A new white paper released by Z Microsystems, a leading provider of mission-ready computing systems, provides an in-depth analysis of how ruggedized servers are being redesigned by Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) suppliers to meet these demands.
Military operations are being inundated with data from an expanding network of sources, including sensor data from Unmanned Aircraft Systems, satellites, and remote monitoring stations. On the battlefield, critical information must be processed quickly, reliably and delivered in real time to command centres. The white paper, entitled “Redesigning COTS Servers for Military Applications”, examines the ways in which rugged computer platforms can incorporate COTS motherboards and extend the capabilities of commercial components. This new breed of ruggedized servers is built to withstand the harsh military environment while controlling costs and keeping up with increasing processing demands.
“In military applications, shock and vibration are the norm, and extremes in temperature and weather are common. Whether on a Navy ship, an aircraft, or a UAS ground station in the middle of a desert, these operations rely on data centre computing power,” said Jack Wade, CEO of Z Microsystems. “COTS manufacturers can use a variety of techniques at each stage of the design, manufacturing, and testing processes to meet U.S. Military Standards and ensure the system will be rugged enough for a particular application.”
The paper includes details on how systems can be designed to withstand shock, vibration, and temperature extremes while providing the versatility and flexibility needed in the field. Specific adaptations include hot-swappable component parts and disk drives, redundant power supplies, and rack-mount servers in place of laptops. Also included is a profile of Z Microsystems’ ZX Series of rugged servers that are configured and designed to meet and exceed the most stringent military specifications.
To download a free copy of the whitepaper, please click here.