Data Storage

The quantity of data involved in scientific research has exploded in recent years. Simulations, sensor data, and massive archiving efforts each generate hundreds of terabytes of data, which must be stored, accessed and shared. This data requires specialized storage systems, and in recent years, TACC has become a leader in the deployment and use of data-intensive computing. With more than 7 Petabytes of dedicated user storage, TACC's rapid-access, ultra high-density storage systems keep data close to the compute nodes, allowing complex comparison and analysis and making big science possible.

For information about how to request an allocation on these systems visit the Allocations page.

Oracle^® StorageTek Mass Storage Facility: Ranch

TACC's long-term mass storage solution is an Oracle® StorageTek Modular Library System, named Ranch. Ranch utilizes Oracle's Sun Storage Archive Manager Filesystem (SAM-FS) for migrating files to/from a tape archival system with a current offline storage capacity of 40 PB.

Ranch's disk cache is built on Oracle's Sun ST6540 and DataDirect Networks 9550 disk arrays containing approximately 110 TB of usable spinning disk storage. These disk arrays are controlled by an Oracle Sun x4600 SAM-FS Metadata server which has 16 CPUs and 32 GB of RAM.

Two Oracle StorageTek SL8500 Automated Tape Libraries house all of the offline archival storage. Each SL8500 library can house up to 10,000 tapes with 64 tape drive slots. One SL8500 is currently populated with 10,000 T-10000B media where each tape is capable of holding one TB of uncompressed data while the second SL8500 houses 6,000 of the latest T-10000C media which can hold five TB of uncompressed data. Each SL8500 library also contains eight handbots to manage tapes and move them to/from the tape drives with a pass-through door connecting the two SL8500 libraries. If necessary, up to four SL8500 libraries can be integrated into a single archival solution, allowing for an offline storage capacity of 200 PB with current tape media.

For more information about using Ranch, see the Ranch User Guide.

Data Direct Networks/Dell Data Applications Facility: Corral

Corral is a system deployed in April 2009 by the Texas Advanced Computing Center to support data-centric science at the University of Texas. Corral consists of 6 Petabytes of online disk and a number of servers providing high-performance storage for all types of digital data. It supports MySQL and Postgres databases, high-performance parallel file system, and web-based access, and other network protocols for storage and retrieval of data to and from sophisticated instruments, HPC simulations, and visualization laboratories. A high-performance parallel file system is accessible directly from TACC's world-class computational resources, Stampede and Lonestar, as well as Stallion, the world's largest tile display, enabling both mathematical and visual analysis of petabyte-scale datasets.