Coriell Institute manages complex research data at low cost. Transforming genomic research capabilities with IBM XIV Storage System. Visit http://ibm.co/Pv0O89 to know about the IBM XIV Storage System.

1. IBM XIV Storage Systems Healthcare
Case Study
Coriell Institute manages
complex research data at
low cost
Transforming genomic research capabilities with
IBM XIV Storage System
Coriell Institute for Medical Research, founded in 1953 and based in
Overview Camden, New Jersey, is an independent nonprofit research organization
dedicated to the study of the human genome. As a leader in the emerging
The need
field of personalized medicine—which draws upon a person’s genomic
A major research program at the Coriell information to tailor treatments and prescription drug dosing to optimize
Institute for Medical Research generates
vast amounts of genomic data; control- health outcomes—the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative®
ling storage costs while planning for (CPMC®) research study is seeking to understand the usefulness of
growth in data volumes were major genetic risk and pharmacogenomics in clinical decision-making and
challenges.
healthcare management. One important aspect of the study is the integra-
The solution tion of genetic risk information into patients’ electronic medical records
Implemented IBM® XIV® Storage (EMR) and studying its use by physicians.
System, using built-in thin provisioning
to free up 30 TB of space. The solution Scott Megill, Coriell’s Chief Information Officer says, “Each person’s
provides scalable, high-performance,
easy-to-manage storage for genomic sequence generates approximately two million data points;
genomic data. this translates into around 1 GB of raw data per patient. This data is
subsequently analyzed, generating many additional gigabytes of research
The benefit
data and reportable information. For the CPMC [Coriell Personalized
Thin provisioning reduced capacity
requirements from 50 TB to 20 TB,
Medicine Collaborative] study to remain viable in the months and years
a 60 percent saving. Scalability at to come, we needed to address the cost and complexity issues surrounding
known costs enables Coriell to plan our existing storage solutions, which were facing information overload.
cost-effective future expansion of its
We needed a compact storage solution that would be easy to manage and
genome project.
that would enable us to grow capacity nondisruptively at a financially
acceptable cost per terabyte. The XIV Storage System answered all those
requirements.”
Game-changing technology
CPMC study participants first submit a saliva sample which is analyzed
for genetic markers called single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
which are associated with complex diseases, such as age-related macular

2. IBM XIV Storage Systems Healthcare
Case Study
degeneration, colon cancer, coronary artery disease, melanoma, and types
1 and 2 diabetes. The study also analyzes pharmacogenomic markers
“With thin provisioning that influence our response to certain medications. This information is
on the XIV system, we combined with each participant’s family, medical, and lifestyle history
collected via a web portal and aggregated with the information on
were immediately able relevant SNPs.
to reduce our nominal
storage requirements Not only are the resulting data sets enormous, Coriell also seeks to
provide rapid access to them. A key study objective is to make the genetic
from 50 TB to 20 TB— risk information available to patients and their doctors. The ability to
a 60 percent saving.” access very large amounts of data at high speed would traditionally
require large investments in high-end storage devices, along with the
—Scott Megill, Chief Information Officer, Coriell ongoing management costs associated with running large and complex
SAN environments.
Working with Mainline—an IBM Business Partner—Coriell selected
the IBM XIV Storage System, which offers tier-one performance and
scalability without the associated tier-one cost and complexity. Mainline
Professional Services assisted with the installation of the XIV system and
provided basic training workshops for the Coriell team. Coriell purchased
the solution through IBM Global Financing, which reduced the financial
impact of the acquisition by creating a tailored payment plan.
“For Coriell, the XIV system provided the game-change we needed
from the traditional SAN architecture,” says Megill. “Implementation
took just two days, and we used the built-in XIV migration tools to
move data from our existing devices. The transition to the XIV system
was exceptionally easy, and we spent very little time on configuration.
We’re also seeing less complexity in management: the XIV interface is
highly intuitive.”
Efficient and simple
Coriell immediately took advantage of the XIV system’s built-in thin
provisioning to reduce its nominal storage requirements. At that time,
Coriell had some 50 TB of capacity reserved for future data growth on
its existing SAN.
“With thin provisioning on the XIV system, we were immediately able
to reduce our nominal storage requirements from 50 TB to 20 TB—a
60 percent saving,” says Megill. “Put simply, the XIV system removed the
2

