Data Storage

• Request Storage Space
• Storage Architecture
• Tape Library

The University of Utah Health Sciences Center has experienced growth in its data storage needs that required a move to a virtualized storage area network (SAN) architecture. Along with virtualizing our storage we have also implemented a new solution for providing fast, reliable backups of the storage environment. These new solutions are state-of-the-art technologies that provide a level of redundancy, performance and reliability that ensures the highest level of availability of our data assets.

Virtualized Storage Area Network

UUHSC utilizes technology from Hitachi Data Systems called the Universal Storage Platform for providing a virtualized storage area network. Some of the benefits that are realized through this technology are as follows:

UUHSC utilizes technology from Hitachi Data Systems called the Universal Storage Platform for providing a virtualized storage area network. Some of the benefits that are realized through this technology are as follows:

• With dramatic improvements in access rates and capacity growth, the Universal Storage Platform ensures that the architecture will no longer be the bottleneck in IT services.
• Data can be stored on application-appropriate storage resources.
• Performance is 50 to 100 percent better than achieved with the previous architecture.
• Increased customer and end user satisfaction is seen due to improved performance, provisioning time, and utilization reports.
• Over the years, several outages occurred that could not be avoided with the previous configuration's advanced SAN and storage architecture. With the Universal Storage Platform, this business risk will be reduced.
• The useful life of older storage devices has been extended, allowing capital expenditure money to be spent on high-end storage capabilities.
• Tiered storage is now possible, with ease of management and provisioning:
  • Tier 1 for mission-critical clinical data, operational data, and email; highest performance and protection
  • Tier 2 for user data and images
  • Tier 3 for local disk backups, snap copies, and database-development copies
  • Tiers of storage allow for a storage architecture/catalog of services that can be managed to ITIL best practices around operations management (service level agreement/SLA, operating level agreement/OLA)
• LUN 0 Boot is now possible, so diskless hosts can boot from the SAN.
• Staff can be cross-trained to enable consistent management from a single platform, including administration of heterogeneous disk and fabric elements.
• The new configuration will drive reduction in planned and unplanned outages.
• Provisioning and reclamation of SAN disk will be much easier. Stranded disk capacity will be reduced through virtualization and management. All tiers of storage can be presented to customers.
• This architecture will enable information lifecycle management or data lifecycle management and several critical initiatives for the record archive.

This new architecture includes a redesign of the SAN fabric to include complete redundancy. Below is a diagram of the new storage architecture.

Tape Library

With the implementation of a new virtualized storage area network an equally scalable, reliable, and high performance solution was needed for long term protection of UUHSC data. The StorageTek StreamLine SL8500 Modular Library System was implemented to meet the needs for data backup.

This library system was initially purchased with:

• four robots servicing 1500 tape slots and 13 T9940B tape drives (expandable to 64 tape drives),
• with a total capacity of 300 terabytes uncompressed and 600 terabytes compressed.

• 32 libraries with a total of 300,000 tape slots,
• with a total capacity of 60 petabytes uncompressed and 120 petabytes compressed.