We are in the process of buying a web server for data storage for the microscope facilities. Till now we save data on the HD and this can stay on the system till data is analysed. Unfortunately, that is the ideal situation and often we find at the end of an imaging session that the HD is full. Several groups use now external HD for storage. However, to make it all better organized we have decided to get a web server. Our computer centre suggests: 
Sun x4500 AMD Opteron (290) 2.80 GHz, 16 GB DDR1, 400MHz, 24 TB (500GB SATAs) with the budged we have. However, they also suggest that we buy 2 with one for backup. 
We were hoping to use OMERO for indexing of our data but at the moment that does not work. OMERO will convert the data to OME-TIFF, so you have double the amount of data. Other option would be to upload only to OMERO but it results in only OME-TIFF files which often cannot be read into our analysis software. I understand by just using the server as an extra HD the system does not know what data has been changed or moved and so what needs to be backed-up. As a result full back-ups have to be run.

So two questions:
1) Has somebody  experience with this Sun server?
2) Has somebody solved the problem with uploading files to the server and which files have to be backed-up?

Thanks

Kees


Dr. K.R. Straatman
Senior Experimental Officer
School of Biological Sciences
http://www.le.ac.uk/biochem/microscopy/home.html

Postal address:
Department of Biochemistry
Henry Wellcome Building
University of Leicester
Lancaster Rd.
Leicester LE1 9HN
UK
tel.: + 44 (0)116 229 7085/252 2263
fax: + 44 (0)116 229 7031 

Times Higher Education University of the Year 2008-9



From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of [log in to unmask]
Sent: 12 July 2009 10:38
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: FW: IT questions



We have on all our equipment a small batch script that automatically runs on start up and backs up data. It compares files and only backs up new and it is one way to a 4Tb NAS drive (these are nice and cheap!). The script runs on start up because when windows shuts down it seems to disconnect the network connection prior to running shutdown scripts. We have never taken the time to find a workaround. 

Jonathan


Professor J.C. Knowles BSc(hons), PhD, FIMMM, CEng, FRSC, CSci
Professor of Biomaterials Science
Head of Division of Biomaterials and Tissue Engineering,
UCL Eastman Dental Institute,
University College London,
256 Gray's Inn Road,
London WC1X 8LD. UK.
Tel +44 (0)207 915 1189
Fax +44 (0)207 915 1227
Mobile 07785 313615
Skype Me
Editor, Journal of Biomaterials Applications
Email [log in to unmask]
Eastman website; http://www.eastman.ucl.ac.uk
Personal website; http://www.homepages.ucl.ac.uk/~sfhvjck
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