Sonic Studio Studio HD User manual

©2002 SonicStudio. All rights reserved.
SonicStudio High Density User Guide - Sonic Part Number 800127A (4/99)
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SonicStudio HD Configuration Guide
This configuration guide is designed to give you detailed information on CPU configurations,
SCSI peripherals, fibre channel networking and High-Density Audio™ operation for
SonicStudio HD™ HDSP-based systems.
This document supersedes any previous information you may have received on these topics.
Sonic recommends that all HDSP upgrade customers spend time reviewing this information
prior to installing HDSP upgrades. This can help save time during the installation and may
eliminate problems that might otherwise arise.
If you have any questions about configurations or a customer installation, please contact Sonic
Studio Customer Support at [phone], or on the Web at [email protected]

2
Supported Devices
CPU Platforms
SonicStudio HD is designed for use with PCI-bus CPUs. Owners of 9500/9600/G3 models are
urged to upgrade to a G4.
SonicStudio HD supports these Power Macintosh models:
•G3 266/300/333 (beige)
•G3 350/400/450 (blue and white)
•G4 400/450/500/533/633/733/867/933 (graphite)
•Dual-processor 500Mhz G4
MAC OS AND CPU RAM REQUIREMENTS
Use Mac OS 9.04 US (minimum) for all SonicStudio HD installations. SonicStudio HD requires
a minimum of 128MB of internal CPU memory with 256 MB or more preferred.
SonicStudio HD now supports Apples latest G4 733Mhz, 867MHz and 933MHz CPUs. These
CPUs ship with OS 9.2, which is qualified.
NOTE:
OS 9.2 is not recommended for CPUs that are not also set up to run
OS X.

S
UPPORTED
D
EVICES
3
SCSI Drives
SonicStudio HD supports a wide variety of SCSI peripherals. Previously-qualified hard disks
used with SonicStudio USP/SSP systems, that maintain a data-rate of 3.75 MB or higher, should
work with SonicStudio HD. Drives with lower data-rates may also be operable with SonicStudio
HD, however the data bandwidth may significantly reduce the number of disc channels
available.
Sonic recommends that the HDSP Workstation be configured with Seagate Cheetah drives
(ST118202LW – request LVD cables and terminators if using Adaptec 2940U2W and no
DLT/Exabyte/CD-R/ or DVD-R).
Sonic also recommends:
• Rorke Galaxy i™: High Speed IDE to LVD Disk Arrays
Contact:
Rorke Data, Incorporated 9700 W. 76th Street
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Tool Free: (800).328.8147
Tel:[phone]
Fax: [phone]
• Medea AudioRack LP High-capacity Storage Systems:
The AudioRack LP packs up to 480 GB of high-performance, low-cost, audio
storage in only 1U (1.75") of rack space.
Contact:
End User Sales
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
email: [email protected]

4
SCSI Adapters
Sonic Studio has qualified the following SCSI adapter cards:
•Adaptec 2930CU
•Adaptec 2940UW
•Adaptec 2940U2B
•Adaptec 2940U2W
•Adaptec 3940UW
•Adaptec 39160
•Adaptec 29160N
•ATTO ExpressPCI UL3D
•ATTO ExpressPCI DC
NOTE: If you are using the Adaptec 39160 SCSI accelerator, be certain that it
is using the latest firmware version. SonicStudio HD was qualified using
firmware version 1.02. See http://www.adaptec.com for further information .
NOTE: Dumps to Exabyte DDP are not currenlty supported with the ATTO
UL3D/DC SCSI cards. This issue will be resolved in a future release.

S
UPPORTED
D
EVICES
5
Peripheral Devices
SonicStudio HD supports the following peripheral devices:
CD-RS
•Plextor PX-R412C with firmware version 1.07
•Plextor PX-R820T with firmware version 1.07
•Plextor PX-RW4220T with firmware version 1.04
•Plextor PX-RW8220T with firmware version 1.04
•Plextor PX-W124TS with firmware version 1.07 [2x speed only]
•Plextor PX-W1210S with firmware version 1.01 [1x speed only]
•Sony CD900e with firmware version 1.16
•Microboards PlexMaster with firmware version 2.04
The PlexMaster represents "State of The Art" in CDR recorders. The handmade
mechanism is housed in a Dust Proof enclosure and offers special features like,
Reading/Writing of the Pre Mastered [PMCD] area, EFM Input for recording,
Read capability of Lead in area, Read capability of lead- out area, C2 error
reporting, 8X CD-DA data.
NOTE: The PMCD information is only written to the disc when the Close
Session After Write option is selected for the dump.
Please contact a Sonic reseller for details on availability or contact Microboards
Technology at:
Microboards Technology
Phone: [phone]
Toll Free: 800-646-8881
Fax: [phone]
email: [email protected]

