Science and Technology Facilities Council Captures High-Energy Research Data with Reliable Storage
 
 

Science and Technology Facilities Council Captures High-Energy Research Data with Reliable Storage

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The Science and Technology Facilities Council is one of Europe’s largest multidisciplinary research organizations supporting scientists and engineers worldwide. The Council operates large-scale research facilities, tackling some of the most significant challenges facing society today, such as meeting our future energy needs, monitoring and understanding climate change, and global security.

 
 

 
 

Challenges

  • Operate large-scale computing facilities for U.K. research organizations and universities
  • Store and manage large volumes of data generated by world-class experimental facilities such as ISIS—the pulsed neutron source, the Central Laser Facility, and Diamond Light Source
  • Facilitate increased collaboration within the research community by storing and providing access to data collected during previous research projects
  • Enable storage of huge numbers of small files for the ISIS facility with data spanning 30 years as well as vast quantities of data created very quickly by the Diamond Light Source
  • Control operational costs by establishing a scalable infrastructure for cost-effective growth

Solutions

Oracle Product and Services

  • Implemented two of Oracle’s StorageTek SL8500 modular library systems to provide enterprise-class storage for 10 petabytes of data and scale to handle volumes that double in size every two to three years, managing the data on Oracle Database
  • Improved throughput to directly support data-intensive physics experiments, such as the Diamond Light Source, to ensure that the results of experiments are captured and safely stored
  • Combined the Diamond Light Source and ISIS databases to enable easier cross-referencing of data collected by these two long-term experiments
  • Optimized space and costs by increasing capacity with fewer drives and cartridges by upgrading to the latest high capacity versions