University Expanding Its Computer Storage Capacity

Pitt will expand its computer storage capacity this year with a centralized IBM high-end disk storage system designed to hold more than 325 terabytes of data—or more than 162 billion pages of text. The system is expected to meet the University’s storage needs for the next several years.

With more than 33,000 full- and part-time students and more than 12,000 faculty and staff at its five campuses, Pitt needs to accommodate torrents of information—student records, archives, school records, employee information, financial data, and millions of e-mail messages per month.

“The University of Pittsburgh supports large enterprise systems, and the number and complexity of new systems continue to grow,” said Jinx Walton, director of Computing Services and Systems Development, which will house the new system in its RIDC facility. “To effectively manage these systems, it was necessary to identify an enterprise storage solution that would leverage our existing investments in storage, make allocation of storage flexible and responsive to project needs, provide centralized management, and offer the reliability and stability we require. The integrated IBM storage solution met these requirements.”

Pitt’s storage system will consist of the IBM SAN Volume Controller storage virtualization solution spread across two IBM System Storage DS8300 systems utilizing CISCO SAN switches, which will be used for Tier 1 and Tier 2 storage needs. An IBM System Storage DS4800 will be used for Tier 3 and backup, while IBM Tivoli Productivity Center will manage the entire environment.