Low-Cost Terabyte and Petabyte Data Storage System

Large nuclear physics laboratories all share a common problem: how to effectively store the vast amounts of data that they generate. Current data storage solutions are not keeping pace with the explosive data growth, from multi-terabytes to multi petabytes (PB=1,000 TB), experienced by these sectors, and new storage solutions are needed to meet the requirements of low cost, reliable, intermittent-access storage and archiving. This project will develop a cost-effective data storage system that can store tens of terabytes of data in the same space as conventional magnetic tape cartridges, which store only a fraction of a terabyte. By the end of Phase II, a pilot media manufacturing process, as well as operation of the storage media in a test drive, will be demonstrated. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardee The new data storage technology should provide an affordable and highly efficient solution for a number of market segments: DOE national laboratories; government agencies such as NASA, NOA, NSA, DOD, and Homeland Security; and large companies within the medical, media, and entertainment industries, etc