Part three of three – Perpetual Object Storage Systems

In the previous two blogs in this series, we discussed the two-tier paradigm in content storage systems, and dove deep into the first tier known as project/production. In this blog, we’ll explore the perpetual tier. As mentioned earlier, the first tier (project/production) is file-based. The second tier, or perpetual tier, is object-based, and is designed to be a landing zone where digital assets persist over time. The perpetual tier stores raw content with any associated managed assets that require sharing across a team so the content is always available for future work, including editing, color grading, music scoring, visual effects, etc. As newer versions of assets are created, prior versions are kept on the perpetual tier for safekeeping. Read More

Once a year, the children of the Spectra Logic team get a glimpse into what their parents do while they are at work. At this year’s Spectra Bring Your Child to Work Day, more than 50 kids attended and were treated to a day of education and memorable experiences. In addition to learning about what their parents do at Spectra, the children enjoyed many exciting activities at the company’s Boulder headquarters. Needless to say, it was a lively day! The annual event is organized by Spectra’ SUMMIT, a women-led organization within Spectra Logic that fosters an enhanced culture of diversity at the company. Many Spectra employees volunteer to help generate ideas and run activities. Below are a few highlights from the event. Read More

Another eventful NAB Show is behind us. Once again, the media and entertainment masses ascended upon warm Las Vegas to attend the industry’s largest tradeshow, the National Association of Broadcasters, to learn about new technologies and trends, in the hopes of gaining a leg up on the competition. There were four main buzzes in the Spectra Logic booth to be noted: Cloud, BlackPearl, migration and integration.

Cloud

Everyone is all about the cloud, and it was no different at NAB. So what exactly is it? Plain and simple, its hosting. Cloud is someone else hosting your applications, your computing your storage, etc., on a device somewhere else via https.  Essentially, it means users don’t have to own hardware or physical space to accommodate processing or storage. Including cloud as part of a hybrid storage strategy is commonplace today. Spectra’s BlackPearl hybrid storage ecosystem accommodates cloud mandates by creating a storage environment that stores content both locally, on-premise, as well as in the public cloud. The mix of storing assets on-premise and in the public cloud provides layers of protection for content and the most effective means to accessing assets affordably when they are needed. Read More

What do you do when you need to increase the space available for storing vast amounts of data? One solution is to install a high-capacity automated tape library or ‘Tape Robot’.

​STFC’s Scientific Computing Department (SCD) needed to increase its capacity for storing and managing the vast and ever-growing amounts of data from the JASMIN Facility¹ (environment and climate data) and through IRIS ^​2 (astronomy, particle physics, and data from national facilities such as ISIS Neutron Source, Diamond Light Source and the Central Laser Facility).

The extra capacity needed to be at least 60 petabytes (PB) – the equivalent of storing more than 10 million DVDs – with the potential to increase again to meet future data demands. Read More

To this date, hundreds of Spectra Logic customers have implemented our BlackPearl® Converged Storage System to affordably store data long-term. Spectra’s BlackPearl is a purpose-built storage platform that integrates directly with ”data mover” software applications to simplify workflows and seamlessly manage large volumes of data to multiple storage targets. BlackPearl includes an S3-like interface to move data into its object storage on cloud, disk and tape. In order to help even more customers meet their long-term storage needs, Spectra has recently introduced another, easier system for transferring files into BlackPearl. This new system is called Spectra RioBroker. The announcement, made yesterday, can be read here. Read More

While the cost of NAND is declining and the enterprise storage market moves its top tier of storage to flash, Spectra Logic is innovating the exact fit and place for spinning hard disk drives (HDDs) in a tiered storage environment. Its ArcticBlue® Disk Solution, powered by the Spectra® BlackPearl® Converged Storage System, excels at long-term, high-throughput storage in the only platform that is highly complementary to tape. ArcticBlue’s unique features differentiate it and BlackPearl from any other storage system in the market. This blog will outline a few nuances that are easy to miss, but that emphasize ArcticBlue’s particular breed of online, object-based disk storage. Read More

Find a full list of upcoming events and tradeshows Spectra Logic is attending here.

Spectra Logic was a Platinum Sponsor for the first annual Storage Technology Showcase (STS) last week. The event was held at the Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, from March 12-15. The conference provided visitors with strategic information on the latest disruptive technologies, trends and emerging solutions for organizations managing amounts of data in the petabyte and exabyte ranges.

Executives, system architects and decision makers engaged with their peers, industry thought leaders and other organizations to discuss the challenges of storing, managing, scaling and preserving data in a quickly evolving landscape. Check out the images below for a glimpse of what STS 2019 had in store. Read More