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Volume of Nasa satellite data managed by ADIC Software soars past 1 petabyte mark

Announcement posted by XSI Data Solutions 27 Feb 2003

ADIC's storage management software helps NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System respond to more than 3.4 million online requests for data annually
At NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS), where the world's largest set of data about the earth's environment is stored, storage management software from Advanced Digital Information Corporation (NASDAQ: ADIC), leader in Intelligent Storage(tm) solutions, is now giving scientists around-the-clock access to more than 1.8 petabytes of important information about the Earth's environment.
ADIC's AMASS for UNIX is storage management software that transforms libraries, typically considered "off-line" storage, into truly online direct-access mass storage - enabling users, administrators, and applications to effortlessly archive terabytes or petabytes of data. AMASS presents an automated optical, tape, or DVD library as one device and one mount point, through a standard UNIX file system interface consisting of directories and files. Users or applications can save or access files residing on libraries in the same way they would with disk devices. AMASS manages disk cache, maintains metadata online in highly available server clusters, and scales to manage an effectively unlimited number of files.
The core components of EOSDIS were developed by Raytheon Imagery and Geospatial Systems. "When we designed EOSDIS, we knew we needed a robust storage system that could scale to handle massive data sets stored on multiple types of media," said Steve Fox, Raytheon Project Technical Director for EOSDIS. "We also needed a stable solution that could support our 24/7 operation. The storage system has given us the performance we need and it has been consistently reliable. We have also been extremely pleased with the support the project has received from our primary storage solution vendors."
Every day the EOSDIS system receives 3 terabytes of new data from its five satellites and distributes 2 terabytes of data to researchers around the world. The data is managed through a combination of disk storage, used primarily as caching, and several high capacity automated tape systems in four separate data centers. ADIC's AMASS is the software that ties the whole system together and enables both EOSDIS staff and users to access it effectively.
To the users who access the data through the EOSDIS Web site - and these range from high school students to international climatologists - data appears as though it were stored in a single database.
"EOSDIS views the data it collects as a national treasure that can't afford to be lost," said Bill Yaman, ADIC Vice President, Software. "At ADIC, we are extremely proud to be part of an effort that is helping scientists gain important insight into how the earth is changing. By the end of the current decade, EOSDIS will have as much as 10 petabytes of data stored, and I have complete confidence in the ability of ADIC's robust storage management software to continue to provide access to any of that information at any time."
About AMASS
AMASS is specialized storage management software that lets users, administrators, and applications archive large data sets on automated storage libraries and retrieve all or any portion of the data at any time. AMASS provides users with enormous storage capacity and cost savings with the look and feel of a hard disk, transforming devices typically considered "off-line storage" into truly online direct-access mass storage. AMASS software is used in more than 1000 organizations worldwide to manage some of the industry's largest and most challenging data storage environments.
About ADIC Software
ADIC data management software provides enterprise-scale access and protection for critical digital assets throughout their lifetime, automatically managing data on different platforms, operating systems, and media types to give users the maximum performance and utilization from their storage resource investment. ADIC data management software is used in more than 1000 organizations worldwide to manage some of the industry's largest and most challenging open systems data storage environments.
About ADIC
Advanced Digital Information Corporation (NASDAQ: ADIC) is a leading provider of Intelligent Storage(tm) solutions to the open systems marketplace. ADIC is the world's largest supplier of automated tape systems using the drive technologies most often employed for backing up open system, client-server networks.* The Company's data management software and storage networking appliances provide IT managers innovative tools for storing, managing and protecting their most valuable digital assets in a variety of disk and tape environments.
ADIC storage products are available through a worldwide sales force and a global network of resellers and OEMs, including Dell, Fujitsu-Siemens, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, and Sun. For more information, visit
www.adic.com.
*IDC 2001 worldwide revenue and unit market share data for all automated systems using DLT, SDLT, LTO, 8mm or AIT drives, and Gartner Dataquest, 2002 Market Shares and Forecasts for Tape Automation Systems, F. Yale, August 2002. ADIC andAMASS are registered trademarks and Intelligent Storage is a trademark of Advanced Digital Information Corporation. All other trade or service marks mentioned in this document should be considered the property of their respective owner.