Tech Museum of Innovation Powers Interactive Exhibits

Imation Corporation announced that the Tech
Museum of Innovation, an interactive technology and science museum based in
Silicon Valley, has deployed its Nexsan
E-Series storage solution to help power its growing IT infrastructure.

Nexsan’s high density system is driving performance and
reliability for the museum and contributing to a more flexible IT infrastructure
to support its growth.

Located in downtown San Jose, CA, The Tech encourages the development of
new technologies. Hundreds of exhibits attract more than 400,000 visitors a
year to explore genetics, space exploration, clean energy, biotechnology and
many other sciences and technologies.

The Tech’s use of interactive technology makes it a model for other museums, especially its Smart Museum infrastructure. Designed to
enable the ultimate visitor experience, it is a flexible platform
for monitoring and measuring visitor behavior and modifying exhibit content to
match the needs and preferences of visitors. It can support many avenues for
personalization, including games, interactive data displays, tour
recommendations, pre-visit learning materials, post-visit curricula, visit
summaries and online lessons. The Smart Museum extends the definitions of
exhibits and visits to span the website, the museum and Tech Labs, providing links to connect all of The Tech’s properties into a cohesive
experience.

Robust server and storage platforms
"Powering the Smart Museum
system requires a mix of technologies; however, robust server and storage
platforms are key components," said Charles Pearson, systems analyst for
the museum. "On peak days, 3,000
people might visit the museum; sometimes as many as 1,000 at any one time. Many
visitors are accessing exhibit content and being fed new information every fews
from a data store, based on their location and preferences. This data
represents much of the core of the visitor experience and it needs to be stored
reliably and accessed easily."

The Tech embarked on a long-term plan to upgrade the underlying IT
infrastructure and renew the exhibits that leverage the Smart Museum system to
create more engaging and compelling experiences. Solution provider Peak IP
Solutions, LLC recommended the E-Series SAN storage solution, which offers efficiencies at low cost-per-terabyte and can be tailored to
fit traditional, virtual or cloud environments. The E-Series delivers up
to three-times the capacity in the same space as a typical array, while consuming
up to 85% less power and cooling when idle. In addition, the Nexsan system’s reliable architecture and functionality simplify deployment
and management.

Enabling virtualization
The E-Series’ support of VMware environments was an important
consideration for the museum. In addition to upgrading its storage
infrastructure, the museum upgraded its servers and networking, which included
deploying VMware to consolidate 20 servers to four – all running on the
E-Series.

"We’re very excited to be a part of
this next generation exhibit. The Tech needs a scalable storage solution they
can count on to grow with its Smart Museum concept as it expands to more
exhibits and visitors," said Mike Stolz, VP marketing, Imation’s
Nexsan storage solutions. "The
Nexsan E-Series provides the reliability, capacity and flexibility required to
support the different physical and virtual environments it depends on to run
the museum."

There are more than 11,000 customers of Nexsan solutions worldwide and more
than 33,000 systems deployed since 1999. Storage systems are delivered
through a worldwide network of cloud service providers, VARs
and solution integrators.