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October 7, 2014

Hokkaido University Utilizing DDN Storage

SANTA CLARA, Calif.Oct. 7 — Hokkaido University is offering researchers unprecedented access to Big Data analysis of data stored in Japan’s largest academic cloud using DataDirect Networks (DDN) WOS object storage, Storage Fusion Architecture (SFA) high-performance storage engine delivered as complete solution with the company’s GRIDScaler appliance.

Many universities today building HPC-based research computing and engineering infrastructures grapple with the challenge of managing disparate applications and technical requirements with limited budgets. With more than a thousand researchers accessing, sharing and archiving vital research for high performance computing, data science, machine learning and video surveillance projects, Hokkaido University required a single system with high-performance file storage that would simplify its environment by consolidating its lower performing and specialized storage systems into one, while also seamlessly providing cloud access for collaboration and data distribution.

With DDN’s complete Big Data lifecycle management solution comprising GRIDScaler and WOS technologies, Hokkaido University now can support multiple storage tiers of Big Data from compute to the cloud. The university takes advantage of GRIDScaler for high performance parallel ingest from large Hadoop data clusters before migrating massive amounts of unstructured data to WOS Cloud Storage, where it remains instantly accessible in a single namespace across file and object data – regardless of the data’s physical location.

Additionally, Hokkaido University leverages DDN’s intelligent data lifecycle management capabilities, growing WOS ecosystem and multiple cloud interfaces to share data seamlessly with external cloud-based services, including ownCloud/WebDAV, Google, Swift, S3 and Dropbox.

As the most extensive WOS deployment in JapanHokkaido University’s use of DDN WOS provides a high performance, infinitely scalable and easy-to-use active archive. Researchers and students can access the system through browsers on their desktops or mobile devices, enabling more efficient content collaboration and faster time to discovery.

Hokkaido University now can build upon recent research efforts, including one that compressed drug discovery screening from two months to less than a week and another that involved gathering observational data from fishing boats via satellite, processing it using a high-performance, cloud-based cluster, and using the results to predict potential new fishing grounds.

DDN Delivers Complete System Spanning all Tiers from Compute to the Cloud

DDN’s GRIDScaler enterprise parallel file system with NAS interfaces and Cloud extensions is ideally suited for helping Hokkaido University solve its Big Data challenges while eliminating bottlenecks to maximize application performance.

The energy efficiency, density and ease of management of the GRIDScaler platform will save the school time and money, and the scalability of its academic cloud ensures it will continue to do so for the forseeable future.

DDN’s WOS-Bridge ensures seamless integration between GRIDScaler and WOS object storage while providing Hokkaido with an automated platform for leveraging the cost, collaboration and archive benefits of the Cloud.

As Hokkaido’s cloud grows to encompass multiple sites and different campuses, the team will benefit from DDN’s WOS intelligent data placement and access functionality, which delivers data to users using the most efficient route with the least latency.

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