DreamWorks: Shaking Up… Networking?

DreamWorks Makes The Team Work

In a good, efficient way!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware of animated films like Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and Madagascar. Considered one of the top animation studios after Disney-Pixar, DreamWorks has released an average of two films a year since the early 2000’s.

Thankfully for you (or, mainly, your children), they appear to have no sign in adjusting that release schedule anytime soon.

Networking the Dream

From a networking perspective, creating high definition CG animations is exceptionally arduous. Turning animations into the high-quality, big-screen movies we see requires very low data latency, plus the constant use and storage of very large files.

These challenges have forced the DreamWorks networking team to think outside the box in terms of how an enterprise network should function.

To put into perspective, DreamWorks requires 500 or more artists, sound designers, and animators for a single feature film. These films take an average of 5 years to complete. The entire process can eat up more than 350 terabytes of data, spread across hundreds of millions of individual files. All of which needs to remain in high quality formats, with no data loss or compression.

Cutting Edge Tech

Covering over 11 acres of campus, the latest updates to DreamWorks massive network have created a zero latency wireless network. They accomplished this feat with over 350 advanced wireless access points. This allows the creative teams to work from anywhere onsite, without the need for static workstations. This new network has boosted employee morale by allowing changed surroundings throughout the work day. This is said to help keep the creative juices flowing and provide an environment that is truly unique.

Another unique aspect to DreamWorks’ network is its reversed usage patterns. Configured in a mesh topology to allow the zero latency over wireless connections, the network keeps the workers unobstructed while doing work during the day. At night, the network takes on a different configuration, shifting the processing power to heavy-duty rendering tasks.

Into the Future

Other industries are actively taking notes on DreamWorks’ new network. Pass or fail, DreamWorks is pioneering the next evolution in the ‘standard workplace ecosystem,’ along with employee productivity and morale.

For even more information about the new DreamWorks campus, visit http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ourculture/ or head to Glendale, CA to see the campus in person!

(Image Source: iCLIPART)