By Rea Nkhumise

1. Low Cost Robotic Tape Library
Systems Using Open Source
Technology
Author: Rea Nkhumise
Date: 13-15 April 2018
Contact: rea@ska.ac.za

2. Presentation Outline
 Personal Background
 Project Background
 Challenge
 Objective
 Open Source Tech
 Structural System Design
 Results
 Discussion
 Conclusions
 Way Forward
 Questions

3.  BSc Mechanical Engineering (2013)
• Witwatersrand University, South Africa
 MSc Robotics/Mechatronics (2016)
• Tennessee Tech University, United States
 Robotics engineer for SKA-SA (2016 - )
• Tape Library System from open-source tech
Personal Background

4.  Square Kilometre Array (SKA)
 Building largest radio telescope
 2 phases: SKA1 (South Africa) & SKA2 (Australia)
Project Background

5. Data Properties:
 Low sensitivity
 Low activity
 Infrequently accessed
 Stored <10 years
Project Background

6. Data Storage Architecture:
 Cost-effective
 Capacity
 Availability
 Longevity
 Reliability
Challenge
Cloud /Disk-based servers
Tape Library

7.  To produce a cost-effective data storage architecture that
can retain data for a long period of time.
Objective

8.  Developments of CNC routers & 3D printers
 Micro-controllers: Arduino & Raspberry Pi
Open Source Tech

9. Illustration of CNC router:
Open Source Tech

10. Modules of Tape Library System
Structural System Design

11. Specification SKA’s Tape Library Scalar i500 (14U)
Max. Slots 80 41
Max. Drives 1 6
Max. Capacity (TB) 1200 615
Dimensions (HxWxD) 100cm x 110cm x 31cm 61.9cm x 44.2cm x 79.8cm
Estimated Costs $ 1,800 $ 6,600
Results

12.  Prototype:
• Supports 1 tape drive
• Has ~2X storage capacity
• Costs ~70% less
 Industry Tape Library systems are pricey due to number & complexity
of subsystems built into them to enhance security, performance &
reliability. To be protect & handle highly sensitive and very active data.
 Open source based Tape Library systems are suitable for entities that:
• Produce cold data of low sensitivity
• Need to store it for long periods (<10 years)
• Have higher data access latency (up to 24 hours)
 Such entities can affordably store data over a long time
 Example: Research institutes, solar panel industry, weather services,
governments archives, etc.
Discussion

13. Building tape library systems from open source software &
hardware promises:
 To significantly drive their market prices down
 To improve their operational efficiency
 To increase their application in various sectors which they
were absent
Conclusions

14.  Collaborate in an open source space to:
• Crowdsource expertise
• Expedite product maturity
• Produce market-centric solutions
 Push innovation boundaries by causing industry to invest
more in advancing the tech
 Reduce overall industry prices caused by oligopoly and
license fees
 Identify versatile applications for the tech
Way Forward

15. Questions