CR-367706 - Attachment A - SOW Magnetic Tape Library.pdf

CR-367706

Attachment A Statement of Work (SOW)

Magnetic Tape Library Requirements March 05, 2025

1.0 Introduction

Fermi Forward Discovery Group, LLC (FFDG) seeks the latest generation of tape storage library technology to support the storage capacity and access needs of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) scientific programs. FFDG intends to procure the following:

1. An enterprise-class tape storage library1 with a minimum native capacity2 of 225 PB and equipped with 20 tape drives. This library will be installed at our Grid Computing Center (GCC) data center (see Figure 1). In this document, it will be referred to as the “225 PB+ library.”

FFDG currently operates a tape storage infrastructure that includes three IBM TS4500 libraries (each with 10,000 slots) and two Spectra Logic TFinity libraries (each with 12,500 slots). These systems are distributed across two data centers on the Fermilab campus. For further details, refer to Section 4.0: Fermilab Storage Model, which is incorporated into this Statement of Work (SOW) by reference.

Figure 1.- Library Location Space at GCC-TRR (in yellow).

Total usable area is 10ft wide by 30ft long (300 sq ft)

(Grid is 2-foot square floor tiles)

1 A tape library comprises interconnected frames that house tapes and tape drives, as well as robotic mechanisms that transport tapes between slots and drives within the frames. Additionally, a controller manages the library's operations. Libraries can be partitioned so that certain drives have access to only a specific subset of tapes.

2 In this document: 1 PB = 10¹⁵ bytes, 1 TB = 10¹² bytes, and so on. All references to tape capacity are based on native capacity (w/o compression). For example, an LTO9 tape has a maximum native storage capacity of 18 TB.

2.0 Objectives

The objective is to expand our tape storage capacity to support current and future scientific experiments by acquiring a next-generation tape library with the following minimum capabilities, in compliance with all requirements outlined in Attachment B – Functional and Technical Requirements:

• At least 225 PB of native (uncompressed) storage capacity.

• Support for at least 40 tape drives, with 20 drives included in the initial solution.

• Full tape drive access: All drives must be able to access all tapes (no default partitioning of the library).

• High availability for mission-critical library components, including automatic failover mechanisms.

• VESDA detector compatibility: The library must have adequate space to accommodate

VESDA detectors without interfering with its operations. Detailed information on proper installation and clearance requirements must be provided.

• Five years of maintenance, with payment arranged on an annual basis.

3.0 Scope of Work

The offeror is responsible for the installation and acceptance testing of the tape storage library.

Should the installed equipment fail to pass the acceptance testing, the offeror must remove it at no cost to FFDG.

The offeror must demonstrate to FFDG’s satisfaction that all specified requirements are met, particularly the data exchange rate requirement.

FFDG will conduct an acceptance test that includes the following steps:

• Verification of all capacity, performance, physical, software, and maintenance requirements with the active involvement of the offeror.

• An initial integration period during which the solution will be incorporated into the existing software infrastructure.

• Functional and benchmark testing, including:

o Mounting, writing to, dismounting, and reading tapes.

o Basic control and operation of the library.

• Successful validation of configuration and performance requirements over the testing period.

The storage solution will be accepted only upon satisfactory completion of the acceptance testing.

During the acceptance testing phase, the offeror will be granted a next business day response period to resolve any identified issues. If the equipment fails before acceptance and cannot be restored within four (4) working days, FFDG reserves the right to deem the acceptance test as failed.

The warranty and maintenance period for the tape robotic library will begin upon successful acceptance of the equipment.

4.0 Fermilab Storage Model (March 05, 2025)

Fermilab's current data delivery solution utilizes a distributed, parallel, and fault-tolerant file system specifically designed for High Energy Physics data transfers. This system provides over 40 gigabytes per second of I/O through a federated storage architecture. It incorporates a tape-backed disk cache called dCache, which is integrated with the Enstore tape management system. While Enstore is developed in-house by FFDG, dCache is a collaborative effort between Fermilab and European laboratories.

The FNAL storage group is currently transitioning from the Enstore tape storage system to the CERN Tape Archive (CTA), with full deployment expected by the time the new tape library is delivered. Fermilab is deploying CTA on AlmaLinux 9. CTA is a distributed system primarily written in C and C++, featuring a service called cta-taped, which runs on all servers that interact with tape drives. Each server running cta-taped also hosts a cta-rmcd service, which interfaces with the tape library's media changer. Consequently, the new tape library must support exporting the associated media changers through each of its tape drives.

CTA utilizes the ST Linux driver to interact with tape drives and the SG Linux driver to manage tape library media changers.

Currently, all of our tape libraries and their associated servers are housed together in close proximity and connected via Fibre Channel.

Any proposed tape storage solution must integrate seamlessly into this existing framework.