Unprecedented amounts of data from high-energy physics experiments demand transformative storage solutions to tackle challenges in scalability and efficiency

Whenever we read about cutting-edge particle physics research, the name CERN (The French abbreviation of the European Organization for Nuclear Research) usually comes to mind.

Besides its famous experiments to unlock the mysteries of the atomic nucleus, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory is also noted for being the birthplace of the World Wide Web.

At the site of the 27km long Large Hadron Collider (LHC), an immense amount of data needs to be effectively recorded and stored. This is to enable scientists to access and analyze the experimental measurements to enhance their understanding of the universe.

At this cutting-edge level of technology, traditional storage solutions have become bottlenecks for high performance computing and sustainable energy usage. That is why CERN has partnered with a technology firm to evaluate and measure the benefits of large-scale high-density storage technologies.

The research and development is focused on how to implement the most sustainable technology solutions while keeping a focus on infrastructure that meets the specific needs of the scientific community. A key element of the collaboration will be utilizing an innovative type of flash storage technology that provides better space and energy efficiency. The project involves:

  • Exabyte-scale flash infrastructure and the application stack for Grid Computing and high performance computing workloads
  • Identifying opportunities to maximize performance in both software and hardware while maximizing energy savings across a unified data platform

Commented Luca Mascetti, Storage CTO, CERN openlab: “First, we expect to integrate this technology into our large-scale distributed storage system and to deliver data more effectively, providing a way to scale storage performance beyond what is possible today. Second, we are hoping to unlock the next generation of high-energy physics breakthroughs…  and demonstrate to the broader scientific community the potential for enhancing storage capabilities, ultimately accelerating the pace of discovery and innovation at research institutions globally.”

According to spokesperson Rob Lee, Pure Storage, the firm involved in the partnership, the focus is  to “tackle the unprecedented volumes of data with unparalleled speed and reliability while empowering researchers for the extraordinary challenges posed by the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) era.”