6
website: www.microboards.com http://www.microboards.com
EXABYTE TAPE DRIVES
•Exabyte 8500
•Exabyte 8505
•Exabyte Eliant 820
PCI EXPANSION CHASSIS
HD-2100 and HD-2200 Workstations include 3 PCI cards and require a PCI expansion chassis,
since current Apple models have 2 slots free after the graphics card and a SCSI accelerator are
installed. Supported PCI expansion chassis are listed below:
Bit3 Operations
•SBS SS32 from Bit3 Operations. Seven slot ATX rackmount PCI Expansion Chassis with
integrated backplane.
SBS Technologies, Inc., Connectivity Products
1284 Corporate Center Drive
St. Paul, MN 55121-1245
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.bit3.com/
MAGMA
•MAGMA Four and Seven slot PCI Expansion Chassis. Both CardBus and Desktop
applications are supported.
MAGMA
9918 Via Pasar
San Diego, CA 92126
c

S
UPPORTED
D
EVICES
7
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
http://www.magma.com/
NOTE: The CardBus solution for Magma Chassis do not currently support CD-
R or DDP functions.

8
G3/G4 System Configurations
HD-1000 AND HD-2000 WORKSTATIONS
NOTE: For clarity, the Macintosh video accelerator card (always installed in
slot 1) is not shown
.
Slot Card
1Macintosh Video Accelerator
2SCSI Accelerator
3HDSP Processor or Fibre Channel
Adapter
4HDSP Processor
SCSI Accelerator
HDSP Processor or
Fibre Channel Adapter
(if applicable)
HDSP Processor

G3/G4 S
YSTEM
C
ONFIGURATIONS
9
HD-2100 AND HD-2200 WORKSTATIONS.
Mac Slot Card
1Macintosh Video Accelerator
2SCSI Accelerator
3Fast SCSI Accelerator or Fibre
Channel Adapter
4PCI Bridge Card
SCSI Accelerator
Fast SCSI
Accelerator
PCI Bridge

10
NOTE: A non-integrated PCI Expansion chassis is not recommended for use
with high bandwidth audio for any model of G3 (B&W) or G4.
NOTE: 9500/9600/Beige G3 users should connect CDR and Exabyte devices to the
Mac SCSI bus and connect hard drives to the Adaptec card.
Expander Slot Card
1HDSP Processor
2HDSP Processor
3AV Processor
HDSP Audio Processor
HDSP Plug-In Processor
A-V Processor
1234

SCSI C
ONFIGURATIONS
11
SCSI Configurations
Since the new Macintosh G3 and G4 systems do not have on-board SCSI, a SCSI adapter is
required for all SonicStudio HD systems. Each SCSI adapter listed here has a specific
configuration that must be followed, with slowest SCSI peripherals closest to the card (DLT,
DVD-R) and faster ones on the end (SCSI Wide and Ultra Wide drives).
ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 3940 UW
This is the most versatile SCSI card for Sonic applications and our most highly recommended.
With two SCSI buses, one bus can be used for the DVD-R and DLT while the other is used for
the fast SCSI drives.

12
ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 2930 U
The Adaptec 2930U card provides only one SCSI bus but it will work with all SCSI peripherals:
CD-R, DVD-R, Exabyte, DLT 2000, DLT 4000, DLT 7000, SCSI narrow and wide.
ADAPTEC POWER DOMAIN 2940 U2W AND 2940 U2B
These cards are identical. The 2940 U2B is the Apple bundled version of the 2940 U2W. While
these are the fastest SCSI cards for the G3, they do not support narrow SCSI devices such as
the CD-R, DLT 2000, DLT 4000, or Pioneer DVD-R. In order to use these devices, a second SCSI
controller must be used.
NOTE: The 3940 UW, 2940 U2W, and 2940 U2B SCSI controllers described above
require the latest device drivers from Adaptec. They will not work on the new G3
systems without this driver. Please download this software from the Adaptec web
site: www.adaptec.com/support/files/drivers.html#mac
NOTE: The Adaptec 2940U2B is not compatible with drivers from FWB Hard Disk
Toolkit.
Fibre Channel Support
SonicStudio HD offers initial support for fibre channel networking. The only
software/hardware configuration that has been tested is described here. In collaboration with
Rorke Data, Sonic will continue to test SonicStudio HD with Rorke's StudioNet-FC product.
Please contact Rorke Data for specific hardware and software configuration information when
setting up a StudioNet-FC system for use with SonicStudio HD.
Item Detail
CPU Power PC G4/450 with Mac OS 9.0 and 512 MB of RAM

