InfoSheet 4:
Cumulus and CD-ROM Jukeboxes

This infosheet should give you some more information about using CD jukeboxes with the Cumulus image database.

One of the large number of possible configurations the Canto developers tested with was the Kodak Professional PCD Jukebox 100. The software to access the files on the CDs was the Kodak Professional PCD Jukebox Manager 1.2. As it was said above there are more jukeboxes from different vendors on the market as well.

The jukebox needs to be connected to the server on which the Cumulus server application is installed. Using a Macintosh server connected to the jukebox is an affordable and powerful solution for handling a large number of images on different CDs. You have the full access to all the files on the different CDs without exchanging them manually. In case of the Kodak Professional PCD Jukebox 100 Cumulus is the one and only application giving you the full access to these files.

The Macintosh operating system is not able to handle all the different CDs in the Jukebox as mountable volumes. This is an upper class feature offered by connecting the jukebox to a Unix-Fileserver. In this case you have the full access to all the different CDs in the Jukebox as shared volumes. This solution offers a much easier handling of the volumes and its files but of course this fact has its effect on the cost of the solution.

Extra benefit can be added by using an OPI system. It is recommended to store the Sample Files on a hard-disk and the high resolution files on the CDs in the Jukebox. This configuration minimizes the traffic in the Jukebox while working on the layouts. There is only one access to the high resolution file at the end of the workflow done by the printer spooler exchanging the sample against the high resolution file.

When the user tries to access an image stored in the jukebox connected to the server from the client the Cumulus resolver tries to access the image on a local CD-ROM first and prompts the user to insert the CD-ROM into the local drive. If the user cancels the procedure the client asks the server if he is able to resolve the alias and the server offers a copy of the image to the client if possible. In the case the user knows that all the images are stored in the jukebox it is possible to install a resolver on the client that always returns an error code telling the client not to try to access the image on the local CD-ROM and not to display the insert-dialog but to ask the server for a copy of the image. Canto Software offers a developers toolkit to build your own resolver.

Remark: it is not possible to activate File Sharing on the server otherwise the system would not be able to exchange the CDs in the Jukebox.

Here is a list of supported CD-ROM jukeboxes.

Brand Model Capacity

Pioneer Pioneer CDJ 500 disks

NSM Mercury 100 100 disks
Mercury 150 150 disks

Mercury 40 4 drives
Mercury 20 2 drives

Kodak PCD 100 100 disks


If you have further questions please send email:

In the United States:
support@canto-software.com

In Europe and Asia:
support@canto.de

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