Spectra Logic Selected by TACC to Power Exabyte-Scale Data Archive for Horizon Supercomputer

Spectra Logic TFinity® Plus libraries deliver trusted, high-density cold storage for one of the world’s largest and fastest academic supercomputers

BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Spectra Logic®, a global leader in data management and data storage solutions, today announced its selection as the tape library provider for a transformative new archive deployment at the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin.

Spectra TFinity® Plus tape libraries will serve as the long-term storage foundation for TACC’s 2025 Ranch storage system, an exabyte-scale archive that will support Horizon, TACC’s upcoming NSF Leadership-Class Computing Facility system and the largest academic supercomputer dedicated to open scientific research in the world.

This groundbreaking deployment will be showcased at SC25, taking place November 16-21 in St. Louis, Missouri, where Spectra Logic will highlight its role in powering the next era of high-performance computing. Attendees will get an early look at how Spectra TFinity Plus tape libraries anchor TACC’s Horizon system, enabling breakthrough discoveries across science and engineering.

Spectra Logic, in collaboration with Dell Technologies and Versity, was selected to protect, preserve, and manage the massive scale of data generated by Horizon’s unprecedented AI and simulation capabilities. The new Ranch deployment at TACC marks one of the highest-capacity archive systems Dell has ever delivered and demonstrates ongoing Spectra leadership in supporting the preservation of data in high-performance computing and AI-intensive workloads.

“As we prepare to launch Horizon, what will be the most powerful academic supercomputer ever built for open science, we needed a solution that could ensure the performance, reliability, and long-term data integrity that our research community depends on,” said Dan Stanzione, Associate Vice President for Research at The University of Texas at Austin and Executive Director, TACC. “The combined solution from Spectra Logic, Dell Technologies, and Versity delivers exactly that, trusted technology with a proven track record at the world’s leading HPC centers.”

“With Horizon set to deliver a tenfold improvement in simulation performance and a 100x leap in AI capabilities, TACC needed a proven archival solution to match its vision and academic needs,” said Nathan Thompson, CEO at Spectra Logic. “Spectra’s TFinity Plus library, with its unmatched density, resilience, and track record in mission-critical environments made it the perfect choice to anchor this next-generation research infrastructure.”

“Together with Spectra Logic and Dell Technologies, Versity is helping TACC build an archive designed for the future of science, one that preserves data for generations and keeps knowledge in the hands of the researchers who need it most,” said Bruce Gilpin, CEO of Versity.

Set to go live in 2026, Horizon is poised to power breakthroughs across the scientific and engineering domains. The new Ranch archive will ensure long-term, cost-effective data retention for the massive workloads Horizon will generate.

Key components of the storage system include:

Spectra TFinity Plus Tape Library: Currently comprised of two 15-frame tape libraries and 20 LTO-9 drives that can support one exabyte of storage capacity, the system will be upgraded to incorporate sixteen state-of-the-art LTO-10 drives that will drive further gains in storage density. Wrapped in custom longhorn cattle graphics, the TFinity systems are prominently installed to educate and inspire TACC tour groups and visitors.

Versity Scale Out Archive Manager – ScoutAM: A high-performance mass storage platform, Versity ScoutAM runs on 13 Dell PowerEdge R760 servers and automates data movement across five Dell ME5 storage arrays, 16 PB of Dell ECS object storage, and Spectra TFinity libraries. ScoutAM delivers the policy-driven automation and scalability required by a world-class research center.

Versity ScoutAM software and Spectra Logic TFinity libraries continue to serve as the preferred choice for large-scale, data-intensive research centers, including U.S. national laboratories, supercomputing facilities, and media organizations with demanding archive needs.

SC25 Exhibitor Showcase Session
Spectra Logic Vice President and Field CTO for High-Performance Computing, Matt Starr, and TACC Executive Director, Dan Stanzione, will co-present “How to Store an Exabyte” on Thursday, November 20, an exhibitor showcase session followed by Q&A, offering practical insights into the power, infrastructure, and data management considerations of operating at exabyte scale.

About Spectra Logic
Dedicated solely to data storage innovation for more than 40 years, Spectra Logic helps organizations modernize their IT infrastructures and protect and preserve their data with a broad portfolio of solutions that enable them to manage, migrate, store, and preserve long-term business data, along with features to make them ransomware resilient, whether on-premises, in a single cloud, across multiple clouds, or in all locations at once. To learn more, visit www.spectralogic.com.

Spectra, Spectra Logic and TFinity are trademarks or registered trademarks of Spectra Logic Corporation. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the properties of their respective owners.

Follow Spectra Logic on social media:
X: @spectralogic
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spectra-logic

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CONTACT: Joanne Hogue
Smart Connections PR for Spectra Logic
+1 (410) 658-8246
joanne@smartconnectionspr.com

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