Spanish Aerospace/Research Institute Aims High with HP Storage Technology
Business need:
Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), which translates in English to National Institute for Aerospace Technology, participates in aerospace research, space science, and technological development. INTA’s work generates voluminous amounts of data. Secure and accessible reference information regarding satellites, space platforms, aircraft engines, and flight tests is imperative to fulfill the agency’s mission. However, as data grew, backups became painfully slow, and often didn’t finish. INTA needed an enterprise-level solution to maintain the integrity of mission-critical data, simplify backups, and advance its business-continuity strategies.
Solution overview:
INTA uses an HP StorageWorks ESL E-Series Tape Library, LTO Ultrium media technology, and an HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array to store and back up large amounts of research information. The EVA5000’s virtualization features let INTA’s staff pool storage resources so that IT supply meets demand. HP Integrity servers running Linux fulfill the agency’s high-performance technical computing needs.
Meeting soaring storage and business demands INTA’s expertise and degree of specialization transcend the creation of aircraft, space vehicles, and navigation systems. This public organization is involved in new civil and industrial developments and has cooperative agreements with companies and institutions outside of Spain. Unsurprisingly, the agency produces huge data stores and digital images to support these efforts. For corroboration and research purposes, INTA personnel require access to scientific documentation, bibliographic catalogs, databases, technical standards, and three-D images relevant to aeronautical and space projects.
“The success of our organization depends on highperformance technical computing and resilient storage systems,” maintains Marco Antonio Rabanal, INTA’s Network and System Manager. “Two years ago we looked for an IT partner that could help us innovate our storage environment economically and provide fast data access. We entrusted these objectives to HP.”
In 2002, consultants from HP Services built INTA’s first storage area network (SAN) with an HP StorageWorks array and tape library. By April 2004, INTA’s data had grown from 4 TB to 12 TB, taxing current library resources and prompting a storage upgrade. By then, INTA’s infrastructure also included a couple of libraries from other vendors. “Our older HP storage systems served us well,” comments Rabanal. “However, because of data growth and the need for efficient data recovery, we required more capacity and greater flexibility.”
First, the IT staff decided on storage-media technology that could render cost and performance advantages. “We liked the roadmap of the HP StorageWorks LTO Ultrium media technology and the tapes’ potential to improve storage throughput and density,” explains Rabanal.
Once they decided on the appropriate storage media, Rabanal and his colleagues chose an HP tape library and hired consultants from HP Services to configure and install it. “The HP StorageWorks ESL 712e tape library met all of our requirements – especially our need to conduct fast, full-scale data backups and support nextgeneration LTO3 tapes,” Rabanal says. “Our backups now are at least four times faster, and data recovery is much easier.”
The staff maintains varied backup policies for specific servers. For example, they perform daily incremental and full, weekly backups on file servers; full, daily backups on servers hosting mission-critical databases and e-mail; and weekly backups on operating systems.
The HP tape library’s high throughput capability enables the staff to meet these varied, compressed backups. Additionally, because the solution provides 10 times more storage capacity, INTA consolidated storage backups from four libraries to the ESL E-Series Library. Now INTA is cost-effectively fulfilling its business continuity and information lifecycle management (ILM) strategies of centralized, automated backups. Adds Rabanal, “Our HP storage solution helps us maintain data accuracy for myriad research needs, and we can back up data from multiple hosts in a heterogeneous environment.”
Launching intelligent, automated, SAN-aware functionality
The HP StorageWorks Extended Tape Library Architecture inside the ESL E-Series Library provides a layer of intelligence between the library and SAN. From one monitor, the staff remotely manages the entire library system – including its robotics, drives, and controllers. “We like that HP embedded SAN-aware intelligence in the library’s software,” Rabanal says. “This gives us the ability to automate repetitive tasks and configure the library from a single pane of glass. We are pleased with the administrative advantages of the StorageWorks ESL E-Series Tape Library.” HP StorageWorks Command View ESL and Secure Manager ESL software – components of the Extended Tape Library Architecture – control access and provide consistent configurations. Command View ESL also supports the SNMP protocol and asynchronous alerting, which INTA plans to integrate with HP OpenView management software. “These HP StorageWorks storage solutions enhance manageability and promote business continuity,” Rabanal acknowledges. “The Command View ESL web-interface feature makes it easy for us to manage the servers and configure the SAN components attached to the library. Secure Manager ESL helps maintain the library’s availability throuh load balancing.”
