Written by Chris Koh, DevOps Engineer at TrackIt
The media and entertainment industry is rapidly shifting toward the cloud, and post-production workflows are evolving with it. As production timelines tighten and creative teams spread across the globe, traditional on-premises edit bays are becoming too rigid and expensive to scale. Cloud-native editorial is quickly becoming the new standard.
Avid, long regarded as the industry standard for video and audio post production, has now fully embraced the cloud. Its flagship tools—Media Composer, Pro Tools, and Avid NEXIS—are available as scalable, cloud-based solutions on AWS. For post-production houses, broadcasters, and studios, this opens the door to faster deployment, global collaboration, and simpler infrastructure management, all while maintaining the performance editors expect.
Contents
What’s New: Avid on AWS
Media Composer in the Cloud: Media Composer can now be launched directly from the AWS Marketplace as a managed SaaS solution. Users can spin up GPU-powered virtual workstations on demand and only pay for what they use.
Pro Tools Integration: Pro Tools workflows are now better integrated with Media Composer in the cloud. Audio teams can work in sync with editors by sharing mix metadata and edit markers, reducing the need for manual roundtrips and relinking.
Avid NEXIS Cloud Storage: NEXIS, traditionally a hardware-based shared storage system, is now cloud-enabled and runs on AWS infrastructure. This allows globally distributed teams to access high-performance shared storage without relying on on-premises hardware.
Storage Backend Options
There are multiple storage backends available for NEXIS in the cloud, each suited to different workloads and deployment scenarios:
- Amazon EBS (Elastic Block Store): High performance and low latency, ideal for editorial workflows. Supports up to 500 Gbps throughput and can be deployed in Local Zones like Los Angeles to keep infrastructure close to creative teams.
- Amazon S3 Express One Zone: Designed for fast access to large datasets with performance up to 800 MBps. Best for latency-sensitive workflows, but currently limited to a few regions: us-west-2, us-east-1, and us-east-2. Not available in every Availability Zone.
- Amazon S3 Standard: Best for nearline or archive tier storage. Available in all regions and zones, but offers lower throughput at around 90 MBps. This is a great fit for projects that need broad geographic coverage without real-time performance demands.
Benefits of Avid on AWS
Faster Setup: Full editorial environments can be launched in minutes without the delays of shipping equipment or configuring workstations.
Seamless Collaboration: Editors and audio teams can work from anywhere, accessing shared storage and project files as if they were in the same facility.
Cost Efficiency: Cloud-based resources are used only when needed. Teams avoid the overhead of idle equipment during downtime.
High Performance Editing: Media Composer runs on AWS instances equipped with NVIDIA GPUs, making real-time playback and high-resolution editing smooth and reliable.
Remote Review and Approval: With tools like ClearView Flex, editors can share edits in real-time with directors, producers, or clients, regardless of their location.
Technical Architecture
A successful Avid deployment in AWS depends on proper network planning, scalable compute, fast storage, and secure access. The following outlines key architectural considerations.
Example Architecture
Networking and Subnet Design
Prior to deploying Avid components in AWS, it is critical to structure the network appropriately.
Subnet Sizing
Use at least a /24 subnet for each Availability Zone. Avid components like Media Composer, Pro Tools, and NEXIS often require multiple IP addresses per workstation for control services, networked storage, and supporting agents. A /24 provides 256 IPs, offering enough room to scale.
For deployments requiring environment separation by role (e.g., editors, storage, management), a /24 can be further divided into smaller /25 or /26 subnets within the same VPC.
Private Subnet Support
When deploying into private subnets without internet access, it is necessary to provision VPC endpoints. These endpoints enable instances to reach essential AWS services such as Amazon S3 and AWS Systems Manager.
Required endpoints include:
- S3 Gateway Endpoint: Enables access to S3 buckets without a NAT Gateway
- com.amazonaws.region.s3
- com.amazonaws.region.s3
- Systems Manager Interface Endpoints: Used for connecting through Session Manager, patching, and automation
- com.amazonaws.region.ssm
- com.amazonaws.region.ssmmessages
- Com.amazonaws.region.ec2messages
- com.amazonaws.region.ssm
This allows secure communication with AWS services while keeping Avid workstations isolated from the public internet.
Compute
Virtual Workstations
Media Composer and Pro Tools run on Amazon EC2 G4dn or G5 instances with NVIDIA GPUs. These instances support real-time playback, multicam editing, and audio mixing. Editors typically connect using NICE DCV or Amazon WorkSpaces, depending on performance and cost needs.
Storage
Avid NEXIS in the cloud requires fast, shared storage. High-performance editorial work benefits from block-based storage with low latency, while nearline or archival needs can be met with object storage options. As outlined above, the choice of backend—whether EBS, S3 Express One Zone, or S3 Standard—should align with performance requirements, latency sensitivity, and regional availability.
Remote Access
Editors and audio engineers connect to their virtual workstations using one of two main options:
- Amazon DCV (previously known as NICE DCV): A high-performance remote display protocol developed by AWS. Ideal for direct workstation access, NICE DCV supports multi-monitor setups, 4K playback, USB passthrough, and low latency streaming. It works well in tightly managed VPC environments with minimal overhead.
- Studio-in-the-Cloud Solutions (e.g., Leostream, HP Anyware): These platforms provide full virtual studio orchestration, including connection brokering, user entitlement management, and cross-region scaling. They are well-suited for larger post-production environments where admins need to manage multiple users and projects at scale. These solutions also support hybrid deployments and can integrate with identity providers like Okta or Active Directory.
Both options offer secure, high-fidelity remote access to GPU-powered Avid workstations, and the right choice depends on the level of control, flexibility, and automation required by the production environment.
Collaboration and Review
ClearView Flex can be integrated for real-time, frame-accurate remote review and approval sessions. Editors can stream content to clients or producers over secure, low-latency channels.
Assets are often exchanged via Amazon S3 buckets configured for cross-team access or external sharing.
Management and Security
- AWS Systems Manager: Enables patching, script automation, inventory, and Session Manager access
- Amazon CloudWatch: Used for monitoring system health and performance
- AWS IAM: Manages fine-grained access control to both infrastructure and editorial environments
Conclusion
Running Avid in AWS represents a significant shift in how media production environments are architected, deployed, and scaled. By moving traditionally on-premises tools like Media Composer, Pro Tools, and NEXIS into the cloud, broadcasters, post-production houses, and creative teams gain access to on-demand resources, global collaboration, and operational flexibility that were previously difficult to achieve.
This evolution aligns with a broader industry trend toward cloud-based workflows, driven by the need for remote access, rapid scalability, and integration with modern services such as AI/ML, content distribution, and media supply chain automation. As cloud adoption accelerates, the ability to deploy Avid infrastructure in AWS positions creative teams to be more agile, cost-efficient, and future-ready in an increasingly digital-first media landscape.
About TrackIt
TrackIt is an international AWS cloud consulting, systems integration, and software development firm headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA.
We have built our reputation on helping media companies architect and implement cost-effective, reliable, and scalable Media & Entertainment workflows in the cloud. These include streaming and on-demand video solutions, media asset management, and archiving, incorporating the latest AI technology to build bespoke media solutions tailored to customer requirements.
Cloud-native software development is at the foundation of what we do. We specialize in Application Modernization, Containerization, Infrastructure as Code and event-driven serverless architectures by leveraging the latest AWS services. Along with our Managed Services offerings which provide 24/7 cloud infrastructure maintenance and support, we are able to provide complete solutions for the media industry.