Lightsand and NASA: Pioneering Storage Area Network Technology for the Future

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) in Greenbelt, Maryland is one of NASA’s top research and development centers. Founded in 1959, GSFC is responsible for many of NASA’s biggest projects including Earth science, astrophysics and satellite missions. The facility is key to space science and exploration, building, testing and operating spacecraft and managing big data from space missions. GSFC handles massive amounts of data that need to be stored, processed and analyzed in real-time. This requires advanced and robust data management technologies that can span across multiple sites and get data from anywhere in the world in seconds. That’s where Lightsand’s SAN technology comes in to help NASA’s data operations.

This integration marks a significant advancement in NASA´s mission to streamline data accessibility while ensuring data security and operational reliability.

During the partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lightsand provided Storage Area Network (SAN) extension solutions that improved NASA’s data handling capabilities. The focus of this project was Lightsand’s gateways that solved the data transmission challenge across long distances.

Autonomous Region (AR) Technology:

Isolation and Control: Lightsand’s AR is critical in environments like NASA’s where multiple data centers need to operate independently but be connected. This feature isolates SAN fabrics so that a disruption in one system doesn’t affect the whole network.

Scalable Architecture: AR allows different regions to scale independently which is key for NASA as it’s always adding new data collection and analysis capabilities across multiple missions.

Domain Address Translation (DAT):

Seamless Communication: DAT allows different SAN regions to communicate without merging their data environments which is critical for data security and integrity across distributed systems.

Extra Data Security: For NASA data is mission critical. DAT adds an extra layer of security by ensuring data packets are routed correctly without exposing the internal configurations of each SAN.

UDP with Selective Retransmission (UDP/SR):

Fast Data Transfer: In NASA’s environment where big datasets are being transmitted all the time, UDP/SR minimizes data loss and only retransmits the necessary packets so bandwidth and latency is optimized.

Long Distance Efficiency: This protocol was very useful for transmitting data across wide-area networks, supporting NASA’s need for real-time data replication between its far-flung facilities.

Fibre Channel over IP (FCIP) and Internet Fibre Channel Protocol (iFCP):

WAN Optimization: Lightsand’s FCIP allows NASA to extend its Fibre Channel based SANs over IP networks so data can be replicated in real-time to remote locations without the need for dedicated fibre connections.

Reliable Long Distance Connectivity: This is critical for NASA’s data synchronization tasks so all data collected is available at remote data centers regardless of their physical location.

Better Disaster Recovery: Lightsand’s solutions provide robust disaster recovery capabilities so data is secure and recoverable in case of a system failure or network outage. For an organization like NASA where data integrity is non-negotiable this is critical for business continuity.

Scalable Data Infrastructure: With Lightsand SAN NASA can scale its data storage as mission requirements grow. This scalability is key for the growing data volumes from NASA’s expanding satellite missions and scientific experiments.

Lightsand technology at NASA GSFC changed the way data is handled across NASA’s vast networks. By using Fibre Channel and FICON extension technologies NASA was able to:

Real-Time Data Replication: Data from NASA’s space missions including satellite images, telemetry and research datasets is now replicated in real-time to multiple data centers. Now scientists and researchers can analyze data without delay and make quick decisions.

Better Disaster Recovery: Lightsand’s solutions provide robust disaster recovery capabilities so data is secure and recoverable in case of a system failure or network outage. For an organization like NASA where data integrity is non-negotiable this is critical for business continuity.

Scalable Data Infrastructure: With Lightsand SAN NASA can scale its data storage as mission requirements grow. This scalability is key for the growing data volumes from NASA’s expanding satellite missions and scientific experiments.

Lightsand’s partnership with NASA proves it’s a leader in data transport and SAN extension solutions for organizations that handle sensitive and mission critical data. With its focus on reliability, security and scalable infrastructure Lightsand is innovating in:

Hyperconverged Infrastructure (HCI): Lightsand technology works with modern HCI frameworks to provide flexible software defined solutions for the growing data needs of the enterprise.

Next-Generation Data Centers: With features like Autonomous Regions and Domain Address Translation Lightsand is setting the bar for data center connectivity and management so businesses can stay ahead of the digital curve.

Lightsand’s partnership with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is a major milestone in SAN technology innovation, providing the infrastructure to handle some of the biggest data intensive operations in the world. By delivering solutions that focus on scalability, security and performance Lightsand is supporting NASA’s current mission requirements and future space exploration and data science.

Upcoming initiatives include deeper integration with the Scientific Visualization Studio (SVS) and the Advanced Data Grid (ADG) project, which will benefit from high-speed data access for large-scale simulations and visualizations.

The integration of Lightsand technology has already facilitated high-speed, reliable connections between Goddard and key research partners, including the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC), and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA). These institutions now benefit from an ultra-high-speed SAN grid infrastructure that supports collaborative research, data sharing, and real-time analytics.

Lightsand’s solution has enabled these facilities to leverage the Science and Engineering Network (SEN), the Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX), and the Abilene Network to provide seamless data connectivity across multiple locations. This capability enhances NASA’s ability to carry out coordinated scientific research and computational modeling on a global scale.

These developments will support NASA’s ongoing mission to improve data-driven decision-making and accelerate scientific discoveries by optimizing data accessibility and processing efficiency.

As businesses face the challenges of data management Lightsand is the partner that delivers the technology to move data fast and seamless across the globe. This partnership with NASA is proof of LightSand’s dedication to innovation and making the biggest projects in the world possible.

Wishes to acknowledge the following individuals for their contributions: Bill

Fink, Paul Lang, Wei -Li Liu and Aruna Muppalla at NASA GSFC; Bryan Bannister and

Nathaniel Mendoza at SDSC; Chad Kerner at NCSA; and Fritz McCall at UMIACS.