University of Minnesota Supercomputing Institute Expands Research Capability, Adds 10 Petabytes of Panasas Storage

Scalable “data as an asset” approach supports the university’s next-generation research initiative

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Panasas^®, a leader in high-performance computing (HPC) data storage solutions, announced an expansion of its 13-year relationship with the University of Minnesota’s Supercomputing Institute (MSI) to supply a new generation of parallel storage systems.

As its researchers push further into the fields of bioinformatics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, MSI plans to upgrade both the capacity and the performance of its cluster storage systems. To achieve this goal, the university is starting by updating the existing Panasas parallel storage system to the next-generation Panasas Ultra hardware. This will deliver approximately 10 Petabytes of new capacity, representing a net increase of 5 PB that will better support a variety of data-intensive research initiatives. Alongside the Panasas storage upgrades, the capacity of MSI's ceph-based tier 2 storage, built using HPE hardware, will also be increased by 5 PB.

“The Panasas partnership gives us access to the kind of high-performance computing technology that is critical to tackle an increasing variety of sophisticated use cases with MSI’s `Agate’ cluster,” said Jim Wigenbusch, Director of Research Computing at UMN. “This long-term partnership has provided our researchers with the top-flight technology and technical support they need.”

“MSI/UMN has bought and installed every generation of Panasas ActveStor over the 13 years that we’ve worked together,” said Panasas Chief Operating Officer Brian Peterson. “I’m very proud of this agreement -- a testament to our long-term partnership. We are fully committed to helping the university by supporting their efforts with the technology they need to advance research.”

About Panasas

Panasas delivers high-performance computing (HPC) data storage solutions that support industry and research innovation around the world. Whether it’s building the next Dreamliner, winning a Formula One race, creating mind-bending visual effects, curing disease, or modeling climate change, the world’s leading companies trust Panasas to support their most innovative HPC projects. For more information, visit www.panasas.com.

Follow Panasas: Twitter and LinkedIn.

© 2021 Panasas, Inc. Panasas, the Panasas logo, PanFS and ActiveStor are trademarks or registered trademarks of Panasas, Inc., in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks, registered trademarks, trade names, company names and service marks are the property of their respective holders.