The Joint Network Center (GNZ) at the Fritz Haber Institute (FHI) reduced its backup window by 50%, ensured the long-term integrity of vital data, and gained scalability to support fast-growing scientific data volumes using a Quantum solution at a fraction of cost of alternative solutions. GNZ is using their Quantum StorNext file system and Scalar tape solution to protect large volumes of research data for Max Planck Society institutes and scientists worldwide in an array of scientific fields, from molecular plant physiology to gravitational physics.
“Scientific research data continues to show explosive growth. With our StorNext environment, we know we’re ready,” says Gerd Schnapka, head of the GNZ.
The GNZ manages massive volumes of critical data for Max Planck Society researchers at the FHI and other locations. Scientists from across the globe work and research at the Max Planck Institutes. To protect data and keep it accessible by researchers, the GNZ performs backups and archives inactive data to tape for long-term retention. As data volumes have grown, the legacy storage infrastructure could not ingest 120 TB within the backup window.
The organization needed to boost performance and increase scalability. With the total amount of stored data quickly pushing past a petabyte, the GNZ needed a platform that could scale seamlessly.
After learning about the StorNext storage platform’s fast transfer rates and tiering capabilities, the GNZ team successfully tested and selected the StorNext platform as a key to their backup infrastructure. The GNZ now protects large and growing volumes of scientific data quickly and reliably.
The StorNext software helps streamline management, enabling a small team to handle large-scale operations. GNZ is now able to expand its IT service offerings thanks to the ease of use, scalability, and management of the StorNext platform; GNZ has doubled the number of institutes it services as a result.
“The previous problems with the backup process have been solved,” says Stefan Schülke, who manages Storage and Virtualization at the GNZ. The new storage environment gives the GNZ the scalability to handle fast-growing scientific data, and the organization can now adhere to nightly backup windows, helping to ensure that research data is protected and readily available to scientists.
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