On this Page

• Overview
• Key Features
• Business Model and Pricing
• Get this Service
• Eligibility
• Restrictions (HIPAA-regulated data)
• Support and Availability
• Related Services
• Questions

 

Overview

Lolo is UW's dedicated archival storage service designed for research data that needs to be retained long-term and accessed infrequently. It offers cost-effective, high-integrity storage with built-in redundancy and is ideal for safeguarding valuable research outputs over time. 

Key Features

• Tape based using LTO-8 tape drives
• Optimized for larger, infrequently accessed files
• Fast access via SSH, ideal for files 100GB+
• Redundant storage across distinct data centers (4545 Building UW Seattle and TierPoint Spokane, WA)
• Connected to Hyak and campus via 10Gbps network
• Compatible with scripting and automation for bulk transfers
• Not optimized for small files - use archival formats like .tar to bundle data before upload
• Example use cases:
  • Archiving project data post-publication
  • Backing up HPC output from Hyak Klone, Tillicum GPU cluster, or Kopah S3 storage
  • Grant-compliant long-term storage
  • Retention of datasets for reproducibility

Business Model and Pricing

• $3.45 per TB per month
• Billed in 1TB increments
• Exempt from F&A costs

Get this Service

• Submit the Lolo Archive Intake Form
• New allocations under 10TB requested during business hours are typically provisioned same-day.

Eligibility

Lolo is available to:

• UW faculty, academic staff, and research units.
• UW affiliates supported by a sponsoring department.
• A UW worktag is required to enroll in this service. 

Restrictions (HIPAA-regulated data)

By default, UWIT Research Computing services are not approved for use with HIPAA-regulated Protected Health Information (PHI). Use of PHI for research may be permitted only after a formal approval process that is reviewed and authorized by the UW Medicine Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and must comply with HIPAA, the Common Rule, and Washington State law. Researchers should consult and use the UW Medicine–approved HIPAA Authorization template and review the COMP.103 Use and Disclosure of PHI policy for full requirements before requesting approval. 

Complete UW Medicine Patient Information Privacy Policies

Support and Availability 

User Support

• Request technical support 
• Lolo User Documentation

Service Team Support

• Support hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PT
• System availability: 24/7/365 (except during maintenance)
  • Planned maintenance occurs monthly with extended windows quarterly
• Continuous infrastructure monitoring

Related Services

• Kopah - On-premises S3-compatible data storage service
• Hyak Klone - Shared high-performance computing cluster
• Tillicum - GPU-Accelerated Research Computing Platform

 

Questions

• To request current pricing or request a storage allocation, please complete the Lolo Archive Intake Form.
• For more information please visit the Lolo service catalog. 
• Not sure where to start? Complete the Research Computing Consulting Intake Form to connect with the UWIT Research Computing team for guidance on selecting the right computing services for your research project.