Ranch is the long-term data archiving environment at TACC. The environment is designed, implemented, and supported to provide long-term storage for the data sets of the TACC user community. These data sets include both final data, as well as fixed external data imported into TACC for use on TACC’s other resources.
Ranch is currently comprised of quota-controlled POSIX compliant user-facing file systems using disk arrays of approximately 20 PB coupled with a tape backing store of roughly 140 PB. This environment is under the control of Quantum's StorNext software, which provides access to users' data while reducing the actual disk storage footprint of that data on the user-facing disk arrays.
StorNext is a Hierarchical Storage Management system that provides for the transparent movement of user data between disk and tape according to data age as well as data access patterns. Users should be aware that due to this transparent movement of data to and from tape, the reading of older data may be significantly slower than that which they are accustomed. Data moved into Ranch should be as close to its final form as possible, and Ranch should not be used for overflow of active data from other TACC disk environments.
Users are cautioned that Ranch contains only a single copy of any user's data. Ranch is a very large-scale archival system, and the data within it is not backed up or replicated. While best practices and best effort have always been brought to bear to support Ranch and the integrity of the user data within it, it is not a date backup/restore environment. Ranch is not designed, maintained, or supported to provide the sole storage location for user data.
If a higher integrity long-term archive is required, please contact TACC support.
The new Ranch HSM environment that has been incorporated with the existing HSM Ranch configuration is comprised of the following components: Centos-based user-facing login and GridFTP servers; Quantum StorNext File System and Storage Manager HSM software; 20 PB of IB connected DDN-based user-facing POSIX file systems; 24 LTO-8 tape drives; an expandable 5000 tape cartridge library; multi-server distributed data movement capability that provides much higher performance and concurrent tape access; and a licensed file capacity of 5 billion user files.
Users are strongly reminded and cautioned that Ranch contains only a single copy of user data. Ranch is an archival system, which is not backed up or replicated. While best practices and best effort have always been brought to bear to support Ranch and the user data within it, it is not designed, maintained, or supported to provide the sole storage location for research data. If high-integrity archive is required, please contact TACC support.
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