The Australian Synchrotron has a need to retain and archive data generated on all the beamlines and the accelerator for a lengthy period of time. These data should be stored in a secure and safe fashion allowing the original researcher and subsequent authorised researchers to access the data for any purpose, including original research, verification, data mining, and extended data analysis. Currently this function is not able to be performed by the facility. Original data is kept for a short time, and only to the limit of the particular technology of the beamlines. The onus for data storage and curation is left to the user.
A Petabyte data storage array is the collective name for the various technologies used to provide a safe and secure data storage system. It will consist of an array of disk, tape and networking technologies combined to optimise data retention and accessability for the long term.
The storage array needs to be constantly evolving to take into account the fast moving technology – for example certain tapes and disks in common use a few years ago can no longer be read - and is likely to be several Petabytes in size.
Download Full Project Proposal Here (pdf, 24kb)
Further Information
- Contact Andrew Peele or Kia Wallwork at asdp@synchrotron.org.au.