Accelerating Semiconductor Design Workflows with IBM Aspera
A leading semiconductor design firm adopted IBM Aspera® to overcome data transfer bottlenecks in its chip design and simulation workflows. With global design teams generating and analyzing terabytes of simulation data daily, the company needed a faster, more reliable, and secure way to share high-performance computing results across distributed sites.
By integrating IBM Aspera® on Cloud into its engineering environment, the company achieved lightning-fast transfer speeds, improved collaboration, and reduced overall simulation cycle time — accelerating innovation across its global semiconductor ecosystem.
Business challenge
Semiconductor design workflows depend on the rapid movement of large simulation datasets between geographically distributed research teams.
The organization faced several critical challenges:
- Slow file transfers due to network congestion and distance between R&D centers.
- Time delays in collaborative design iterations and multi-region simulation validation.
- Inefficient workflows caused by manual file movement and data duplication.
- Security and compliance concerns around sensitive intellectual property transfer.
The company required a high-speed, secure, and automated data transfer platform to move multi-terabyte workloads between compute clusters, storage systems, and design teams — without impacting performance or risking data loss.
Solution
Partnering with Nexright, the company implemented IBM Aspera® on Cloud, enabling ultra-fast data transfers for global engineering workflows. By leveraging Aspera’s FASP® (Fast, Adaptive, Secure Protocol) technology, data moved hundreds of times faster than traditional transfer methods, regardless of file size, distance, or network conditions.
Solution Highlights:
- IBM Aspera® on Cloud: Unified file transfer, synchronization, and collaboration for global R&D teams.
- FASP® Technology: Achieved near line-speed data transfer for multi-terabyte workloads.
- Centralized Workflow Control: Provided real-time monitoring, automation, and version management for large design files.
- Seamless Integration: Integrated with existing HPC pipelines, cloud storage, and on-premises environments.
Solution components
- IBM Aspera® on Cloud
- IBM Aspera® FASP® Technology
- IBM Cloud Object Storage
Unmatched Data Transfer Speed
IBM Aspera enabled R&D teams to transfer large simulation results across the globe at near line speed, cutting data movement time from hours to minutes.
Workflow Efficiency
Automated file synchronization ensured the latest simulation results were instantly available to all design teams, improving collaboration and reducing rework.
Security and Control
All transfers were encrypted end-to-end, with granular user permissions and detailed audit trails — ensuring protection for valuable intellectual property.
Result
- Reduced data transfer time by 95%, enabling same-day design verification cycles.
- Improved engineering productivity by accelerating collaboration between global R&D centers.
- Secured intellectual property transfers with advanced encryption and authentication.
- Saved hundreds of engineer hours per week by automating data movement across sites.
With IBM Aspera, we’ve eliminated the lag in our global simulation workflows. Large design files that once took hours now transfer in minutes, letting our engineers focus on innovation instead of file movement.
— Director of HPC Operations, Leading Semiconductor Design Firm