Making the IT environment fly
INTA pairs its HP library with an HP 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array configured into a SAN and linked to approximately 50 servers. The IT staff tracked excellent performance levels using the EVA5000 to support Microsoft® SQL Server and Oracle databases and SAP Enterprise Portal. “All of our applications and databases run well on our HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array-based SAN,” maintains Rabanal.
With a virtualized storage solution, INTA can pool and allocate storage based on priorities – without finagling with manual configurations. “INTA is getting a return on its investment by using these intelligent storage systems,” Rabanal affirms. “Since the EVA5000 is flexible and easy to scale, we save time and money.”
In addition, the research institute can spread its disk purchases over time. “On our older storage systems it was more difficult to plan, so we often overbought,” Rabanal explains. “Now that we can virtualize storage, we only buy HP StorageWorks disks as we need them.”
Systems attached to the EVA5000 include 30 HP ProLiant servers, 5 HP AlphaServer systems, 3 HP Integrity rx2600 servers, and several servers from Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics Inc. For technical applications and astrobiology projects, INTA uses 15 Integrity Itanium-based servers. “The HP Integrity rx2600 server is perfect for high-performance computing and our changing requirements, which is why they are our technical computing standard”, Rabanal says.
ProLiant systems serve up files and power SAP Enterprise Portal with Microsoft SQL Server. “The innovative design of HP ProLiant servers makes them adaptable to many of our computing functions,” Rabanal says. Since adaptive technology is paramount in research activities, INTA equipped 80 percent of its data center with HP systems. Concludes Rabanal, “We’re quite pleased with HP technology and services.”
Since adaptive technology is paramount in research activities, INTA equipped 80 percent of its data center with HP systems. Concludes Rabanal, “We’re quite pleased with HP technology and services.”
About Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial Madrid-based Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) is a public research institution of Spain’s Ministry of Defense created in 1942. The organization (www.inta.es) specializes in aeronautic and aerospace research and development, with more than 1,000 of its 1,200 employees working in research and development. INTA’s annual budget exceeds US$ 132.1 million (€ 100 million).
© Copyright 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Itanium is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Oracle is a trademark of Oracle Corporation.
5983-0794EEE. March 2005
Spain’s Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA), which translates in English to National Institute for Aerospace Technology, participates in aerospace research, space science, and technological development. INTA’s work generates voluminous amounts of data. Secure and accessible reference information regarding satellites, space platforms, aircraft engines, and flight tests is imperative to fulfill the agency’s mission. However, as data grew, backups became painfully slow, and often didn’t finish. INTA needed an enterprise-level solution to maintain the integrity of mission-critical data, simplify backups, and advance its business-continuity strategies.
Solution overview:
INTA uses an HP StorageWorks ESL E-Series Tape Library, LTO Ultrium media technology, and an HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array to store and back up large amounts of research information. The EVA5000’s virtualization features let INTA’s staff pool storage resources so that IT supply meets demand. HP Integrity servers running Linux fulfill the agency’s high-performance technical computing needs.
Meeting soaring storage and business demands INTA’s expertise and degree of specialization transcend the creation of aircraft, space vehicles, and navigation systems. This public organization is involved in new civil and industrial developments and has cooperative agreements with companies and institutions outside of Spain. Unsurprisingly, the agency produces huge data stores and digital images to support these efforts. For corroboration and research purposes, INTA personnel require access to scientific documentation, bibliographic catalogs, databases, technical standards, and three-D images relevant to aeronautical and space projects.
“The success of our organization depends on highperformance technical computing and resilient storage systems,” maintains Marco Antonio Rabanal, INTA’s Network and System Manager. “Two years ago we looked for an IT partner that could help us innovate our storage environment economically and provide fast data access. We entrusted these objectives to HP.”
In 2002, consultants from HP Services built INTA’s first storage area network (SAN) with an HP StorageWorks array and tape library. By April 2004, INTA’s data had grown from 4 TB to 12 TB, taxing current library resources and prompting a storage upgrade. By then, INTA’s infrastructure also included a couple of libraries from other vendors. “Our older HP storage systems served us well,” comments Rabanal. “However, because of data growth and the need for efficient data recovery, we required more capacity and greater flexibility.”
First, the IT staff decided on storage-media technology that could render cost and performance advantages. “We liked the roadmap of the HP StorageWorks LTO Ultrium media technology and the tapes’ potential to improve storage throughput and density,” explains Rabanal.
