CERN evaluates Spectra Logic tape library

BOULDER, USA: Data storage service provider Spectra Logic, which is celebrating 30th anniversary, announced that CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is evaluating its tape library technology.

Spectra T-Series tape libraries were installed in CERN's laboratory in July to store data copies from its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) multi-national scientific project. CERN will migrate LHC data from a Spectra T380 tape library to a Spectra T-Finity, using CERN's Advanced Storage manager (CASTOR) for hierarchical storage management, said the company in a release.

Also Read: Tape storage remains vital for data centres

"With CERN's vast volumes of data, we needed a solution that would provide scalability for growth while ensuring the integrity and accessibility of the data. We easily integrated Spectra's T-Series tape libraries with our CASTOR HSM software, providing high density in a very small data center footprint," said Vladimir Bahyl, tape service manager, CERN. "The Spectra T-Series tape library platform allows CERN to scale both hardware and software to make capacity upgrades quick, seamless and affordable as our data sets grow."

The LHC is a gigantic particle accelerator used by physicists to examine the world's tiniest atomic particles and the results of their collisions, recreate the Big Bang, and gather information about the Universe.

CERN is the centre for all LHC-related experiments, and it collects and stores around 25 petabytes of scientific data per year from numerous LHC experiments then redistributes it to multiple sites across several countries around the world, the release added.

"CERN's many experiments produce research data that may be critical years down the line, so they store data indefinitely. The Spectra T-Series tape library platform is backed by more than a decade of engineering innovation and designed to offer a cost-effective lifetime investment in storage," said Matt Starr, chief technology officer, Spectra Logic. "The T-Finity is a great choice for CERN's scientific projects as it provides high density, scalability, capacity and availability as multiple physicists worldwide must access the stored research data today and far into the future."