F
IBRE
C
HANNEL
S
UPPORT
13
CPU Board Order 1 — ATI Video accelerator
2 — Adaptec 39160 SCSI accelerator
3 — Rorke StudioNet-FC fibre channel adapter
4 — Sonic PCI Bridge
Expansion Chassis Board Order 1 — HDSP Processor
2 — HDSP Effects Processor
Hardware/Software Versions Rorke StudioNet-FC configuration
Item Detail

14
Installation of Cards in PowerPC G4 CPU
Installation of Cards in Expansion Chassis
PCI Bridge
ATI video
accelerator
Rorke StudioNet-FC
fibre channel adapter
Adaptec 39160
SCSI accelerator
HDSP Effects
Processor
HDSP Processor

F
IBRE
C
HANNEL
S
UPPORT
15
Typical Fibre Channel Connections
FIBRE CHANNEL NOTES & KNOWN ISSUES
1 Do not use the Format option to initialize fibre channel volumes; this leaves the volume
damaged beyond the possibility of repair in the field. Use the Initialize option only.
2 Set the FibreShare Preference Interval to update locked volumes in seconds: to
Never.
3 Use the Exclusive Read/Write option. Quoting from the FibreShare manual:
“FibreShare performs all of its network access control as a back-ground task of the computer.
If a user needs to have no interruptions happen to their storage or they are working on
mission critical data such as capturing Video or digitizing Audio, make sure these users or
groups have exclusive write access. This will ensure the storage will be accessed only on a
limited basis by the FibreShare system.”
Access privileges are set by the Administrator from within the FibreShare application. Refer to
the FibreShare documentation for complete instructions.
Vixel 8100
Optical Fibre
Channel Cable
Local FC
Connection
Host CPU w/
Rorke StudioNet-FC Adapter Rorke StudioNet-FC Switch Rorke Rorke StudioNet-FC Data Array

16
4 SonicStudio HD is not compatible with DAVE for SANergy 1.3 and earlier.
5 The following have not been tested:
•Multiple fibre channel workstations accessing the same disks as a SonicStudio HD
workstation
•fibre channel fabrics with more than one switch or hub
•fibre channel arbitrated loops (in lieu of using a switch)
•Hardware RAIDs
High-Density Audio“ Operation
SonicStudio HD supports 24-bit audio at 88.2, 96, 176.4 and 192 kHz sample rates using the
High-Density Audio™ I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824, Sonic Audio I/O, and I/O4.
Connections
SINGLE-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS
The HD I/O supports up to eight input and output channels at 88.2/96 kHz (2x speed). The
I/O8, Lucid 8824, Sonic Audio I/O, and I/O4 do not support single-wire mode.

H
IGH
-D
ENSITY
A
UDIO
“ O
PERATION
17
DUAL-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS
The HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824 and Sonic Audio I/O support up to four input and output
channels at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) in dual-wire AES mode.
The I/O4 supports two channels at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) in this mode.
You can work with up to eight dual-wire channels of audio at 88.2/96 kHz (1x speed) by
connecting a second HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824 or Sonic Audio I/O and assigning it to Port B in
the Audio I/O Preferences.
The HD I/O also supports four input and output channels at 176.4/192 kHz (2x speed) sample
rates in dual-wire AES mode.
QUAD-WIRE AES CONNECTIONS
The HD I/O, I/O8, Lucid 8824, and Sonic Audio I/O support two input and output channels at
176.4/192 kHz sample rates in quad-wire (1x speed) AES mode.
In Out1-2 In Out3-4 In Out5-6 In Out In
124816
Out Addr
Sonic I/O
WS
7-8
Channel 1 Channel 2 Channel 3 Channel 4
In Out1-2 In Out3-4 In Out5-6 In Out In
124816
Out Addr
Sonic I/O
WS
7-8
Channel 1 Channel 2

18
The I/O4 supports a single channel in this mode.
You can work with up to four quad-wire channels of audio by connecting a second HD I/O,
I/O8, Lucid 8824, or Sonic Audio I/O and assigning it to Port B in the Audio I/O Preferences.
Setting the Audio I/O Preferences
You must configure SonicStudio HD’s Audio I/O Preferences to accommodate high sample
rate digital audio signals.
To set the Audio I/O Preferences:
1 Be certain that your input/output connections are made in either the single speed or double
speed configuration, depending on your peripheral equipment’s requirements.
2 Launch SonicStudio HD. SonicStudio HD displays a new Project window.
3 Choose Window > Audio I/O Prefs or press
OPTION
+ A . SonicStudio HD displays the
Audio I/O Preferences window.