Case Study: CERN ensures petabyte-scale data protection with IBM Tivoli Storage Manager

CERN ensures continuous access to exponentially increasing data volumes

CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, faced the challenge of ensuring reliable, immediate access to dozens of petabytes of new particle physics data generated annually by its Large Hadron Collider (LHC) for a global network of tens of thousands of physicists. The CERN IT department needed a highly reliable and scalable solution to safeguard and manage this exponentially growing volume of critical data.

To meet this challenge, IBM implemented a storage solution utilizing IBM Tivoli Storage Manager software alongside IBM enterprise-class tape hardware, including TS3500 tape libraries and TS1140 tape drives. This IBM platform provided the exceptional scalability, performance, and reliability required to affordably manage petabyte-scale data growth. The solution ensures continuous, real-time accessibility to data for physicists worldwide and enables CERN to quickly restore services following any hardware or data failure.

CERN

Germán Cancio

Section Leader for Tapes, Archives, and Backups