Case Study: CoMix Wave Films Inc. achieves cloud-scale storage and 100x IOPS with NetApp (Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP & FlexCache)

Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP supports revolutionary animation production of Suzume

CoMix Wave Films, the studio behind Makoto Shinkai’s film Suzume, faced rapidly growing data demands for theatrical animation—about 56 TB of assets (1.69 million files in 900,000 folders), 1.6× the prior film—while their on‑premises storage ran into capacity, performance, and operational complexity during compositing and rendering. They needed a single, flexible storage environment that could deliver high I/O for thousands of file transfers without tripling costs or disrupting creators.

CWF deployed Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP with NetApp FlexCache (connected via 10 Gbps Direct Connect) to create a hybrid cloud setup that cached data locally at the studio. The solution delivered a local‑like user experience, 100× IOPS vs their HDD solution, on‑demand scaling (additional capacity in minutes), background migration, and support for nearly 1,000 rendering servers—meeting performance, capacity, operation, and cost goals.

CoMix Wave Films Inc.

Masahide Miyakogawa

System Administration Department