New technology, familiar service, convenient access
The tape library is the home of the previously archived data. In the future, archiving will take place on S3 object storage.
Source: Own illustration
December 08, 2021 is an important deadline for all users of the archive and all those who would like to archive data from administration, teaching and university operations in the future.
The contents of the current archive will be migrated to an object storage infrastructure beginning in December. We have already reported on the archive migration and will continue to keep you updated. The archive will therefore inevitably be set to “Read Only” from 08.12.2021. However, you can continue to use the archiving service, because the start of the new DigitalArchive will coincide with this date.
Who can use the DigitalArchive?
As successor of the former archive, the circle of users remains the same: all RWTH employees with the corresponding status in the identity management have the possibility to archive specific data sets, which cannot be classified as research data, on a long-term basis. The prerequisite for use is that the employees can be assigned to a corresponding institute identification number (IKZ).
Why is the archive being converted?
With the changes in the funding landscape and the technology change from tape archive to new S3 object storage, we are now also differentiating the storage destinations where data is held. Data from the research context is archived on the research data repository via Coscine. The counterpart to this is the DigitalArchive when it comes to data from university administration, teaching and other contexts of university operations. You will be able to archive this data conveniently from 08.12.2021. In addition, we will say goodbye to Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM), the software that was required for archiving, among other things, in the summer of 2022. In the future, Commvault software will be used for backup and restore.
NEW! Digital archiving via S3
For the use of the archive the installation of a TSM client was necessary. Only with this client it was possible to transfer the data to be archived to the tape storage system. The archiving of the data took place on so-called archive nodes.
In the future, access will be web-based via the SeVire portal. On an object storage infrastructure, data from administration, teaching and other data can be archived via a suitable S3 client.
Archive nodes become S3 buckets
Another new feature is that data is managed in data projects. For each data project, an S3 bucket is created on the object storage in which the data is located. While access to archive nodes was reserved exclusively for node contact persons, a data project can also be assigned to several administrators. They can manage the project and control read and write permissions for S3 users. A data bucket can be accessed from any client that can handle the S3 protocol. Instructions for creating data projects can be found on IT Center Help. Here you can also find information on installing S3 clients and the updated terms of use for the DigitalArchive.
You can find interesting information about the archive migration on our IT Center Blog in the following articles:
- Archive Migration – the Big Move of Archived Data
- Coscine – The new integration platform for research data
- Preparation is Key – Prepare Archive Nodes and Migrate without Worries
Responsible for the content of this article is Nicole Filla.
