For the 1996 NA48 data-taking period, a prototype of the SMS was implemented. The system performed as expected, allowing us to store 1.4 Terabytes of raw data in 130000 files. Running at nominal intensity, the inflow of raw-data was 6-7 MBytes/sec. Data was written to tape using up to 7 Quantum DLT 2000 tape drives in parallel. The SMS is fully integrated into NA48 off-line applications and used heavily by the physicists doing their analysis (about 100 queries/day).
We try to provide a single system for storage and data management, integrating the recording of the raw-data received from the data-acquisition system of NA48 with the data accesses of end-users. Users should be able to access selected information efficiently via indexing mechanisms, and to build their own customized subsets of the data.