Large Format Optical Saves Big Users Time and Money

Not many users need terabytes and terabytes of data storage. Those people that do often encounter problems with other technologies. Large format optical systems offer a unique solution.

Optical disc technologies of all types are going through a period of rapid technological advancement. The same technology that will let DVD disks store 10 gigabytes per disc will let 12" and 14" disks store 60 gigabytes per platter.

Large format optical and DVD are following the same performance growth curve. Technology improvements in one format are being used in the others. This will keep large format optical drives on the cutting edge of technology.

Another factor keeping large format optical in business is that there's no higher-capacity medium to replace it. Soon, 100-disc CD-ROM jukeboxes will be replaced by RAID systems sporting cheaper and faster hard drives. A 100-disc jukebox with 14" disks already stores two and a half terabytes. When the capacity of large format disks doubles in the next couple of years, a jukebox will hold six terabytes. Other storage technologies will take a long time to approach this figure.

While there aren't many users who need this much near-line storage, those that do won't find a practical alternative to large format optical. It is the best, most cost effective solution for really massive storage needs.

Prepress Shop Improves Client Services

Color House (Plymouth, MN 612-553-0100) is a nationwide prepress shop. They do color separations, photo retouching and printing and store images and documents for their clients. These images are made available over the Internet.

Up until recently they stored all their data on an 8mm tape system. While it worked, the system was slow and expensive because Color House had hundreds of tapes.

When a client needed an image or document, a Color House employee located the tape with the file, mounted the tape and downloaded the file to the client's computer or copied it to disk and mailed it out. The tapes were in constant use. This put a lot of pressure on the tapes. There was a high risk that a tape would wear out or lose data to a stray magnetic field.

Color House needed to automate their image server system. A tape library was one solution. This would have automated the file serving process -- but would not have addressed the reliability issues or given them the speed needed to stay competitive.

Optical was the ideal solution. But which one? CD, magneto-optical and WORM are all great technologies. What would make them stand above the rest?

Marketing director Darryn Flint wanted to preserve different versions of a document. They didn't want to risk losing an important file by accident. The new system would let clients access their files directly from Color House's servers. Color House didn't want to worry about a client accidentally erasing a file. This ruled out erasable discs.

File size was another concern. When Color House installed their tape system, file sizes ranged from 60 to 80 megabytes. They now average 600-800 megabytes. Flint didn't want to buy an expensive jukebox and find they outgrew the system in six months.

Color House bought a Kodak (Rochester, NY 716-724-4000) Optical Disc System 2000E complete with a Sun (Mountain View, CA 415-960-1300) Ultra-Sparc Enterprise 6000 server for $2.5 million. Inside Color House the system is accessed by a farm of top of the line multiprocessor Macintoshes. Clients can access the system over the Internet.

The Kodak jukebox holds 100 25 gigabyte discs storing up to 2 1/2 terabytes. The Ultra-Sparc server has six 250 MHz processors and a gigabyte of RAM. Color House's system has a 600 GB RAID subsystem for projects in progress. It serves all the 100-plus multiprocessor Macs they use for prepress services. The system serves clients who dial in or connect over the Internet to retrieve archived material.

When the new system was installed there were growing pains. They rewrote the jukebox management software to work with the image database and workflow management software they were using. Their image server business is now completely automated, saving time and money and improving customer service.

The jukebox was cost competitive with other optical systems. Flint's decision to go for more than a terabyte of storage has proven to be a good one. After less than eight months, the jukebox is more than one third full. When asked what they'd do after the ODS 2000E is completely full he said: "Probably get another."

Defense Department Saves $300 Million a Year

The United States Department of Defense (DOD) maintains some of the largest databases in the world. One of their biggest databases is the Joint Engineering Data Management Engineering and Control System (JEDMICS). This is the collection of engineering drawings, procurement papers, specification sheets and service manuals for all DOD weapons systems.

At last count there were more than 60 million such documents. These documents are complex. Each document is composed of several sheets of paper. Each sheet has multiple frames. The documentation for a complex system like an aircraft carrier can take up hundreds of thousands of gigabytes of storage.

Combine the storage problem with a need for speed. When all the technical documents were on paper, it took months to wade through it. Even when information was kept on CD-ROM there were problems. Weapon systems are constantly updated. It became impractical to update, duplicate and ship thousands of CD-ROMs all over the world.

To streamline the procedure for getting technical information to the field and find enough data storage for these documents, JEDMICS turned to system integrator Litton PRC (McLean, VA 703-556-1000). To solve the storage problem, PRC set up 45 Kodak ODS 2000 jukeboxes in 34 sites across the country. Kodak's 14" optical disc format has long been a favorite with government agencies. With a storage capacity of 2.5 terabytes per jukebox, the ODS 2000 was the most cost effective solution to JEDMICS storage problem.

The ODS 2000 gives JEDMICS many capabilities, according to Michael Mooney, PRC's VP of business development. First, the ODS 2000 is big. Second, it is not erasable. JEDMICS must keep all versions of every technical document. In the field, weapons systems of different ages must be supported. If a maintenance crew has an old version of a piece of equipment, they have to able to access the old service manuals. Non-erasability ensures that old versions of technical documents will not be lost.

Third, Kodak's system is upgradable. Kodak expects to more than double the storage capacity of their 14" discs while keeping backward compatibility with older media. JEDMICS can swap out old drives and media for new higher capacity system without losing their investment in discs and jukeboxes.

There are 43 jukeboxes in 34 sites around the country. Twenty-two of those sites store original documents. The remaining 12 sites are major maintenance and storage depots whose jukeboxes mirror information kept on the main sites. Outside of the main sites, military personnel can obtain information by downloading documents across a TCP/IP network. JEDMICS can use its own wide area network or the Internet. JEDMICS users do not need custom hardware to access the database. This saves money and provides access to the largest possible number of clients. JEDMICS currently has more than 32,000 users.

PRC's system saves taxpayers money, says Mooney. "We reduce distribution costs by sending everything out over a network. We save paper by putting everything on optical disc. We save time by automating all procedures. We save an average of $8 million per site per year."

New sites are being added all the time. The existing sites are being upgraded to include RAID caching of frequently used files. This is made necessary by the ever growing number of users supported by JEDMICS.