Problem with ProTools and Xserve RAID

[OysteinHalvorsen]

Hi,
When setting the Open Ended Record Allocation above 90 minutes and recording 48 tracks, I get the “spinning wheel” when I hit record. The delay can be up to 2 minutes from hitting record until PT starts recording. I use the Xserve with one MAC only (via fiberchannel), not in a server configuration. I have 1 TB of disk space and about 400GB free disk space. The disk is very little fragmented.

The weird thing is that this problem seams to be random! One day PT records 3 hours with no problem and the next day I have to set the Open Ended Record Allocation to 90 min or less to get a smooth operation (we record a lot of live-in-studio shows that lasts for 1-2 hours). When PT is finally recording, the disk-access meter usually shows 10% or less activity, so there is not much strain on the Xserve. But while PT is “spinning the wheel”, the disk access meter on the Xserve (the blue leds) hits the roof.

When recording on a single empty 250GB FW400 disk with the same configuration, PT has no problem recording 48 tracks with Open Ended Record Allocation set way above 90 min (I know it is not recommended…).

I have tried do delete preferences and digisetup files with no effect.

Anyone else using Xserve out there?

We are considering buying ProTools as a substitute for Tascam DA88’s in our OB trucks, but are a bit unsure about the stability of PT when recording large track counts for serveral hours.

Best regards,
Øystein

My setup is:
MAC G5 1,8Ghz with 1,5 GB RAM running on OS 10.3.4
ProTools HD 6.4 cs9
Xserve: Firmware 1.2.4, Raid Admin 1.3.2