OMERO Storage Manager

OMERO Storage Manager (OSM) is an innovative software tool for OMERO and Columbus Users which enables easy and efficient visualization and storage management of OMERO/ Columbus System Images.

The OMERO Storage Manager provides the user an overview of the used storage per project or per screen. Additionally, by means of a simple mouse click users can archive complete sets of data from the OMERO environment to secondary hard disk storage.

Users access the storage manager by means of a standard web browser. They can simply surf to the OSM web page showing parameters like used storage size and date of last access. Users can simply invoke archive or restore commands by clicking on the appropriate links. When a user archives a project, the archived project can also be made invisible in the OMERO environment, effectively cleaning up the database to the users.

When a project is restored, all image and pixel data are restored on the original location on the server. In addition all metadata is made available again in the OMERO database. Optionally this secondary hard disk storage environment can be extended by a full digital archive either on LTO or on Blu-ray media.

Omero Storage Manager Key Features

1) Scanning and Indexing of Projects/Screens

OSM provides an overview of the amount of storage required for collections of images that are grouped together in the form of projects or screens.
Parameters are scanned periodically yielding a low system overhead.

2) Archive and Restore of Omero Data: Copy data to secondary archive storage

OSM provides an overview to system administrators on the amount of space that is being occupied on the OMERO server by individual users and/or by groups of users.
The Database usage statistics imply immediately which part fo the data is actively used and what part is passive or inactive.
OSM provides straightforward integration of archival storage functionality into existing network infrastructure.
OSM facilitates easy archiving and retrieval of OMERO data that is no longer required to/from secondary storage.

3) Purge: Delete archived data from the OMERO server
Archived data can still reside on the OMERO server.
Purging means keep the data in the archive storage but removing it from the primary storage which:

Keeps the system clean
Preserves data for future use
Reduces backup requirements

4) Quota Management

OSM helps users to efficiently manage storage used by OMERO/Columbus in a multi-user environment.
Group-owners can manage their own group

Storage overview (Click to enlarge)

Quota management (Click to enlarge)