As a hybrid storage system, iconik can create a cloud-based system that can index storage on multiple disparate cloud and on-premise systems from one central hub.
With iconik, your team can view a higher-level window onto all of your assets, wherever the originals of those assets happen to live.
Iconik does this by creating proxies of original assets, whether on a hard drive, a NAS, a cloud bucket, or anywhere else, and presenting those proxied via its cloud-based interface.
The benefits of this approach are numerous:
- You'll have one single point of access for disparate storage systems, combining the advantages of the cloud with the benefits of on-premise.
- With proxies accessible via iconik’s hybrid cloud, you no longer have to download huge files and find where things are; it's accessible in one place.
- You can maintain your existing on-premise storage infrastructure while leveraging the power of iconik's cloud capabilities.
- You can think less about where your assets live and more about how you want to work with them.
- Hybrid cloud workflows are cost-effective because they allow flexibility in choosing storage options. You can utilize the most economical cloud providers and on-premise storage solutions that suit your business needs.
- Iconik doesn’t charge for connecting these systems; it is only for storing proxies if you choose to do so. Additionally, costs are incurred only for the users who log in.
But how does iconik index on-premise archives on the cloud? That’s where the iconik Storage Gateway or ISG comes in.
ISG is a huge part of what enables iconik's storage-agnostic approach—it’s the the vital link connecting local or on-premise content to iconik's cloud platform. By indexing local media assets in the cloud, ISG ensures that your local files are always accessible, searchable, and manageable, regardless of where they are stored.
Let’s explore how ISG works, enabling efficient media asset management and its benefits. Below, we provide a step-by-step guide on setting up ISG to help you optimize your media management processes.
Whether new to iconik or looking to improve your setup, this article will provide the knowledge and tools you need to get started.
What exactly is iconik Storage Gateway?
Simply put, it lets you use your on-premise storage with iconik in the cloud.
The iconik Storage Gateway is software you can install on your server or machine.
It monitors files and folders and manages their transfer and transcoding for iconik.
Why would someone need ISG?
The iconik Storage Gateway is a powerful tool for organizations looking to optimize their iconik media asset management by bridging local storage with cloud capabilities, ensuring security, scalability, and cost-effectiveness, and facilitating remote collaboration around on-premises media, directly from iconik’s UI.
Following a few simple steps can help you install and set up an ISG.
Once set up, the ISG can scan your local drives or on-premise storage and upload the content to the cloud for easy management, sharing, and collaboration.
The video below shows you how!
Setting up an ISG
Setting up an iconik Storage Gateway involves connecting your local storage to the iconik cloud.
Initially, you must download and install the ISG software on your local server or workstation.
Once installed, configure the ISG to scan specified mount points, such as workstations, servers, RAID arrays, or NAS devices.
The ISG will then create proxies of your media assets and upload them to the iconik cloud, allowing for tagging, searching, and collaboration.
Once set up, it operates almost automatically with minimal need for adjustments.
The iconik Storage Gateway is compatible with:
- Microsoft Windows: Windows 10, Windows 11, Windows Server 2016, or Windows Server 2019
- MacOS (three latest versions) Intel and Apple Silicon (M1/M2) supported.
- Linux: CentOS 7, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 24.04, Enterprise Linux 8, Enterprise Linux 9. For Centos7 and Ubuntu Focal, only amd64/x86-64 packages are available from our repositories; other versions also have packages for arm64.
Let me explain a little more.
ISG standout features
- Enables iconik to manage and use files that are located on-premise
- Automatically scans a specified mount point (e.g., workstation, server, RAID array, NAS)
- Creates a proxy and uploads it to the iconik cloud
- Enables tagging, searching, reviewing, approving, and commenting on media assets in the cloud
- Enables iconik to operate as a Hybrid Cloud Solution
- Integrates with Adobe Premiere Pro
- Can make available to an enterprise files from multiple locations
- ISG streamlines media management by providing unified access to local and cloud storage, improving performance, and reducing latency.
- The hybrid approach balances storage, cutting costs by keeping frequently accessed data locally and storing proxies in the cloud for enhanced collaboration and real-time access.
*ISG is not a storage solution but software that makes iconik compatible with storage solutions.
Scalability and performance
Iconik Power Users have granular control over ISG deployment settings, such as telling the ISG to ignore certain file types and paths and adjusting scan frequency, which can be as often as every 2 seconds.
ISG effectively handles increasing amounts of media assets, although the speed of proxy generation depends on the machine's hardware.
More powerful machines will create proxies faster, and clients can opt for faster transcoders to improve times, ensuring flexibility and scalability in managing media assets.
How proxies can improve team collab
ISG excels at facilitating remote access to on-premise assets by turning them into proxies (if that’s how you’ve chosen to utilize the ISG—you can upload original assets, too, if you wish). This makes collaboration on the assets easy for distributed teams.
With proxies in iconik, you'll have easier access to assets and collaboration workflows integrated directly into the media asset management processes.
Proxies in the iconik cloud perfectly mirror the originals, supporting tagging, retrieval, and other collaborative features that enhance remote work.
In short, you will:
- Have more straightforward access to assets in the case of iconik.
- Have collaboration workflows baked into the media asset management workflows.
- Have a new system that brings the work to you rather than having to bring yourself to the work.