3. IBM XIV Storage Systems Healthcare
Case Study
need to over-provide capacity as headroom. In fact, it takes away any
Solution components: need to even plan future capacity; when we create a new LUN, the
XIV software takes care of storage provisioning automatically.”
Hardware
● IBM® XIV® Storage System He adds, “A significant decision factor was simplicity of operation. In
the past, we assigned the equivalent of two full-time employees to storage
management; now that we have the XIV system in place, we have just one
“With the XIV system, part-time employee. As a midsized business with a small IT staff, that
makes a big difference.”
we’re very confident
in our ability to handle Evolving benefits
rapid data growth As clinicians have started to explore and utilize the genomic data of their
patients, the average electronic medical record size has increased from
without incurring 1 GB to 6 GB per patient. Coriell initially selected an XIV system with
unsustainable costs.” 43 TB usable capacities, and has since expanded it. Other than inserting
the new disk modules, no other configuration or change is required,
—Scott Megill, Chief Information Officer, Coriell enabling Coriell to grow its storage capacity nondisruptively and without
additional device or system management costs. Adding disk also adds
processors, so the XIV system performance actually increases as capacity
grows.
IT Environment:
Operating systems Coriell retained its previous disk arrays to act as secondary storage, and
● Microsoft Windows Server uses the built-in XIV snapshot feature to move data to these legacy arrays.
2003 and 2008
“When the legacy disk arrays reach end-of-life, we plan to deploy a
Databases
second XIV system, and will use the built-in mirroring feature to provide
● Microsoft SQL Server 2005
complete data resilience,” says Megill. “At Coriell, all our servers are
Applications virtualized, and by retaining complete server images, the second
● Microsoft Internet Information Services XIV system will give us immediate recovery should a live server fail.”
● Third-party applications for online
catalogues, inventory management
and financials
Cutting cost and complexity
Compared with the former storage architecture, the XIV solution at
Virtualization Coriell provides almost double the usable space for the same nominal disk
● VMware vSphere 4 capacity, and maintenance and management costs have more than halved.
Not only are the study participants’ genome-based risk factors analyzed
and stored, but the study also examines the clinicians’ behavior when
using the data during consultations. Soon, information will be based on
full-genome sequencing as well as metadata associated with shared EMRs
from several clinical sources—significantly increasing the per-patient
data volumes. The core EMRs are expected to reach 1 TB, and fully
analyzed data might reach 10 TB per patient. With low per-terabyte
costs and easy management, the XIV system is ideal for managing this
fast-growth environment.
3

4. “With the XIV system, we’re very confident in our ability to handle
rapid data growth without incurring unsustainable costs,” says Megill.
“From an IT resource perspective, we no longer have to juggle the
storage assigned to each server or application—the XIV system hides
all of that complexity, making it simple to manage storage requirements
for multiple systems. When senior managers enquire how we manage
these enormous data volumes, we just show them the XIV control
console. With the XIV system, everyone ‘gets it’ straight away.”
For more information
Contact your IBM sales representative or IBM Business Partner, or visit
us at: ibm.com/storage/disk/xiv/
For more information about Coriell, please visit: www.coriell.org
Additionally, financing solutions from IBM Global Financing can enable
effective cash management, protection from technology obsolescence,
improved total cost of ownership and return on investment. Also, our
Global Asset Recovery Services help address environmental concerns
with new, more energy-efficient solutions. For more information on
IBM Global Financing, visit: ibm.com/financing
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