ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTING

Powering Tomorrow's Data Today

Leil Storage for Artificial Intelligence

CHALLENGES

The need for rapid data ingestion and real-time processing puts significant strain on storage infrastructures. Additionally, scalability is crucial as datasets grow exponentially, necessitating storage solutions that can expand seamlessly. The complexity of integrating diverse data types and ensuring low latency for model training further complicates storage management, demanding robust, high-performance storage solutions designed to handle AI and HPC workloads effectively.

Historically, 80-90% of HPC storage is secondary and tape storage, with much of this data stored in formats and systems not optimized for the high-speed access and processing required by AI workloads. One of the current obstacles in AI is leveraging historical data for continuously updating training models. This creates significant challenges in achieving the performance needed and fully utilizing the valuable data stored in legacy cold storage solutions. Unlocking the full potential of historical data stored in such systems for AI and HPC applications remains a significant hurdle—and this is precisely where our focus lies.

Active Archive Challenge is Driven by Al & HPC Workloads

We're gaining momentum because there is a growing niche for SMR-friendly data storage, driven by new data growth, Al and HPC.

Traditional tape (LTO) cannot keep up with the need for fast data retrieval.

This gap lets us capture part of the tape market with extra SMR capacity.

WHY CONSIDER LEIL STORAGE

Bring Hyperscalers Efficiency

Stand out with our high-capacity, energy-efficient on-premises solutions, leveraging technology previously exclusive to hyperscalers.

No Data Migrations

Experience seamless capacity refresh and extension without any downtime contrary to the traditional storage migration process.

Cost Efficiency

Our pricing model is designed to become more advantageous as your usage increases from zero to dozens of petabytes, ensuring both affordability and scalability for growing businesses.

KEY BENEFITS FOR AI & HPC

No Performance Compromise

We maintain high-speed access and robust performance even as data volumes and workloads increase, ensuring the smooth operation of AI and HPC applications.

Scalability

Scale easily to accommodate increasing data volumes without significant additional costs or complexity.

Seamless Integration

As a member of the NVIDIA Inception Program, we enhance our storage solutions with deep integration of NVIDIA technologies. This improves data processing and access times, crucial for AI and HPC applications, ensuring efficient and reliable model training and deployment.

Get familiar with the Leil Storage reference specifications.

Learn more about the Leil Storage for Active Archive.

Advanced Technology

Our solution supports the rapid data processing and access needed for training large, sophisticated models, thereby enhancing overall training efficiency and model accuracy.

Energy Efficiency

By utilising advanced hardware (SMR) Leil Storage significantly lowers energy consumption and emissions, enhancing overall sustainability.

LEIL STORAGE ALIGNMENT WITH WESTERN DIGITAL AI DATA CYCLE

Leil Storage aligns seamlessly with the Western Digital AI Data Cycle, specifically focusing on phases 1 and 6, to offer efficient data management and storage.

Utilising the new 32TB Ultrastar DC HC690 SMR drives, Leil Storage ensures high-capacity and reliable data solutions for hyperscale cloud and enterprise data centers.

SOURCE: Infographic: The AI Data Cycle

Phase 1: Raw Data Archives and Content Storage

Data Collection

Securely and efficiently collects and stores raw data from various sources.

Data Quality

High-quality, diverse data sets form the foundation for AI processes.

Capacity

Utilises the 32TB Ultrastar DC HC690 ultraSMR HDD for scalable data storage.

Phase 6: New Content Generation

Data Management

Stores newly generated data from AI models using high-capacity SMR drives.

Continuous Improvement

Feeds valuable data back into the AI cycle for future analysis.

Integration

Ensures seamless integration and rapid deployment with low TCO.

Western Digital Introduces New AI Data Cycle Storage Framework to Help Customers Capture the Value of AI.Download Infographic about the AI Data Cycle.

testimonials

Unlocking Research Potential: How SaunaFS, Distributed Filesystem by Leil Storage, Future-Proofed AAU’s HPC Infrastructure

Professor Bidyut Kumar Sarmah

Director
North East Centre for Agricultural Biotechnology

The Leil Storage team was professional, knowledgeable, and dedicated throughout the migration process. From the outset, they took the time to understand our specific HPC requirements, conducting multiple planning meetings to ensure a smooth transition. Their expertise was evident in the development of custom migration tools, which were rigorously tested to guarantee zero data loss. This meticulous approach instilled confidence within our research community and ensured a seamless migration with minimal disruption to our operations. Thanks to SaunaFS and the exceptional support from Leil Storage, we now have a highly reliable, high-performance storage solution that will support our research and teaching activities for years to come.

The transition to SaunaFS has been transformative for our HPC cluster. With its modern architecture, SaunaFS provides:

Long-term support and active development, allowing us to confidently upgrade to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
Enhanced performance, including improved read/write operations, data integrity (CRC), and erasure coding (EC).
Optimized parallel file access, making it an ideal solution for HPC and AI workloads.

SaunaFS not only restored our ability to upgrade our cluster infrastructure but also improved overall system efficiency.