale economically with demand.
Proposed Solution & Architecture
- NICE DCV Fleet: 10 x g4dn.4xlarge and 5 x g4dn.16xlarge GPU instances for high-performance visualisation
- AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAP: high-performance shared storage with minimal latency for active production projects
- AWS Direct Connect: secure, low-latency private connection between AWS and on-premises infrastructure
- Automated data tiering via AWS DataSync: active project data on FSx, archives to S3 Glacier Deep Archive
- Instances commissioned and terminated in line with actual workload demand, no idle capacity cost
- Full encryption at rest via KMS and in transit via SSL/TLS, securing sensitive creative assets
AWS Services & Technologies
NICE DCVAmazon EC2 (G4 instances)AWS FSx for NetApp ONTAPAmazon S3AWS DataSyncAWS Direct ConnectAmazon Storage GatewayAWS KMSAmazon CloudWatchAWS IAM
What We Delivered
- Provisioned a VPC spanning two Availability Zones with subnet separation for DCV fleet, FSx, and support services.
- Deployed 15 NICE DCV GPU instances configured for remote desktop and application streaming, accessible via NICE DCV Client or browser.
- Set up FSx for NetApp ONTAP for high-performance shared project storage with low-latency access for remote artists.
- Implemented automated data tiering: active projects on FSx, completed archive data transitioned to S3 Standard IA and Glacier Deep Archive via DataSync lifecycle policies.
- Configured AWS Direct Connect for a secure, private, low-latency link between the on-premises data centre and AWS.
- Applied KMS encryption at rest and SSL/TLS in transit, securing all media assets and maintaining data integrity.
Outcomes & Success Metrics
- Remote artists access high-performance GPU workstations from any location via NICE DCV, no on-premises hardware required at remote sites.
- Rendering performance improved: EC2 G4 GPU instances outperform equivalent on-premises hardware for media rendering workloads.
- Storage management simplified: shared FSx storage replaces fragmented local storage with consistent low-latency access.
- Infrastructure scales with demand: instances commissioned when needed, terminated when idle, eliminating always-on hardware cost.
- Data integrity and security maintained: all assets encrypted and access-controlled throughout the production lifecycle.