Implementation of a distributed multiterabyte storage system

Abstract

The University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory are building a highly distributed storage system to meet the needs of a cross-disciplinary group of scientists and to investigate the issues involved in implementing such a system. The storage system is based on IBM 3590/3494 tape technology managed by ADSM software. High-speed wide-area networking is required to support the distributed user community. NFS, DFS, FTP, and other user access methods are supported. A simulation project undertaken to guide system development has provided useful insights even in the calibration and design phases