IBM Develops Big Data Infrastructure for Science

Big Blue will collaborate with DESY institute in Germany to develop an architecture capable of processing 20 gigabytes of data per second.

IBM has announced a collaboration with the Deutsches Elektronen-Synhrotron (DESY) research institute in Germany to develop a Big Data architecture for scientific research. DESY will use this technology to process data from its particle accelerators, including the 1.7-mile-long PETRA III accelerator.
According to Volker Gulzow, head of DESY IT, “A typical detector generates a data stream of about 5 gigabits per second, which is about the data volume of one complete CD-ROM per second. At PETRA III, we do not have one detector but 14 beamlines equipped with many detectors, and they are currently being extended to 24. All this Big Data must be stored and handled reliably.”
IBM’s Big Data architecture will process and store more than 20 gigabytes of data every second.