Suffolk Reporter

The Scientific Data and Computing Center (SDCC) at Brookhaven National Laboratory has reached a significant milestone by storing over 300 petabytes of data. This achievement marks the largest tape archive in the U.S. for nuclear and particle physics experiments, according to Alexei Klimentov, a physicist at Brookhaven Lab.

Tim Chou, an engineer and data specialist at the lab, noted that this amount of data is equivalent to six or seven million movies, far exceeding all feature films ever created. Written history would only occupy 50 petabytes, highlighting the scale of SDCC's storage capacity.

The SDCC stores data from experiments at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC) and the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider. These facilities conduct high-speed collisions to study fundamental forces and matter. The data collected is accessible online globally for collaborators.

Yingzi (Iris) Wu, an SDCC engineer, emphasized the importance of monitoring systems for managing data transfers efficiently. HPSS software ensures compatibility among various storage technologies.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are being considered to enhance anomaly detection in data operations. Ognian Novakov explained that using a tape-to-disk system is cost-effective compared to disk storage alone due to lower energy consumption.

With ongoing advancements in tape technology, SDCC aims to expand its storage capacity significantly without major infrastructure changes. Future projects like RHIC's sPHENIX detector and the Electron-Ion Collider will further increase data demands.

AI-enabled real-time analysis is becoming feasible due to faster computing capabilities. Such advancements allow for immediate detection of anomalies during experiments.

The upcoming Electron-Ion Collider project involves collaboration with Jefferson Lab in Virginia. Plans are underway for handling extensive data while maintaining efficient monitoring systems.

SDCC operations receive funding from the DOE Office of Science.