RET: SA1000

The Rising Edge Technologies SA-1000 is a turn-key system designed to support signal transfer from the portable media packs of our signal recorder products to a network accessible storage environment. The SA-1000 focuses on quickly and accurately converting the proprietary file format of the data recorder to a structured file format that allows these signal files to support analysis, dissemination, or training applications.

The SA-1000 provides the user with the capability to quickly unload a media pack; copy data back to a media pack, and provide network connectivity to the stored data while retaining the recorded data on highly stable archival quality media.

The SA-1000 is configured as a complete integrated storage subsystem consisting of a media gateway, server, and high capacity archival storage system.

The heart of the SA-1000 is the Data Management Server. The server is the primary controller for moving data from the media pack gateway through the caching and control logic of the system. The media pack gateway provides a direct method for introducing the data from a recorder to the storage system as an operating system compatible file. This file is then managed within the SA-1000 where it is available to support user applications.

The media pack gateway is a stand-alone, rack mounted device capable of accepting media packs from any of our data recorder products.  Signals on the media pack are loaded to the SA-1000 using a custom GUI application.  Once loaded, transfer operations can be initiated.  The user can then select the files to be transferred to or from the system. The gateway can also be used to build custom media packs that contain specialized groups or types of files to support alternative methods of playback and analysis or in training scenarios.

The SA-1000 combines a commercial Linux operating system, commercial HSM software, and a custom graphical user interface to create a system that can seamlessly manage data transfers through the entire storage system. A Pack Archive function is designed query the media pack and provide a detailed listing of the pack’s content. The user then has the option of selecting any number of files from the media pack for transfer to the archive system. The transfer function offers bi-directional copy support: media pack to archive and archive to media pack. The transfer function not only copies the data from the media pack but also any stored information related to the specific recording being transferred that may have been entered by the user.

The files are stored in a virtual volume, consisting of a high performance on-line RAID system and high capacity near-line/off-line optical library.  Once stored in this virtual volume, automatic file migration software manages the movement of the files while they are in the system and includes a shelf management capability for unlimited storage capacity.

As a complete subsystem, the SA-1000 combines media access and control with a robust, multi-layered storage subsystem to support the long term analysis, access, training, distribution, and storage goals of your application. Storage is provided using a combination of RAID, robust library technology, and archive quality media to enhance data retrievability while ensuring long-term availability and retention. The RAID subsystem provides a high speed, high capacity, temporary storage location designed to provide fast off-loads for several disk packs. Data is then migrated by the SA-1000 system software to a high capacity optical library.

The SA-1000 can be configured with rewritable or write-once Ultra Dense Optical (UDO) or Professional Data Disk (PDD) blue-laser optical technology to support your mission needs. Both technologies offer higher capacity and better performance than traditional CD, DVD and Magneto Optical mediums. These enterprise class archival mediums provide data life in excess of 30 years, and since the read/write heads never touch the media, data quality won't deteriorate over time as it does on magnetic storage mediums.

The removable media of the optical library allows the SA-1000 to support an infinite amount of data through its built-in shelf management features. Each storage subsystem in the SA-1000 can be expanded to meet your on-line or near-line storage needs. The RAID and library system can be altered to support many Terabytes of data, thus allowing system operators faster access to a wider variety of signals.