CHATSWORTH, Calif., April 2 — DataDirect Networks (DDN), world leader in massively scalable storage, today announced that the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) has partnered with DDN to develop part of a system architecture capable of processing over one exabyte of data per day to support the upcoming Square Kilometre Array (SKA) ¾ a $1.5B scientific instrument intended to be the world’s most powerful telescope.  At the center of this partnership are engineering and application architecture enhancements to exploit DDN Storage Fusion Architecture™ (SFA™) In-Storage Processing™ technology to leverage the unique advantages of executing data processing within a scalable data storage platform.

The DDN Storage Fusion Architecture is a unified virtual server and storage appliance featuring DDN’s groundbreaking In-Storage Processing™ technology.  Proven over 3 years of market availability, this virtualized environment eliminates externalized data processing systems and allows data-intensive applications to exist within the storage engine ¾ accelerating data access, minimizing latency and significantly lowering the cost and complexity of data-intensive computing.

“DDN is pleased to partner with ICRAR on this project and to be recognized as a technology leader in the design of massively scalable systems which advance the scientific agenda of the worldwide research community,” said Alex Bouzari, CEO and cofounder, DataDirect Networks. “This project is a great example of the potential of Big Data: cutting-edge researchers turning exabytes of machine-generated data into valuable information. DDN’s In-Storage Processing technology is a showcase example of how advanced storage processing tools can maximize the value of our customer’s information to achieve unprecedented scientific understanding. Our experience and leadership at enabling the most demanding Big Data programs such as ICRAR uniquely benefits any customer in any industry facing Big Data challenges.”

Based in Perth, Australia, ICRAR is a joint venture between Curtin University and The University of Western Australia (UWA) to facilitate research excellence in astronomical science and engineering.

“DataDirect Networks is the recognized world leader in solutions for the type of massively scalable data-processing required for the incredible scale of the SKA telescope,” said Professor Andreas Wicenec, head of computing for ICRAR. “This project combines our expertise implementing and using in-storage processing of astronomical data based on commodity hardware with the most advanced HPC storage appliance supporting in-storage processing. With this combination we are very well prepared to design, develop and test solutions for the SKA data challenge.”

UWA recently installed a new Fornax supercomputer, which is 10,000 times faster than an average office desktop computer, to help drive Australia’s powerful new radio telescopes. DDN’s previous work on the Australian precursor radio telescopes, the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP), helped to inform its development of the storage solution for the SKA.

About DataDirect Networks

DataDirect Networks (DDN) is the world leader in massively scalable storage. We are the leading provider of data storage and processing solutions and services that enable content-rich and high growth IT environments to achieve the highest levels of systems scalability, efficiency and simplicity. DDN enables enterprises to extract value and deliver results from their information. Our customers include the world's leading online content and social networking providers, high performance cloud and grid computing, life sciences, media production organizations and security & intelligence organizations.

Deployed in thousands of mission critical environments worldwide, DDN's solutions have been designed, engineered and proven in the world's most scalable data centers to ensure competitive business advantage for today's information powered enterprise.

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Source: DataDirect Networks