Spectra Logic provides archive and backup for KAUST Supercomputer

KAUST’s Supercomputing Laboratory operates 24 hours per day providing world class supercomputing and data analysis facilities to academics to conduct research based on scientific computing and simulations as well as scientific data analysis and interpretation. With the university’s previous supercomputer reaching end-of-life, decision to invest in a new cutting-edge replacement was made and the laboratory’s computational team was keen to fit it with a number of improved features. Specifically, the team’s key criteria for the hierarchical storage management subsystem of the new supercomputer included ease of use and a transition from General Parallel File System and IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager to Lustre and Cray TAS.

The KAUST team selected Cray Inc. with its Tiered Adaptive Storage solution supporting integration to Lustre® file systems via the TAS Connector. The KAUST installation consists of a TAS system including six scalable TAS Connector servers, an archive disk cache of 250TB usable capacity, a TFinity library with 20 IBM TS1150 FC drives, and 2007 x 10TB Media with total of 20PB uncompressed capacity with room for up to 100PB. The Spectra Logic deployment forms part of a Tiered Adaptive Storage (TAS) solution and functions as part of a hierarchical storage management system, which automatically migrates large volumes of data from disk to tape drives. The KAUST team expects to protect around 20PB of data using Spectra Logic’s tapes in the first year.

“The comprehensive solution provided by Cray matched our requirements exactly. As KAUST uses some of the most complex analytical tools in the industry and requires vast amounts of data storage, Spectra Logic’s tape solution means that we are effectively able to manage our data safe in the knowledge that it is well protected and easy to retrieve,” said Dr. Justin Mynar, director of KAUST Core Laboratories.

“The complex deployment at KAUST demonstrates the important role tape plays in one of the most demanding IT infrastructures. Through the Cray TAS solution, KAUST will benefit from being able to transition its data between disk and tape. The Spectra Logic TFinity tape library represents the ideal long-term archive and backup solution for the university,” said Brian Grainger, chief sales officer at Spectra Logic.