CASE STUDY
Korea’s Institute for Basic Science
Korea's Institute for Basic Science advances the frontiers of research and knowledge with Spectra Digital Archive
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Spectra StorCycle

Overview
Korea’s first dedicated basic science research institute is focused on advancing the frontiers of knowledge and training the leading scientists of tomorrow. The Institute for Basic Science believes scientists unleash their creative potential most effectively when they conduct research in an autonomous environment with world-class research infrastructure to enable major scientific advances.
The institute must select world-class infrastructure that meets global standards. Our Spectra Digital Archive helps us preserve research data that is vital to increasing Korea’s national basic science capacity. This will ensure the creation of new knowledge that will help with significant societal transformations.
— Muyoung Heo, research assistant, Korea’s Institute for Basic Science
The Challenge
Korea’s Institute for Basic Science specializes in long-term projects that require large groups of researchers. The institute recently purchased a new cryo-EM microscope. Cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is a technique applied on samples cooled to cryogenic temperatures to determine biomolecular structures at near-atomic resolution. The process uses electron microscopes to create high-resolution images of molecules. This data is written to their Lustre primary storage and processed as required. The institute expects these research efforts to create around two terabytes of data per day, and sought a high-capacity system to affordably store data and expand as needed.
The Solution
Korea’s Institute for Basic Science implemented a Spectra Digital Archive. The institute deployed Spectra’s StorCycle enterprise software for digital preservation, a Spectra BlackPearl Platform and a Spectra T950 Tape Library with LTO-8 tape drives. StorCycle enables the institute to identify and migrate data off of primary storage and onto a Perpetual Tier of storage that can include cloud, NAS, object storage disk and object storage tape. Per the institute’s storage policies, StorCycle acts as a data mover, scanning data in their primary Lustre file system and writing new data daily to BlackPearl, which in turn writes two copies of the data to tape. BlackPearl provides an object storage gateway to tape, which complements the organization’s existing Primary Tier of storage with a lower-cost, scalable archive. In addition, StorCycle provides seamless, familiar access and recovery of single files or entire data sets.
Environment Snapshot
- Spectra StorCycle® Enterprise Software for Digital Preservation
- Spectra® BlackPearl® Hybrid Storage Platform
- Spectra® T950 Tape Library with LTO-8 tape drives
- BlueScale® Software with standard encryption
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