Experiences with gStore, a scalable mass storage system with tape backend
H Goeringer, M Feyerabend, S. Sedykh · Journal of Physics Conference Series · 2008
GSI is a center for heavy ion research and host of an Alice Tier2 center. The GSI Mass Storage System gStore manages ~200 TB experiment data currently with different life times and access patterns. The data are available 24 hours per day and seven days per week for fast and highly parallel access. For Alice users all gStore data are worldwide accessible via Alice grid software, and for the end of 2007 it is planned to provide ~200TB via xrootd backed with gStore. Successfully in operation for more than 10 years gStore has been developed in parallel continuously by only two FTEs mastering a growth of nearly two orders of magnitude. In 2014 the future FAIR experiments at GSI, CBM and Panda, will have requirements for data capacity and I/O bandwidth reaching those of the current LHC experiments at CERN. This needs another growth of gStore of three orders of magnitude. This paper describes gStore and its potential to master also the challenges coming with the FAIR project.