Optimizing storage is the "final boss" of game development infrastructure. Today, we’re comparing the industry-standard cloud solution (AWS FSx) against a self-hosted alternative (Velovol) across three critical use cases: Build Pipelines, Perforce Performance, and VDI.
The Challenge: "The Morning Sync"
If you work in Game Dev, you know the pain. "Hydrating" a build agent or a new developer's workstation with a 200GB+ project repo can take 30-60 minutes.
The industry standard solution, championed by NetApp and AWS, is to move everything to the cloud using Instant Thin Clones. But is that the only way?
Let's dive into the architecture.
Case Study 1: Accelerating Build Pipelines
☁️ The AWS + NetApp Approach
Mechanism: Instant Thin Clones.
The system creates writable, space-efficient clones of the golden master volume instantly in the cloud. Build agents mount these clones.
- Pros: Excellent within AWS; saves storage via deduplication.
- Cons: Performance is bound by cloud IOPS limits and network latency. You pay for every GB that moves.
🏠 The Velovol Approach (Self-Hosted)
Mechanism: Instant Virtual Mounting.
Velovol mounts the repository snapshot directly to the build agent's file system as a read-only or Copy-on-Write layer over your local LAN.
- Pros: Works on ANY hardware (even that dusty server in the closet). No "cloning" delay—data is streamed on demand. Zero egress fees.
- Cons: Requires the client on the build agent.
Winner: Tie. (AWS for pure cloud teams; Velovol for hybrid/on-prem performance).
Case Study 2: Perforce (P4) Performance
☁️ The AWS Approach
Leverages iSCSI Block Storage to provide high-throughput disk access for the Perforce server hosted in AWS. It outperforms standard NFS.
🏠 The Velovol Approach
Acts as a Distributed Edge Cache.
Instead of just speeding up the central server, Velovol eliminates the need for developers to talk to the central server for large assets. p4 sync becomes instantaneous because the heavy binary assets are virtually "already there" via the mount.
Winner: Velovol (for Developer Experience).
The Cost Reality Check
Running high-performance GPU instances in the cloud 24/7 for VDI is expensive.
| Dimension | AWS FSx + NetApp | Velovol |
|---|---|---|
| Egress Fees | 💸 Pay per GB | Zero (Local LAN) |
| Data Sovereignty | Shared Cloud Infra | 100% Air-Gapped |
| Performance | Internet Latency | 10GbE LAN Speed |
Conclusion
If your studio is "all-in" on AWS and fully remote VDI, Amazon FSx is a formidable solution.
However, if your goal is to reclaim control over your data, eliminate the "cloud tax" on egress, and leverage the raw power of local RTX 4090 workstations without the wait times, you might want to look at self-hosted distribution.
Read the full technical breakdown on our engineering blog: Velovol Technical Deep Dive
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