University of Notre Dame Deploys Spectra Logic Hybrid Cloud Storage Solution

Spectra Logic, Corp. announced that the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Information Technologies (OIT) has deployed its Spectra BlackPearl Converged Storage System in conjunction with an existing 5-frame Spectra T950 tape library to create a hybrid cloud infrastructure (HCI) solution for management of its extensive data libraries.

Notre Dame’s OIT has relied on Spectra’s enterprise storage solutions since 2014 and is able to serve a wider range of clients throughout the university with this hybrid cloud approach.

The University’s Center for Research Computing utilizes Spectra’s solutions to protect valuable research data within the organization’s hundreds of servers, and Notre Dame Studios needed a solution for more effective management of its vast video and audio content and the recording of live events and lectures. Additionally, the Hesburgh Libraries’ University Archives required a large-scale repository capable of housing its digitized media for student access and its growing archive of student educational records that will last the entirety of each student’s life. Finally, the Hesburgh Libraries needed long-term archival storage for two critical areas of their holdings.

The University Archives needed large-scale storage for digitized material, such as print photographs and recordings, and official university records, such as educational transcripts, publications and annual catalogues. The Libraries also needed a storage solution for CurateND, their institutional repository that preserves the university’s research data and scholarly output.

“Our users on campus have a variety of needs. We’d like to architect solutions that meet common requirements, while sharing infrastructure, applications and services where possible. Spectra’s technology allows us to leverage a tiered storage strategy for media assets, balancing performance and cost,” said Helen Hockx-Yu, program manager of digital asset strategy at OIT, University of Notre Dame.

The University of Notre Dame first deployed a Spectra solution five years ago when they installed a T950 tape library with LTO-6 drives. They have since upgraded to LTO-8 drives and added the Spectra BlackPearl Converged Storage System for a hybrid approach to manage data both on-premise and in the cloud. The university uses cloud strictly for DR, only moving data that does not need to be accessed in a timely manner to the cloud. Any data moved to the cloud through BlackPearl is also stored on a local tape copy to enable faster, local restoration.

“Spectra is proud to help a university as prestigious and respected as Notre Dame to protect and preserve their vital research, multimedia and academic data for decades to come,” said David Feller, Spectra Logic VP of product management. “Our hybrid cloud solution enables users to deploy a multi-tiered storage strategy, optimizing cost efficiency and ease of use, allowing the university to scale the solution and replicate their media management success for other users as needed in the future.“

Spectra Logic’s University of Notre Dame customer case study