Once they decided on the appropriate storage media, Rabanal and his colleagues chose an HP tape library and hired consultants from HP Services to configure and install it. “The HP StorageWorks ESL 712e tape library met all of our requirements – especially our need to conduct fast, full-scale data backups and support nextgeneration LTO3 tapes,” Rabanal says. “Our backups now are at least four times faster, and data recovery is much easier.”
The staff maintains varied backup policies for specific servers. For example, they perform daily incremental and full, weekly backups on file servers; full, daily backups on servers hosting mission-critical databases and e-mail; and weekly backups on operating systems.
The HP tape library’s high throughput capability enables the staff to meet these varied, compressed backups. Additionally, because the solution provides 10 times more storage capacity, INTA consolidated storage backups from four libraries to the ESL E-Series Library. Now INTA is cost-effectively fulfilling its business continuity and information lifecycle management (ILM) strategies of centralized, automated backups. Adds Rabanal, “Our HP storage solution helps us maintain data accuracy for myriad research needs, and we can back up data from multiple hosts in a heterogeneous environment.”
Launching intelligent, automated, SAN-aware functionality
The HP StorageWorks Extended Tape Library Architecture inside the ESL E-Series Library provides a layer of intelligence between the library and SAN. From one monitor, the staff remotely manages the entire library system – including its robotics, drives, and controllers. “We like that HP embedded SAN-aware intelligence in the library’s software,” Rabanal says. “This gives us the ability to automate repetitive tasks and configure the library from a single pane of glass. We are pleased with the administrative advantages of the StorageWorks ESL E-Series Tape Library.” HP StorageWorks Command View ESL and Secure Manager ESL software – components of the Extended Tape Library Architecture – control access and provide consistent configurations. Command View ESL also supports the SNMP protocol and asynchronous alerting, which INTA plans to integrate with HP OpenView management software. “These HP StorageWorks storage solutions enhance manageability and promote business continuity,” Rabanal acknowledges. “The Command View ESL web-interface feature makes it easy for us to manage the servers and configure the SAN components attached to the library. Secure Manager ESL helps maintain the library’s availability throuh load balancing.”
Making the IT environment fly
INTA pairs its HP library with an HP 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array configured into a SAN and linked to approximately 50 servers. The IT staff tracked excellent performance levels using the EVA5000 to support Microsoft® SQL Server and Oracle databases and SAP Enterprise Portal. “All of our applications and databases run well on our HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array-based SAN,” maintains Rabanal.
With a virtualized storage solution, INTA can pool and allocate storage based on priorities – without finagling with manual configurations. “INTA is getting a return on its investment by using these intelligent storage systems,” Rabanal affirms. “Since the EVA5000 is flexible and easy to scale, we save time and money.”
In addition, the research institute can spread its disk purchases over time. “On our older storage systems it was more difficult to plan, so we often overbought,” Rabanal explains. “Now that we can virtualize storage, we only buy HP StorageWorks disks as we need them.”
Systems attached to the EVA5000 include 30 HP ProLiant servers, 5 HP AlphaServer systems, 3 HP Integrity rx2600 servers, and several servers from Sun Microsystems and Silicon Graphics Inc. For technical applications and astrobiology projects, INTA uses 15 Integrity Itanium-based servers. “The HP Integrity rx2600 server is perfect for high-performance computing and our changing requirements, which is why they are our technical computing standard”, Rabanal says.
ProLiant systems serve up files and power SAP Enterprise Portal with Microsoft SQL Server. “The innovative design of HP ProLiant servers makes them adaptable to many of our computing functions,” Rabanal says. Since adaptive technology is paramount in research activities, INTA equipped 80 percent of its data center with HP systems. Concludes Rabanal, “We’re quite pleased with HP technology and services.”
Since adaptive technology is paramount in research activities, INTA equipped 80 percent of its data center with HP systems. Concludes Rabanal, “We’re quite pleased with HP technology and services.”
About Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial Madrid-based Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial (INTA) is a public research institution of Spain’s Ministry of Defense created in 1942. The organization (www.inta.es) specializes in aeronautic and aerospace research and development, with more than 1,000 of its 1,200 employees working in research and development. INTA’s annual budget exceeds US$ 132.1 million (€ 100 million).
© Copyright 2005 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The only warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the express warranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothing herein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HP shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissions contained herein.
Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Itanium is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries. Oracle is a trademark of Oracle Corporation.
5983-0794EEE. March 2005
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