Secure Edge Server with 2.3 Petabytes of NVMe Storage Ready for ISR Aircraft

Trenton Systems is no stranger to crafting highly performant host servers and pairing them with NVMe storage arrays managing hundreds of terabytes of data at ultra-fast read and write speeds, but it was more than two petabytes of NVMe computational storage that the customer needed and with which Trenton had to contend to develop a useful solution.

For assistance in the computational storage realm, Trenton Systems tapped its technology partner NGD Systems, a manufacturer of NVMe-based computational storage drives (CSDs), for their advice, expertise, and ultimately, their state-of-the-art 32TB NVMe CSDs, which process data internally and thereby reduce movement of large amounts of data to the host server, where data is read from storage into memory and processed by the CPU. The CSD architecture relieves part of the memory and CPU burden and frees up their usage for other tasks.

The finished server-JBOD computing solution would go on to become one of the fastest, most durable rugged computers in the world.

• Choose an ideal host server with enough horsepower to effectively manage the onslaught of data coming its way
• Pair the host server with a trio of NVMe storage arrays capable of supporting 2.3 PB of data
• Contact NGD Systems to acquire reliable, highly performant, high-capacity CSDs to use in the JBOD enclosures
• Ensure the solution's resistance to snowmelt
• Account for the customer's SWaP requirements throughout the design and manufacturing processes

Creating a high-performance computing solution capable of managing and storing 2.3 PB of NVMe-supported data on approximately 72 32TB NVMe CSDs in real time, at 27 GB/s, and from a SWaP-optimized, short-depth rack mount configuration able to withstand snowmelt would prove an extremely rigorous endeavor for any rugged server manufacturer.

A successful computing solution combining that much NVMe computational storage with those read and write speeds, 2.3 PB of storage capacity, and a snowmelt-resistant level of durability is virtually unheard of.

But Trenton Systems has ownership over the design, manufacture, assembly, testing, and support of its made-in-USA, high-performance computers, meaning it has free reign to experiment and create new, innovative, never-before-seen computing solutions like this one.

Trenton Systems paired its BAM Server with three ruggedized JBOD enclosures containing, in total, 72 of NGD Systems' 32TB NVMe computational storage SSDs, or 24 drives each, making for quite the high-capacity NVMe storage array. The complete solution was housed in a SWaP-optimized, short-depth rack, ready to be rolled on and off the ISR aircraft in seconds. And to enhance snowmelt resistance, Trenton conformally coated the system's components in-house.

The BAM Server, its JBOD enclosures, and NGD Systems' NVMe CSDs are designed, manufactured, assembled, tested, and supported by Trenton Systems and NGD Systems, respectively, in the United States of America. Trenton solutions are known for having an up-to-15-year life cycle, strict revision control, customizable BIOSes, and lots of PCIe slots.

The solution outlined in this case study and other Trenton Systems solutions are SWaP-optimized and cybersecure with hardware, firmware, and software protections, including secure supply chain practices and procedures, a Counterfeit Protection Program (CPP), supplier quality surveys, comprehensive software security suites, FIPS 140-2 drive encryption, firmware-, memory-, and CPU-level anti-tampering and secure code signing fortifications, and much more.

If you're interested in learning more about Trenton Systems' BAM Server, JBOD enclosures, or working with us to design a solution similar to the one outlined in this case study, visit the links below. We can also discuss more about the BAM Server via a multi-party non-disclosure agreement (MP-NDA).

*Due to strict non-disclosure agreements, we are prohibited from mentioning company and/or project names.