World-class innovation at Edinburgh International Data Facility

Built and operated by EPCC, the UK’s leading centre of supercomputing and data science expertise at the University of Edinburgh, EIDF provides the computational and data services and IT infrastructure that underpins the Data-Driven Innovation (DDI) Programme, a cluster of innovation hubs that bring many disciplines together between industry, the public sector, and academia, to solve real-world problems.  

To meet their long-term storage strategy and accommodate their data-driven research services, which include private cloud compute, data management, safe haven services, and large-scale AI projects, EIDF chose a joint storage solution from Spectra Logic and HPE.  

The scalable solution enables the facility to be as agile and responsive as possible to the needs of their many stakeholders. Two Spectra TFinity Tape Libraries deliver scalable, reliable and adaptable data storage and archiving, including 20 petabytes of cold storage capacity that is being used for many EIDF projects, such as COVID-19 research at the University of Edinburgh. In addition, HPE Data Management Framework software delivers hierarchical, tiered storage management to the TFinity tape Libraries. 

“With the help of Spectra Logic, we are creating what we believe is the only facility of its kind in Europe focused on delivering data-driven regional growth,” said Mark Parsons, Director of EPCC. “Spectra’s TFinity Tape Library is uniquely positioned to provide the scalable infrastructure for our long-term archive and storage services offered at the EIDF. It builds on the great long-term relationship we’ve had with Spectra.”