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Understanding the Shared Name Space
The NEXIS shared storage system uses several names to identify its physical and virtual components.
Storage System Name
The Storage System Name represents all the physical Engines, and the Avid NEXIS | SDA if applicable, operating
as one shared storage group. This name is displayed in the bottom of the Management Console to distinguish one
collective Avid NEXIS group from another. Clients see and connect to the Storage System name through the
Client Manager UI. You enter the Storage System Name in the Remote Host Settings dialog box in the Client
Manager if the Avid NEXIS system is not in the same subnet as the client system (use the System Director IP
address if your environment does not use a DNS server; see System Director Name and IP Address).
Engine and Controller Names
Each Engine, and the Avid NEXIS | SDA if applicable, has an Engine name. The Engine name is used to generate
the hostnames of the Controllers in that chassis. This helps associate a particular Controller with the physical
chassis it resides in.
System Director Name and IP Address
The shared storage system has one System Director, which runs either on an Engine (if no Avid NEXIS | SDA is
present) or on the Avid NEXIS | SDA. Specifically, the System Director runs on one of the Controllers in the
Engine or Avid NEXIS | SDA.
The System Director is a service that can fail over to the redundant Controller in an Engine or Avid NEXIS | SDA,
if two Controllers are present. The System Director name, therefore, can change based on where it is running at
the time:
• In a multi-Engine configuration that does not include a Avid NEXIS | SDA, the System Director runs on the
first Controller in the first configured Engine. Therefore, that Controller name is initially also the System
Director name.
• In a configuration with a Avid NEXIS | SDA, the first Controller in the Avid NEXIS | SDA runs the System
Director, and its name initially becomes the System Director name.
Because the System Director service can migrate between the Controllers, the System Director uses an IP address
different from the IP addresses assigned to the Controllers. This functions as a virtual IP address, and allows you
to connect to the System Director any time, without needing to know the IP address or hostname of the Controller
currently serving the System Director process.
What is DNS?
DNS, or Domain Name System, is a distributed naming system that lets you use human-readable and -memorable
names for computers in your environment. The Internet uses the same principle; for example, to go to Avid’s
website, you enter www.avid.com into a browser. If the Internet did not have the ability to resolve that name to an
IP address, you would have to remember and enter the IP address for Avid’s website: namely, 198.37.38.15.
Because most people find it easier to remember a name than a number, with a DNS service in your environment,
you can use the name you assign to your Avid NEXIS system (for example, MyAvidStorage) instead of the IP
address. Then you can enter the name into a browser to open the Management Console and log in. Using DNS is
not required; however, the Avid NEXIS supports its use.
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