Axle.ai is a media asset management system designed for organizing, cataloging, searching and accessing media files; stills, audio and video. I’ve owned it since about 2014 and written about it several times.
NOTE: Here’s a recent article describing the basic operations of Axle.ai.
The reason I first bought this software was to serve as the central repository for the media my company was creating. Since we were all on the same office network, access was straight-forward.
NOTE: Here’s a helpful background explanation, from FirstSiteGuide, of proxy servers.
REMOTE ACCESS
However, recently, another use developed that fits in more closely with the work we, as editors, do today: accessing media assets remotely but securely. I inherited tens of thousands of slides and photos of extended family history going back to the mid-1800’s. I need to digitize these images, catalog them, make them searchable, then release them to members of my extended family.
I don’t want to put them on Facebook, store them in The Cloud, or spend money with AWS every month to create a private cloud service. I want the files kept locally, secured using local equipment I own and maintain, and where I can control who can access the files. This is directly analogous to making media assets securely available to a small editorial team. And I don’t have a ton of bucks to spend.
What I discovered is that Axle.ai, combined with a reverse proxy server, provides a secure, private, cloud-based media asset management system only available to the people you designate. Axle is web server software that resides on a computer stored locally in my office. Media is stored on a local server – NOT in the cloud – which is also in my office. In other words, this is a local system available only to people I specify, with all hardware and media stored under my control.
WHAT’S A REVERSE PROXY SERVER?
Fortinet recently posted an article describing all the different forms proxy servers take. About reverse proxy servers, they wrote: “Unlike a forward proxy, which sits in front of clients, a reverse proxy is positioned in front of web servers and forwards requests from a browser to the web servers. It works by intercepting requests from the user at the network edge of the web server. It then sends the requests to and receives replies from the origin server.
“Reverse proxies are a strong option for popular websites that need to balance the load of many incoming requests. They can help an organization reduce bandwidth load because they act like another web server managing incoming requests. The downside is reverse proxies can potentially expose the HTTP server architecture if an attacker is able to penetrate it. This means network administrators may have to beef up or reposition their firewall if they are using a reverse proxy.” (Link)
Two weeks ago the engineers from Axle created a reverse proxy server that points to my local Axle server. It took about 20 minutes. Family members can now access my server without knowing where it is located or its IP address. This adds an additional level of security to my system. As part of the process, I specified the private domain name I wanted my family to access. (In your case, you wouldn’t have family accessing the server, but editorial team members.)
NOTE: For those who are more paranoid about security, additional security measures can be added by combining a reverse proxy server with a VPN to encrypt all transmissions. I’m not, yet, that paranoid.
CURRENT OPERATION
(Click to see larger image.)
Once the reverse proxy server was configured, I added family members as users. Here, axle supports two types: general users, who share the same login credentials and specific users, who each have a unique login. This allows me to provide general access to a large number of infrequent family members, while providing advanced admin controls to the two or three people who will help me administer the system.
The cool part of this process is that I can now access these media assets from anywhere I can get an Internet connection. In the next week or so, I’ll expand this to include the media I use for training. The system is exceedingly fast, images are displayed as low-res proxies so there is very little lag when doing searches and the metadata that can be added to each asset is deep and customizable.
Now, I’m slowly rolling this out to family members along with some basic orientation. So far, people are up and running in about 15 minutes – capable of doing searches, downloading media and updating metadata.
SUMMARY
Like all database software, the hard part is not installing the database, but adding the data and making sure it is properly labeled. That, truthfully, is a never-ending task. But, that’s true of all media asset management systems.
My next step is to integrate AI-based facial recognition and automate getting these thousands of files properly labeled. I’ll report back on that process in a month or two.
2 Responses to A Reverse Proxy Server Turns a Media Asset Database Into A Private Cloud
This sounds like something I’m planning to do in retirement… consolidate my personal media libraries (photos, scanned docs, and family videos), and “distribute” using Google Drive and you tube, so I’m interested.
A couple of things:
-you neglected to mention the issues and responsibilities involved in keeping all this media on local hardware. I know you and I are both card-carrying members of the “backup ALWaYS” club, but there’s still an inherent danger to keeping things local. One of a Cloud services’ main job is never to lose anything, and though I’m proud to say I haven’t had a non-recoverable data event since 2010, one of the reasons I’m leaning towards a cloud solution is that I can relieve myself of the total burden of recovery. If my local system does go completely to pot, I can always count on my Google space.
-You said the Axle.ai engineers created this reverse server for you. Is this a service they offer the public? Something you can get if you know the secret handshake? And does this cost?
As I say, I’m intrigued. Back to the axle.ai article. And as always, thanks for your expertise!
Mike:
These are all good questions. I’m going to answer you in two parts, to give me time to do some research.
There are three key benefits to storing media locally: cost, privacy and security. Once you move your assets to the cloud, you are guaranteed monthly costs … forever. As a business, monthly costs may not be a big deal. But, in retirement, or for individuals, recurring fees become challenging. An 8 TB RAID 1 costs, perhaps, six months of Cloud services. After that, you own it.
Privacy and security are obvious. Once something goes up to the cloud, there is no guarantee it is safe, private or secure. Even a cursory reading of hacks and thefts does not make for a reassuring night’s sleep. Yes, you may be safe. But you can’t guarantee it. Nor do you have any direct control over it.
For some things, the ability to collaborate or share data between individuals outweighs the risk. For others, not. This is a risk/benefit decision only you can make.
As for pricing and applicability, I’m doing research.
Larry