As a systems integrator, we've watched our customers buy into and then sober up to the myth of the cloud. In reality, "cloud" is a marketing term that hides the fact that all you are doing is paying for computers in someone else’s data center that you have no control over. While there are on-demand workflows where using a cloud service makes sense, it isn’t the one and only solution to your unique storage problems or workflow roadblocks.

At creative.space we focus on the user experience, replacing the cloud with "fog". Fog blurs the boundaries between cloud and on-premise workflows; concentrating on how they interact in everyday workflows. Typical cloud workflows force teams to manage their production assets in two places - local and cloud storage. With creative.space, these two places become one through our enterprise storage at your facility that can be accessed remotely at any time. We call it On-Premise Managed Storage or OPMS.

The creative.space Desktop App allows users to connect to their system and mount collaborative Spaces (also known as Volumes). Once a Space is mounted, it can be worked with as if it were any other storage volume, but with the unique ability to be accessed by multiple users at the same time. User access is managed within the creative.space Web App. As long as the Desktop App can reach the node and authenticate the user, Spaces can be mounted, even over the internet using a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

While creative.space is agnostic to VPNs, we've integrated ZeroTier's software-based VPN into our storage nodes. ZeroTier has both free and paid plans that scale based on each team's individual needs. This integration lets you add your creative.space node to any of your ZeroTier networks, and is as easy as copying and pasting a Network ID.

Once a workstation is connected to a creative.space node via a VPN, accessing Spaces remotely is seamless. Users can even playback a proxy video (under 15 MB/s) over the internet in real-time. With a 1 GbE internet connection, over a dozen users can be supported with even our entry level //ROGUE system. Instead of managing two locations, the same storage system can be used for both local and remote users. For files under 2 GB, the Web App can even be used to download files through a web browser. For larger files, in addition to mounting with SMB, a built-in FTP server allows users to move and copy files to and from Spaces based on their permissions using any application that supports FTP. The ability to connect remotely to any creative.space system means that all the workstations sitting unused in offices because of COVID-19 can now be used as the processing workhorses they were before.

We don’t like to dictate what workflow our customers should use. Instead, we share what we've seen be successful in the past and work with customers to implement processes for their team’s specific needs. The great thing about these remote tools is that they are building blocks that can be applied creatively in various ways. Most importantly, once users can connect to their storage through a VPN, they open up a new world of remote workflows completely under their control, instead of a third party cloud provider.

You can start building your fog solution today with one of creative.space’s 5 enterprise-level systems. For customers looking to implement a remote proxy workflow, the //ROGUE is the perfect solution. Available with either 48TB or 64TB of RAW HDD capacity and optional SSDs, the //ROGUE is an enterprise NAS in a desktop form factor. Simply plug it into the internet, set up the VPN, and connect using the Desktop App to start collaborating. The 48TB //ROGUE can be purchased for $4,795 or financed for $199/month with 0% interest for 24 months. The 64TB //ROGUE can be purchased for $6,395 or financed for $265/month with 0% interest for 24 months. All //ROGUE options come with 1 year of proactive support included. For customers needing higher capacities, the rest of our line-up uses a unique service-based model that allows customers to spread out the cost of hardware, software, and support over monthly or annual payments starting the //AUTEUR at $995 a month for 120TB.

Call us today at (888) 519-2021 or email sales@digitalglue.com to learn how creative.space Fog implementation has all of the positive aspects of Cloud without any of the Cloud negatives.

‍