UNC is a naming convention invented by Microsoft that specifies a common syntax to describe the location of a network resource. It is meant to map network drives on Windows, bypassing the usual drive letters assignment system.
It can be used as a workaround to get over the 26 letters limit imposed by Windows when all the letters are already used.
In the case of Avid applications, when one DDP volume or foldervolume is used per Avid MediaFiles directory, one may soon or later run out of drive letters on Windows.
Please note that some applications which may be integrated with the DDP such as Avid DS, RP, Interplay, EVS’s IP director and most of MAM systems rely entirely on UNC in order to work properly.
UNC is also a great help in term or management when mapping the DDP volumes on many machines as you don’t have to reserve and assign particular letters for each volume.
In such situations, UNC can be used to mount the DDP volumes as a network resource rather than a local drive. The volume can then be accessed seamlessly through a network path without having to care about the number of drive letters left on Windows.
After installing the UNC component from the ArdisDDPExtra package and connecting any DDP volume via the web GUI, you will be able to access it via UNC using the following syntax on Windows explorer: \\AVFS_Server\DDPVolumeName.
A full list a the DDP volumes reachable by UNC can be obtained by entering \\AVFS_Server the Windows explorer address bar as shown below. Please note that in order to be able to see a DDP volume under the AVFS_SERVER network resource, you must be able to see a green line between the client machine and the volume in the connect page of the web GUI.
Both the DDP manuals and the ArdisDDPExtra package can be downloaded on our reseller page.
As always, all these information can be found on our knowledge base.