KOBIC Bio-Express Service Enhancement Case Study

This case study details the collaboration between the Korean Bioinformation Center (KOBIC) and Cirata to enhance the Bio-Express genomic data analysis service. The document outlines KOBIC's objective to manage and analyze large volumes of genomic data, particularly in the context of COVID-19 research. It describes the challenges faced by KOBIC, including lengthy data replication times between their Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) and Lustre file system, which negatively impacted response times for data analysis. The solution involved Cirata providing free access to their cloud migration and big data tools, along with technical support. The results demonstrated significant improvements, with file replication speeds increasing by 13 times and analysis times decreasing by over 30%. This case study illustrates the successful implementation of automated replication technology into KOBIC's workflow, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of genomic research efforts.