CSWR chooses the Lenovo® ThinkServer® RD630 for:• Reliabilityinmobileconditions• Dataprocessingperformanceof100-200Gbperhour• Featurestoreduceriskofdrivefailureby40%

CSWRCase Study

(Center for Severe Weather Research)

IntroductIonCSWR chases major storms, tornados and hurricanes to provide valuable research data to the meteorologist community.This case study highlights how Lenovo ThinkServer RD630 is an exceptionally fast, reliable and durable server that lets CSWR process critical radar data within seconds to provide significant insight into major weather events. The ThinkServer is crucial in providing the data needed to keep the team safe during dangerous storms.

customer ProfIleThe Center for Severe Weather Research (CSWR) is a non-profit research organization, supported by the National Science Foundation, which conducts research into tornados, hurricanes and other high impact meteorological events. CSWR comprises seven core scientific staff and works with meteorology students and volunteers for special projects in the field. The team is based in Boulder, Colorado and travels domestically and internationally to track storms.

challenges/requIrements While chasing a storm, the CSWR team heavily relies on a server to operate the storm-tracking radar system effectively and ultimately keep them safe. Housed in a truck driving through rough terrain and treacherous weather, a server must be able to withstand the rigors of a mobile environment with sturdy and durable features. Reliability is paramount since they cannot afford any server downtime during a chase. Additionally, the server must provide the required performance to instantly process the data of the storm’s path – the team’s lives depend on it.

sItuatIonCSWR operates the Doppler on Wheels (DOW) mobile radar network, which consists of three mobile Doppler radar trucks featuring two dual-polarization, dual-frequency mobile radars and one multi-beam, rapid scan radar, which are used to target the various types of high impact weather.

CSWR collects massive amounts of data from their very advanced and sophisticated radar systems at a rate of 100GB – 200GB per hour. This large amount of data means the signal processing from their server must happen immediately in order to keep up with the current activity. Radar data needs to be displayed, processed, duplicated and saved within seconds, so the team can accurately track the path of the storm, collect research information and stay out of harm’s way.

For example, if the CSWR team is studying tornadoes, they will chase and surround the storm in the DOW vehicles. The radars will then scan the tornado and create 3D maps, which will then continually update to show tens of thousands of minute details of the storm, including the tornado’s evolution. The team uses customized apps

The ThinkServer is able to ingest, calculate, write and duplicate data within seconds, all while we’re bouncing down the road in the DOW.The reliability is truly priceless.”“

Joshua WurmancsWrAtmospheric Scientist, President and Founder

research organisation processes and saves radar data within seconds.

chasIng storms WIth lenovo’s thInkserver® rd630 the “moment generator”

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written by the National Center for Atmospheric Research including software suite TITAN to track the storm and Hawkeye for real-time display.

With the immense amount of data the team collects during each storm chase, it is critical that CSWR has a powerful and reliable server that would allow them to process the large amount of data and manage it effectively in real-time. They turned to Lenovo to help fulfill these requirements. solutIon After discussing their needs with Lenovo, CSWR received three ThinkServer RD630 rack servers, one for each of their DOWs. The ThinkServers are positioned in shock mounted racks inside the DOW operator cabins, and are connected to internal networks to receive data and record it on internal and external disks.

The ThinkServer RD630 delivers powerful processing performance and enhanced features for reliability that improves CSWR’s storm tracking. Its Intel® Xeon® E5-2600 Series processors are ideal for the demanding performance requirements needed to process, display and store the storm radar data and include up to 16 cores, which provide the computing power necessary to keep up with intense use during storm chases. The ThinkServer RD630 also provides expandability with up to 384GB of memory to help process all the data.

The chassis and thermal design provide the strength and thermal efficiency to ensure reliability on the road and in action. The ThinkServer RD630 drive carriers are designed to reduce vibration and shock issues, resulting in a 40 percent lower risk of system failure – a crucial requirement when driving through rough terrain.

“Real-time data display from the radar is critical in keeping our team alive,” said Joshua Wurman, Atmospheric Scientist, President and Founder for the Center for Severe Weather Research. “The ThinkServer is able to ingest, calculate, write and duplicate data within seconds, all while we’re bouncing down the road in the DOW. The reliability is truly priceless.”

resultsAfter road-testing the ThinkSever RD630 in the field, the team found that the server is capable of processing radar data updates every seven seconds to show the evolution of the storm. In addition to the server’s core functionality, reliability is a critical element in providing a much safer environment for the team.

“We’ve nicknamed the Lenovo servers ‘MGens’ or ‘moment generators’ since they capture data from these storms in real-time,” said Wurman. “Getting information pretty much instantaneously can mean the difference between life and death. Our safety depends on these servers.”

CSWR will also use the data they collect and process with the ThinkServer RD630 for upcoming research projects within meteorologist communities. In November, CSWR will visit Hawaii to observe a variety of meteorological phenomena including heavy tropical rain storms, which may be enhanced by the mountainous terrain. This winter the DOW will travel to Oswego, New York near Lake Ontario to research lake effect snow. According to Wurman, “The data processed, displayed and archived on the ThinkServers will be shared within the meteorology community, benefiting dozens of researchers now and for years to come.”

*Lenovo, the Lenovo logo, ThinkCentre, ThinkPad, ThinkStation, ThinkServer, New World New Thinking, ThinkVantage, ThinkVision, ThinkPlus, TrackPoint, Rescue and Recovery, and UltraNav are trademarks of Lenovo Corporation. Other company names, product names, service names, etc., are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Real-time data display from the radar is critical in keeping our team alive

- Joshua WurmanAtmospheric Scientist

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