The UK's Science and Technology Facilities Council's (STFC) Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL) is using Tessella's Safety Deposit Box (SDB) to manage part of its scientific data archive. David Corney, head of data services at RAL, said: 'SDB integrates perfectly into our scientific data archive.'
The selection follows a successful pilot project used to evaluate the practicality and effectiveness of SDB for storing part of RAL’s data. Initially, datasets from the ISIS neutron spallation experiments will be collected and ingested in to SDB4, together with the metadata required to facilitate long-term management and preservation. SDB4 supports multiple data 'tenants' and it is expected that the pilot will be extended to other users such as the British Atmospheric Data Centre.
SDB has been used for many years to store digital assets in memory institutes, but its use in a scientific environment is new. RAL is at the leading edge of digital archiving of scientific data. SDB will enable RAL to assess the benefits of long-term data preservation to scientific research environments.
Tessella will provide RAL with SDB4, the latest version, and will collaborate closely with key individuals from the eScience team and ISIS data administrators.
