Case Study: Lancaster University achieves scalable, high-performance research-data storage with Hitachi Vantara

Hitachi Data Systems Research-Data Storage Solution Gets High Marks From Lancaster University

Lancaster University, a top-10 UK research-led institution, faced rapidly rising storage demands—forecasting growth from about 300TB to 4PB within a few years—and needed a single-vendor, scalable SAN/NAS/backup solution compatible with its largely virtualized Hyper‑V and VMware environment. They engaged Hitachi Vantara to replace end-of-life infrastructure and deliver a futureproof platform using Hitachi Unified Storage VM (HUS VM/HUS 150), Hitachi NAS Platform (HNAS), Hitachi Content Platform (HCP), Hitachi Data Ingestor (HDI) and Hitachi Command Suite.

Hitachi Vantara, working with partner XMA, consolidated data onto virtualized HUS VM, used HNAS with intelligent tiering for user data and HCP/HDI for multi‑petabyte research retention and fast access, and deployed Hitachi Command Suite for management and forecasting. The deployment exceeded IOPS requirements by 250%, cut backup windows by 80%, improved end‑user access and performance, reduced costs and power/space through virtualization, and provided the scalability and resilience to support Lancaster’s projected growth to multiple petabytes.

Lancaster University

Matthew Storey

Systems Technical Coordinator