Data Management Solutions
Defeating Data Gravity: Intelligent Tiering and Policy-Driven Governance.
The Challenge of Data Gravity
Computing is fast, but moving data is slow. If you have 5 Petabytes of simulation data, you cannot simply "copy-paste" it—it would take months. Effective Data Management is about Tiering (placing data on the right hardware at the right time) and Governance (ensuring searchability and compliance).
1. The Architecture: The Storage Layer Cake
Tier 0: Scratch (Formula 1)
Hardware: NVMe / All-Flash. Extreme speed (100GB/s+). Used only for active simulations; files are ephemeral and deleted after 30 days.
Tier 1: Project (Family Van)
Hardware: SAS SSDs or Fast HDDs. Persistent storage for code, scripts, and active research results. Backed up daily.
Tier 2: Archive (Cargo Ship)
Hardware: LTO Tape or S3 Object Storage. Slow but cheap. Designed for long-term compliance (10+ years) and cold data.
Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM)
Managing petabytes manually is impossible. HSM Software automates the data flow based on rules:
"If a file hasn't been opened in 90 days, move it from Flash to Tape, but keep a pointer so it stays visible in the folder."
When a user clicks an archived file, the robotic arm in the tape library automatically retrieves it. The user gets the data with a small delay, but the expensive flash remains empty for active science.
Data Governance: Finding the Needle
Metadata Tagging
Standard file systems are blind. We use iRODS to wrap every file in metadata. The system doesn't just see results.dat; it knows the PI, the project ID, the grant number, and the simulation parameters.
The FAIR Principles
We ensure your data is:
- Findable
- Accessible
- Interoperable
- Reusable
Data Management Toolset
| Category | Tool | Usage |
|---|---|---|
| Data Movement | Globus | Secure, reliable transfer of massive datasets between institutions with auto-retry. |
| Governance | iRODS | Rule-oriented system that enforces policies like encryption for medical tags. |
| Archive | CTA (CERN Tape Archive) | Advanced management for robotic tape libraries at exascale. |
| Cloud Sync | Rclone | The "Swiss Army Knife" for syncing cluster data to S3, Azure, or Google Drive. |
Master Your Data Lifecycle
Download our "Multi-Tiered Storage Strategy Guide" to learn how to implement automated HSM in your cluster.
Download Management Guide (.docx)