Case Study: Partnering for Crisis Resolution

Posted on March 3, 2018 by Rachel B
Triton Case Study

Effective partnerships are essential for meeting the various challenges confronting the engineers on the front lines of IT. When the stakes are high and time is short, there is no margin for error. When faced with such an exigency, Triton Data Services partnered with Pogo Linux and HGST to quickly resolve a sticky situation.

The Challenge

Triton Data ServicesWhen Andrew Timm, CTO of Triton Data Services was contacted by his client, time was already running out. The customer was facing an imminent and very costly annual software license renewal. At the eleventh hour, they decided to decommission their servers rather than renew the licenses. This meant that all the data stored on those servers needed to be securely relocated, and very quickly. Andrew had to come up with a solution immediately.

Time running outAndrew had less than a week to move the massive amount of data from the client site, bring it back to Triton’s data center, and verify the data integrity so the systems at the customer site could be decommissioned. Given the sheer amount of data that needed to be moved, and the very short deadline, copying the data via the internet would be too slow and unreliable. They needed a way to quickly and securely copy the data onsite at the customer’s data center, and then physically move it to Triton’s data center.

Calling on Trusted Advisors

Since they had such a narrow window of time to accomplish all this, it needed to be done right the first time – there would be no second chance. Andrew needed hardware partners he could rely on implicitly – companies that cared as much about his client’s challenges as he did. Pogo Linux has been helping Andrew exceed customer expectations on projects such as this since 2009. He called Pogo’s engineering team and they quickly worked up a plan of attack.

“On a project where we have very specific requirements, the outcome has to reach a certain target, with a high degree of assurance that it’s going to work properly. I would always call Pogo Linux for that. I trust you guys. If it has to be right, I’m going to call Chris over at Pogo because I know that it’ll be right. It will work, it’ll meet our requirements, and they’ll understand what we’re trying to do.”
-Andrew Timm, Triton Data Services

HGST 4U102H Storage Platform

Given their exemplary track record for performance and reliability, Chris and Andrew agreed that an HGST, a Western Digital© brand JBOD would be the ideal platform upon which to copy all of the data. They utilized multiple Ultrastar Data60TM JBODs, each with sixty UltrastarTM SAS hard drives. In addition to the Ultrastar Data60sTM they configured six homogeneous servers with 10G ethernet cards and high-speed SAS RAID cards. Since they needed to operate these systems at the client site, Chris helped Triton source a portable rack so they could transport the systems themselves.

Crafting a Solution

As a result of strict client specifications, Triton needed the ability to simultaneously copy data to three destinations. Two JBODs would provide ample storage space for the project, but each one needed to be partitioned into thirds to properly copy the data. Andrew planned to divide each JBOD’s pool of 60 drives into three zones of 20 drives each. They would employ one JBOD to receive the data, then bring the other JBOD online as soon as the first one filled up.

There was just one unforseen wrinkle: The JBODs needed a custom zone file in order to divide the pool of disks into three zones. As soon as Chris became aware of this, he got on the phone with engineers over at HGST and explained the requirements, with emphasis on the urgency of the situation. Over the weekend, the HGST development team turned around a new firmware that allowed for the desired custom disk configuration.

The project went off without a hitch. Triton was able to copy the data from the client’s servers with time to spare. They then brought their systems back to their own facility, where they verified the integrity of all the data. Andrew then informed the client that the project was complete, and in turn they would not have to renew the expensive software licenses.

“Everyone did a great job. It was a fun project. It was cool. Under a lot of pressure, both Pogo and HGST turned out a very cool solution that met all the requirements and made everyone look good. What more could you ask for?” -Andrew Timm, Triton Data Services

J4603S Storage Platform
For a pdf copy of this case study, click here.

About Triton
Triton Data Services is a full-service data management firm, comprised of industry veterans and domain experts, providing solutions for issues facing the oil and gas geophysical data community. For the past twenty years, they’ve taken pride in solving the industry’s most challenging data management problems with meticulous attention to detail. Their client list ranges from the very largest multinational oil and gas companies to small, independent E&Ps and industry-leading seismic data vendors and processors. Every client, regardless of size or project, receives a tailor-made solution, because no two projects are exactly alike.

About HGST
The HGST brand is part of the Western Digital family of brands. Their commitment is to deliver innovative, high-value datacenter, mobile, personal and consumer electronics storage solutions together with storage infrastructure consultation to the world’s largest and most sophisticated OEMs, businesses and hyperscale cloud customers.

HGST branded products have an unmatched reputation for quality and reliability; offering award-winning enterprise optimization software and a broad portfolio of innovative, high-quality hard disk and solid state drives that store, manage and protect the world’s data. Their unmatched science and unique technology vision, combined with their deep understanding of customers’ needs and market opportunities, sets them apart.


To learn about how Pogo can help you solve the issues your organization is facing, please call us at 888-828-POGO, or email .