Support FAQ

What applications does FocalPoint Server support?

Focal Point Server will support all applications that save a Project file and a configuration or preference file. This includes, for starters;

• Final Cut Pro 7
• Avid Media Composer 6.0 and above
• Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 and above
• Autodesk Maya
• Viz Curious Maps
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 and above
• Adobe Illustrator CS5 and above
• Adobe After Effects CS5 and above
• Maxon Cinema 4D
• Adobe Flash CS5 and above

The only applications that don`t behave in this way are Resolve and Smoke. They embed the project files within their own SQL lite databases, and don’t let any third party software access their information. There are ways we can get around this but contact us for details.

What is a ‘workspace’ for FocalPoint Server?

A workspace is an application, managed by FocalPoint Server. FocalPoint will launch the application configuring it to “House Standards” for a particular workflow. It does this by pushing out a pre-configured file that is appropriate to the desired workflow. So as you open an application, say Final Cut, in FocalPoint Server, it will launch the application with the project’s preset format, resolution, colouration etc. An editor does not need to know which episode requires which format. FocalPoint also names the project files correctly and saves a dynamically linked version of it within its own database. So you can find a project in FocalPoint Server, and open it in any application you like, for example Premiere or Illustrator.

What hardware do I need?

Technical requirements for FocalPoint Server Workgroup Version (Max 15 Users)

Minimum Requirements (One Server):

• x86-64, 3Ghz processor and above, quad core
• 8GB memory
• Ubuntu LTS 12.04 64Bit/Redhat EL 6.2 64Bit/CentOS 6.2 64Bit
• OSX 10.7 and above (Lion)
• Windows 2008 R2
• RAID 1+0 drive configuration for FocalPoint Server data (independent of OS drive(s))
• Java 7
• For Linux VM installations of FocalPoint Server only: Linux package haveged

Technical requirements for FocalPoint Server Enterprise Version

Minimum Requirements:

•  One server (for High Availability with or without hardware load balancers, and for robust database redundancy, two servers are mandatory):
• x86-64, 3Ghz processor and above, quad core
• 16GB memory
• Ubuntu LTS 12.04 64Bit/Redhat EL 6.2 64Bit/CentOS 6.2 64Bit
• RAID 1+0 drive configuration for FocalPoint Server data (independent of OS drive(s))
• Horizontal Scaling achieved by adding pairs of servers.
• Java 7
• For Linux VM installations of FocalPoint Server only: Linux package haveged

Is it a MAM?

No. We are tracking projects, not media. We first of all create the structures for the media to go into, as opposed to starting with the media itself. This way we avoid detailed logging, as the media is already associated with the project’s tags. FocalPoint Server simply follows the project throughout the workflow, letting you track it at every stage of the process.

DOES IT WORK WITH MACS AND PCS?

Yes it does. It will work on OS, Windows and Linux systems.

What about the media I have already?

This can be migrated into FocalPoint Server several ways. One is by renaming several files at a time en masse – according to a naming schema – then these files will be searchable within FocalPoint Server. Please ask us for the best method for your company, as we can create a solution based on what you still use regularly. From this moment on, new Projects will always be started within FocalPoint Server.

 Does it work with CatDV?

Yes! Find the page on CatDV integration for an example of how this could work, or contact us to see how FocalPoint can work as a front end to CatDV.

Can I use Active directories in FPS?

We can verify against Active Directory applications but in the current build of FocalPoint Server we have an inbuilt database with our own ability to define roles. This is currently only defined by an administrator.

SO IS THIS using CENTRALISED STORAGE?

While FocalPoint Server affords a lot of flexibility, one of the key considerations is whether to use a model involving centralized shared storage or not.

Model A (local storage):

If the project assets are very small as in FCP7, MC or Premiere, it is recommended not to use centralized shared storage. In this case a copy of the project assets, along with all the metadata associated with the projects is always kept in the FocalPoint Server database. It is strongly recommended to use a High Availability configuration with at least two servers. RAID 10 configuration over even number of disks is strongly recommended where the FocalPoint Server database will be written. The number of disks required for the RAID 10 configuration depends on the number of project assets.

Model B (shared central storage) :

If the project assets are large with embedded images such as Adobe Photoshop projects, it is recommended to use centralized shared storage where the projects are kept in the centralized shared server, but FocalPoint Server database keeps track of the metadata associated with the projects. Again it is strongly recommended to use a High Availability configuration with two servers and RAID 10 configuration as outlined in the preceding paragraph.

Combination of Model A and Model B:

It is also possible to design a schema with a combination of workflows: no centralized storage for project assets that are very small and centralized storage for project assets that are large.

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