StorageTek has announced that Microsoft has chosen StorageTek`s 9710 and 9714 DLT (digital linear tape) tape libraries to help build a solid storage infrastructure for Microsoft TerraServer , the world`s largest database on the Web.
Microsoft TerraServer makes highly detailed aerial photographs and satellite images available to users via the Internet. StorageTek`s tape libraries back up TerraServer`s Terabyte Microsoft SQL Server, Enterprise Edition 7.0 database, as well as help with the production of geological earth images.
"Microsoft TerraServer is a live Web site anticipating one million hits a day. There is no room for down time," says John Nordlinger, lead product manager for Microsoft SQL Server at Microsoft. "Because reliable backup and recovery are critical to Microsoft TerraServer`s success, we chose StorageTek`s tape libraries for their proven reliability and performance. Both libraries have performed flawlessly, and we are assured unrivaled scalability as the Web site grows larger."
Microsoft TerraServer is a massive store of aerial photographs and satellite images taken from miles overhead, allowing consumers and businesses to view and/or purchase data-intensive satellite images online. Because StorageTek`s family of 97XX tape libraries is ideal for the many large, mission-critical implementations being built using Windows NT, Microsoft chose StorageTek`s 9714 to help with TerraServer`s production of images and StorageTek`s 9710 to perform primary backup and restore functions for the Web site.
"StorageTek is providing storage infrastructure for the world`s largest database on the Web. Microsoft`s decision to use StorageTek`s storage solutions substantiates our commitment to Windows NT," says Don Kleinschnitz, VP of strategy and alliances, StorageTek Multiplatform Business Group. "Furthermore, the Microsoft TerraServer project represents a unique consortium of companies that brings this technology to consumers."
StorageTek`s 9714 DLT tape library is integral to building the imagery available in the Microsoft TerraServer database. Each image viewable from the Web site is built by matching and interweaving it with adjacent images of the earth and then compressing it for storage on disk. The 9714 is used to load each new image, as well as the adjacent images, from tape to disk, where new images are created. The tape then becomes the storage for the new, uncompressed composite image that is created during the production process.
The uncompressed mosaic of the earth created in Microsoft TerraServer is stored only on tape. StorageTek`s 9714 provides Microsoft`s TerraServer with up to 3,5TB of uncompressed data storage at a throughput rate of 108GB an hour. It employs six DLT 7000 drives and holds 100 tape cartridges, providing smooth, unattended storage operations that reside in a small footprint cabinet.
StorageTek`s 9710 is the primary backup and restore solution for Microsoft`s the NT-based TerraServer. In the event any data is lost, StorageTek`s 9710 can restore the data quickly and reliably, providing a virtually seamless recovery to the Web site. By combining StorageTek`s robotics with 420 cartridges and 10 high-performance DLT 7000 drives, Microsoft can complete backups in the short window available to back up the massive TerraServer Web site. Selected for its reliability and scalability, the 9710 can store up to 14TB of uncompressed data and supports a throughput rate of 180GB an hour.
* StorageTek is distributed and supported in South Africa by CMS, a company in the MGX Holdings group.
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