Overview

One of the world’s leading semiconductor companies, renowned for its high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies, approached the Oakwood team for a critical in-house project. The client designs and integrates technology for intelligent devices, including personal computers, gaming consoles, and data centers. With a focus on innovation, they consistently push the boundaries of what is possible in technology, powering a broad range of devices and applications that transform how people live and work. Their commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions makes them a key player in the tech industry.

The project’s objective was the integration of Azure Blob Storage into the client’s existing Research Data Management System (RDMS). This system plays a crucial role in distributing and executing HPC workloads essential for the design and development of advanced chips. Despite already utilizing local storage, Amazon Web Services, and Google Cloud via NFS, the client sought to diversify their storage solutions by incorporating Azure. This case study details Oakwood’s collaborative efforts with the client, highlighting the challenges faced, the solutions implemented, and the resulting benefits.

Business Challenge

The client faced several critical challenges that necessitated Oakwood’s expertise. With a small internal project team, they struggled to meet all customer demands promptly, highlighting the need for external assistance to expedite the integration process. Internal customers were pushing for new functionalities to be delivered quickly, and the pressure to meet these demands without sacrificing quality or performance was a significant driving force behind the project. Furthermore, the company’s minimal experience with Azure required comprehensive guidance and support from Oakwood’s team to ensure a smooth transition and successful integration. Already utilizing local storage along with Amazon and Google Cloud via NFS, the client aimed to seamlessly integrate Azure Blob Storage into this existing setup. This required a strategic approach to ensure compatibility and performance optimization, underscoring the need for specialized expertise.

Solution

Oakwood leveraged its extensive Azure Cloud and development expertise to integrate Azure Blob Storage into the semiconductor company’s RDMS system, enhancing it with several new features and improvements. By incorporating Azure Blob Storage, the company gained more options for managing storage costs effectively, allowing them to optimize storage usage and expenses across different platforms. The transition to Azure Blob Storage presented significant cost-saving opportunities, enabling more efficient storage cost management.

The addition of Azure Blob Storage also unlocked additional compute capabilities and virtual machines, along with access to other Azure services. This flexibility enabled the company to better handle varying workloads and demands. The integration led to notable performance enhancements in the RDMS system, with the improved infrastructure facilitating faster data processing and retrieval, significantly boosting overall efficiency.

A key feature introduced was the Time-to-Live (TTL) implementation, which automated the deletion of files after a specified period. This feature not only improved storage management but also included automated email notifications to users, further streamlining operations. To facilitate efficient management of storage across different platforms, Oakwood enhanced the RDMS system’s existing Rclone implementation. This tool provided a seamless way to handle data transfers and synchronization between Azure, Amazon, and Google Cloud storage solutions.

The project required testing in various development environments to ensure installation flexibility. This testing validated the system’s compatibility with different operating systems and services such as LDAP, MongoDB, and Docker. In addition to the primary integration tasks, Oakwood completed various other user-requested system enhancements, further improving the overall functionality and user experience.

Conclusion

Oakwood’s collaboration with the client resulted in a more flexible, cost-effective, and performant RDMS system. By integrating Azure Blob Storage and implementing new features like TTL, Oakwood helped the client meet their internal customer demands while achieving significant cost savings. This project underscores the power of teamwork and expertise in overcoming challenges and delivering impactful solutions. Oakwood is grateful for the opportunity to work with such an innovative team and looks forward to future collaborations.

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