We propose to purchase and operate a high performance storage cluster as a shared resource for investigators at multiple institutions in the Boston area. The storage cluster will be customized to the needs of a growing community of microscopists involved in high throughput live and fixed-cell imaging, cell-based screening (""""""""high content screening"""""""") and automated image analysis (""""""""machine vision""""""""). Specific projects include creation of a """"""""digital fish"""""""" that captures in electronic form the development history of Zebrafish, rapid cell-based analysis of signal transduction circuits in normal and transformed cells, speckle microscopy of the tubulin and actin cytoskeleton and large-scale RNAi screening for new genes involved in fly development. The major users of the proposed storage cluster currently rely on a general purpose, network attached storage provided by HMS IT that lacks the capacity and performance needed for next-generation imaging projects. The existing infrastructure, consisting of EMC Celerra NAS has reached its absolute design limits and is too cumbersome and expensive to expand. In contrast, the proposed 120 TB IQ12000x-EX Storage Cluster (from Isilon Inc, Seattle WA) represents the ideal tradeoff between sophistication and cost, and is expandable to >3 petabytes. The Isilon achieves its low cost and high performance by linking standard hardware to proprietary, highly optimized operating systems and software stacks that perform the funcitons of a filesystem, volume manager, and RAID manager. The advanced features in the Isilon cluster will make it possible for users at multiple locations to store and manage image data within an intuitive and seamless user environment. The remarkable simplicity of the product will also ease the existing burden on staff scientists and storage managers in HMS IT. The overall benefit of the proposed Isilon cluster is that it will address an acute requirement for more disc-based computer storage among major users, increase dramatically the ability of these users to manage the space that is available and support a growing community of new users. Data storage and processing are increasingly critical for innovation in optical microscopy and image analysis. The scientific rationale for the Isilon Cluster is therefore strong and the need immediate. Moreover, the machine is designed and manufactured in the United States by an industry that is currently experiencing rapidly falling demand;thus, we will help to sustain a US- based employment in a sector of the economy that is critical to the future of scientific computing.
Large scale live and fixed cell microscopy is playing an increasingly important role in cell biology, gene identification and drug discovery. Next generation imaging projects are as dependent on the computer systems that manage and process digital data as they are on the microscopes used to collect data. The sophisticated, expandable and US-manufactured clustered computer storage system requested in this proposal is necessary for continued innovation in the laboratories of a user group known nationally for its expertise in microscopy, and to meet the growing needs of a large community of investigators new to digital microscopy.
