Spectra Logic Protects Genome Data for Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Today Spectra Logic announced that the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation has chosen the Spectra NAS solution for management of its extensive library of research data.

The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) is one of the nation’s leading independent medical research institutes dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. OMRF’s next-generation sequencers, also known as high-throughput sequencers, allow researchers to map 12 or more entire human genomes, each of which contains three billion DNA base pairs, in just 36 hours. One genome can generate 100GB to 200GB of raw data. As the research moves forward, analysts examine the findings, producing and aggregating even more data.

The IT group set out to procure a solution that could backup 100TB of high performance computing (HPC) data and 450TB of Commvault secondary backup data supporting OMRF’s sequencing and genome research. OMRF chose the Spectra NAS solution to provide faster access without an increased burden on the staff for administrative support to their data storage systems.

The Spectra solution was a good fit for our considerations, including affordability, product functionality and value for cost,” said Brent Keck, associate vice president and chief information officer, OMRF. “Spectra has proven to be a trusted advisor when helping us problem solve our data storage challenges without requiring additional staff to support it.”

OMRF installed a 4U Spectra NAS solution with one expansion chassis and 12TB SAS drives. The organization backs up HPC data from their onsite primary storage to the Spectra NAS located offsite in a secure data center. Backups are preserved based on data usage, with files that have not been touched in more than 90 days being deleted from the system. The Spectra NAS solution easily handles the size of these files, providing instant replication and seamless restores, all which are critical to supporting the organization’s research.

OMRF’s discoveries have yielded hundreds of patents, as well as life-saving drugs for hospitals and clinics around the world, and we are very proud to help in their efforts to protect and preserve critical data,” said David Feller, Spectra’s vice president of product management. Download the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation case study here.

Sign up for our insideHPC Newsletter