Oxford Implements Hybrid Scale-Out NAS for High-Performance Computing
Oxford University has implemented a hybrid
scale-out network-attached storage (NAS) system to support its high-performance
computing (HPC) center for research.
According to Andrew Richards, head of the
Advanced Research Computing
(ARC) Centre at Oxford, the center doesn't have a large IT support staff
available at all times, so they needed a solution that offered "manageability,
load balancing and performance monitoring," he said in a prepared statement. The
solution also needed to be compatible with a range of HPC systems already in
place at the center.
The university selected the
ActiveStor 14
hybrid scale-out NAS system from Panasas
with 330 TB of storage. According to the company, the system provides the
university with "a single pool of storage under a global name space." The
technology is based on a fifth-generation storage blade architecture, uses a
combination of high capacity hard disk drives and solid state drives and runs
the Panasas PanFS storage operating system. According to information on the
company's site, the ActiveStor 14 system is suitable for environments requiring
high capacity and throughput.
The ARC Centre provides researchers throughout the university with access to
HPC resources, including distributed memory, shared memory and
graphics-processing unit (GPU)-enabled HPC clusters. According to the company,
the ActiveStor 14 system will provide university researchers "with the storage
required for home areas, general purpose mid-term projects and high-performance
short-term jobs."
About the Author
Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].