Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation Selects Spectra Logic NAS

Spectra Logic Corporation announced that the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation (OMRF) has chosen the its NAS solution for management of its extensive library of research data.

The OMRF is an independent medical research institute dedicated to understanding and developing more effective treatments for human disease. Its next-gen sequencers, also known as high-throughput sequencers, allow researchers to map 12 or more entire human genomes, each of which contains 3 billion DNA base pairs, in 36 hours. One genome can generate 100GB to 200GB of raw data. As the research moves forward, analysts examine the findings, producing and aggregating even more data.

The IT group set out to procure a solution that could backup 100TB of HPC data and 450TB of Commvault Systems, Inc.‘s secondary backup data supporting OMRF’s sequencing and genome research. OMRF chose the NAS solution to provide faster access without an increased burden on the staff for administrative support to their storage systems.

“The Spectra solution was a good fit for our considerations, including affordability, product functionality and value for cost,” said Brent Keck, associate VP and CIO, OMRF. “Spectra has proven to be a trusted advisor when helping us problem solve our storage challenges without requiring additional staff to support it.“

OMRF installed a 4U Spectra NAS solution with one expansion chassis and 12TB SAS drives. The organization backups HPC data from their onsite primary storage to the NAS located offsite in a secure data center. Backups are preserved based on data usage, with files that have not been touched in more than 90 days being deleted from the system. The NAS solution handles the size of these files, providing instant replication and restores, all which are critical to supporting the organization’s research.

“OMRF’s discoveries have yielded hundreds of patents, as well as life-saving drugs for hospitals and clinics around the world, and we are very proud to help in their efforts to protect and preserve critical data,” said David Feller, Spectra’s VP of product management.

Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation case study