Sun Storage and Archive Solution for HPC 
by Chris Wood and Craig Flaskerud
May, 2008
When designing data storage solutions for High Performance Computing (HPC) environments, IT architects strive to balance complex and often conflicting requirements. The need to manage a skyrocketing amount of data, along with the goals of controlling cost and immediate data availability, can make it difficult to meet HPC application demands within the constraints of today's IT budgets. To help customers address an almost bewildering set of architectural challenges, Sun has developed the Sun Storage and Archive Solution for HPC, a reference architecture that can be easily customized to meet specific application goals and business requirements.
This article is intended for IT managers and storage architects familiar with HPC applications and data requirements in the organization. It assumes that the audience has a technical background and some familiarity with issues surrounding the task of configuring systems and storage.
- Introducing the Sun Storage and Archive Solution for HPC
- Data Storage Challenges in HPC Environments
- Meeting HPC Storage Requirements
- Solution Overview
- Storage Module Functions
- Software Components
- Storage Module Configurations
- Modular Building Blocks
- Configuring a Solution Using Storage Modules
- Configurations, Data Flows, and Sizing Considerations
- Estimating Storage Capacity and Performance
- Summary
- About this Article
- About the Authors
- References
- Ordering Sun Documents
- Accessing Sun Documentation Online
- Configuration Parts List
- Software Component Licensing
- Hardware Component
- Sun StorageTek QFS Software and Sun StorageTek SAM Details
- StorageTek QFS Software Overview
- StorageTek SAM Overview
Leighton C. "Chris" Wood Jr. is the Director and Chief Technology Officer for Sun's Global Storage Solutions Practice, and is responsible for identifying and delivering optimal technologies and solutions to address the challenges of complex data management problems. Prior to this position, Chris was the Chief Technologist for Global Network Storage Sales, where he delivered technical support and education, acted as a liason to product development, and designed storage management solutions. He joined the Network Storage Division (NWS) of Sun Microsystems, Inc. when MaxStrat was acquired by Sun early in 1999. At MaxStrat, Chris was the VP of Sales and Marketing, and was responsible for worldwide sales, technical support, and the development of key OEM and strategic alliances with major systems houses and integrators. Before joining MaxStrat, Chris was the Director of Open Systems Architecture for the Storage Systems Division (SSD) of IBM. Chris graduated from Union College, Schenectady NY, in 1970 with degrees in Economics and Electrical Engineering. He currently holds three patents in the area of RAID design and very large data object storage architecture and is a member of the Executive Board of the IEEE Mass Storage Technical Committee (MSTC), SNIA Data Management Forum, as well as other professional organizations.
Craig Flaskerud is a Storage Architect with the Global Storage Practice of Sun Microsystems, Inc.
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