Oil & gas data archiving specialists Enigma Data Solutions, Ltd. today announced the successful testing of its geotechnical archiving solution, PARS, with NetApp’s NearStore Virtual Tape Library (VTL) appliances. This new development enables oil companies to manage data archiving more cost effectively by embracing modern storage media without losing the advantages of tape-based backup systems or compatibility with legacy systems.

“NetApp’s VTL allows seismic data formatted tapes to be stored on disk and accessed easily - as if they were on a very fast physical tape. By combining the VTL with Enigma’s I/O layer (IDS) and a small tape library, we provide an independent and cost effective information lifecycle management solution from archiving and tape management to the creation of secure tape copies of geotechnical data and projects for deep archive purposes” said Tim Bowler, Vice president of Americas, Enigma Data Solutions.

“Our combined technologies provide geoscientists and data managers with not only fast access to valued data but also assurance of the reliability of their archived data, two key requirements in the oil & gas industry,“ said Gavin Keeler, Global Energy Vertical Lead at Network Appliance.

Until now, a typical archiving system would archive two copies of data to tape media. One copy would remain at the client site, while the other copy would be taken off-site to a long term “salt mine” storage facility. NetApp’s VTL appliance mimics tape-based systems, saving space and eliminating the need to maintain and operate a robotic automated tape storage facility on-site.

The fast local VTL appliance can be mirrored at a purpose built, off-site tape storage facility for long term storage. Additionally, the VTL provides high-performance disk compression and de-duping capabilities.

Enigma collaborated with NetApp to test the company’s PARS and IDS products with the VTL at Enigma’s testing facility in Houston. The test results demonstrated the successful archiving of data from “Geo-Technical projects” involving major oil and gas software applications such as LandMark’s SeisWorks, OpenWorks and CDA, Schlumberger’s GeoFrame.

Enigma’s Intelligent Data Store (IDS) adds an additional “virtual tape” layer for its geotechnical customer base. This "virtual tape" layer assists with the storage of record-orientated seismic data in industry standard tape images (SEGA,B,C,D and SEGY) to NetApp’s VTL appliance. The VTL can be configured to match the different tape sizes used in industry, allowing images of the original tapes to be kept in the same format without the need for any additional encapsulation layers. This data can be delivered to the customer’s applications as if it were on the original tape via IDS’s virtual tape drives.

Enigma believes the power, speed and convenience of NetApp’s new VTL offering will complement the company’s proven success over the last 15 years providing solutions for the archiving and recovery of geotechnical data.

About Enigma Data Solutions

Enigma Data Solutions Ltd. is a leading provider of data archiving and recovery solutions to the oil and gas industry worldwide. The company’s products and solutions address today’s data storage demands, enabling businesses facing intensive data storage challenges to compete more effectively by preserving strategic data and reducing Total Cost of Ownership.

Enigma Data Solutions products are currently installed in more than 100 locations worldwide, including half of the Fortune Top 20 companies and across the commercial and public sector.

About Network Appliance

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