Digital rendering billing and licensing issues have been reduced by a time series solution

PipelineFX​ ​helps​ ​organizations​ ​of​ ​all​ ​sizes​ better​ ​manage​ the cost of ​rendering​ ​for​ ​digital​ ​media applications​ ​and​ ​programs.​ ​For​ ​more than​ ​16​ ​years,​ ​organizations​ ​of​ ​all​ ​sizes​ ​in​ ​the​ ​film,​ ​visual​ ​effects, post​ ​production,​ ​broadcast,​ ​design​ ​and​ ​education​ ​industries​ ​have​ ​been​ ​using​ ​PipelineFX’s Qube!​ ​to​ ​manage their​ ​render​ ​pipeline and​ ​make​ ​critical​ ​business​ ​decisions,​ ​faster​ ​and​ ​smarter​ ​than​ ​the competition.

Time Series Solves Customer Problems

PipelineFX wanted to help its customers​ ​​meet​ ​their digital media deadlines without having to spend the capital to build and maintain their own render farms. The​ ​steps a graphics system needs to perform to render a 3D scene to a 2D screen ​​is​ ​a​ ​very​ ​“bursty​ ​process,”​ so​ ​one customer​ ​may​ ​need​ ​10,000​ ​cores one​ ​night​ ​and​ ​only​ ​a​ ​couple​ ​of​ ​hundred​ ​the​ ​next​ ​night.​ ​In addition,​ customers​’ ​deadlines​ ​are​ ​not​ ​variable, yet ​​the​ ​time​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​render​ ​each​ ​project​ ​is​ ​very different, based​ ​on​ ​the​ ​level​ ​of​ ​computer​ ​graphics,​ ​layers​ ​per​ ​shot,​ ​resolution​ ​of​ ​the​ ​rendered project​ ​and​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​frames​ ​per​ ​second​.​ ​To​ ​meet​ ​a​ ​deadline,​ ​customers may​ ​need​ ​to​ ​scale​ ​from​ ​500​ ​to​ ​1,500​ ​machines​ ​for​ ​three​ ​days.​ ​But​ ​after​ ​those​ ​three​ ​days,​ ​customers do​n’t​ ​want​ ​to​ ​pay​ ​for​ ​rendering​ ​licenses​ ​that​ ​are​ ​not​ ​being​ ​used.​ ​Their​ ​job​ ​is​ ​finished, so​ ​they​ ​should​ ​not​ ​need​ ​to​ ​pay!

What​ ​makes​ ​the​ ​PipelineFX​ ​offering​ ​so​ ​compelling​ ​is​ ​the​ ​ability​ ​to​ ​measure​ ​utilization​ ​every minute​ ​and​ ​bill​ ​at​ ​a similar time interval.​ ​This​ ​high​ ​level​ ​of​ ​precision ​ensures​ ​that PipelineFX ​​customers​ ​get a​ ​great​ ​return​ ​on​ ​their​ ​investment​​.​ ​With this data, PipelineFX​ ​is able to ​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​very​ ​flexible​ ​pricing​ ​model that​ ​can​ ​accommodate​ ​this​ ​high​-frequency​ ​charging​ ​for​ ​any​ ​license​ ​utilization​ ​over​ ​a​ ​certain per-paid​ ​minimum.​ ​In​ ​addition,​ ​the​ ​system​ ​needs​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​reports​ ​and​ ​insight​s ​into​ ​what​ ​average utilization​ ​rates​ ​are​ ​and​ whether ​a​ ​customer​ ​should​ ​consider​ ​increasing​ ​its​ ​minimums.

In addition to solving the problem of rendering licenses during bursty processes, PipelineFX wanted to enhance​ ​its​ ​SaaS​ ​infrastructure​ ​to​ ​optimize​ ​customer​ ​demand​ ​and​ ​server​ ​costs. PipelineFX​ customers ​need​ ​to​ ​be​ ​able​ ​to​ ​reserve​ ​the​ ​right​ ​number​ ​of​ ​servers​ ​and​ ​nodes​ ​to​ ​hit​ ​the​ir ​peak demands,​ ​but​ ​they​ ​do​n​’t ​want​ (or need) ​to​ ​purchase​ ​perpetual ​licenses for these short-lived servers.

Since​ ​PipelineFX ​​wanted​ ​to​ ​measure​ ​and​ ​bill​ ​at​ ​a​ ​high​-frequency​ ​time​ ​interval, as​ ​well​ ​as​ ​determine​ ​real-time​ ​peak​ ​demands,​ ​its​ ​traditional​ ​relational​ ​database​ ​was​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​proving effective.

To gather this high-frequency data, PipelineFx deployed a time series solution. ​Customers’ rendering​ ​data​ ​today is​ ​collected​ ​each ​minute​ ​and​ ​transmitted​ ​to​ ​the​ ​PipelineFX​ ​service​ ​every​ ​15​ ​minutes.​ ​If​ ​customers​ ​lose​ ​network​ ​connectivity,​ the application accumulates​ ​the​ ​batch ​and,​ ​once​ ​connectivity​ ​is​ ​restored,​ ​the​ ​whole​ ​batch​ ​is​ ​transmitted.​ ​Often,​ ​eight to​ ​12​ ​hours​ ​of​ ​data​ ​is​ ​uploaded—​some​ ​late​ in ​arriving,​ ​but​ ​the​ ​system​ ​takes​ ​care​ ​of​ ​this as​ ​well. PipelineFX​ ​uses​ ​this​ ​data​ ​store​​ ​to​ ​generate​ ​customer​ ​dashboards​ ​and​ ​provide reporting​ ​of​ ​real-time​ ​usage.

PipelineFX’s​ ​extensive ​experience​ ​with​ ​monitoring​​ ​tools​​ ​and​ ​​software​ ​development​ ​made​ it ​an​ ​easy​ ​decision​ ​to​ ​use open source projects in its product. The company found early success using open source time series projects to collect and analyze the data needed for its real-time billing offering. Although it was easy to use, PipelineFX was spending valuable development cycles maintaining the solution and decided to review the cost of hosting​ ​the solution​ ​themselves​ ​versus purchasing a​ ​hosted​ version. In its review, PipelineFX found it​ ​made​ ​better​ ​financial​ ​sense to go with a hosted version and rely on vendor expertise​​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​the​ ​software​​ ​up​ ​to​ ​date,​ ​keep the​ ​clusters​ ​fully​ ​optimized and​ ​rely on a 24×7 uptime.

Results

PipelineFX​ ​has​ ​been​ ​able​ ​to​ ​help​ ​its ​customers​​ ​achieve​ ​maximum​ ​efficiency​ ​and​ ​optimize their​ ​existing​ ​and​ ​future​ ​infrastructure.​ ​The​ ​combination​ ​of solutions has​ ​allowed for​ ​metering​ ​and​ ​billing​ ​at​ ​minute-level​ ​precision.​ ​In​ ​addition,​ customers now have​ ​a​ ​real-time​ ​view​ ​​of​ ​their​ ​current​ ​usage​ ​and​ ​billing​ ​charges, which enables​​ ​them ​to​ ​maximize​ ​their​ ​investment​ ​in​ ​Qube!​ ​without​ ​having​ ​to​ ​commit​ ​in  perpetual​ ​licenses​ ​that​ ​may​ ​go​ ​unused.

— Chris Churilo