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That's a bit harsh: Lenovo adds 2 new toughened boxen to ThinkEdge edge computing line

(2021/03/02)


Lenovo has updated its edge computing hardware portfolio, adding two rugged compact machines to its ThinkEdge line-up.

The ThinkEdge SE30 is a ruggedized bit of kit, intended for harsh industrial environments. Under the hood, there’s a choice of 11th Generation Intel Core i5 vPro chips, with up to 15GB memory and 1TB storage.

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In addition to wired and wireless connections, there’s also the option to whack in a 4G or 5G modem. Per Lenovo, the kit can chug along in temperatures as cool as -20˚C, up to 60˚C.

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ThinkEdge SE30

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Intended for more taxing industrial tasks - including heavier processing workloads, such as collating and sifting though data from distributed IoT kit – the ThinkEdge SE50 has an 11th generation i7 or i5 vPro processor, with up to 32GB RAM and 2TB storage.

In addition to the usual I/O, the box comes with some of the less common serial connections found with industrial kit. The 2-litre box can chug along in temperatures between 0˚C and 50˚C, and is hardened against foreign bodies with an ingress protection rating of IP50. This denotes “partial protection” against any dust that might damage the internal components. Any level of waterproofing protection, however, is conspicuously absent.

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The SE50

Both machines use a fan-less design, which makes sense given the harsh environments they’re designed for, although it doesn’t bode well for performance. Without a fan to drive air and dissipate heat, punters can expect to encounter some degree of thermal throttling.

Edge computing is a paradigm that sees complex computational tasks – like data analysis or cloud gaming – performed as close to the “user” as possible. By running these tasks closer to the source or consumer, rather than in a vast air-cooled Amazon data centre, you reduce latency.

Rover, wanderer, nomad, vagabond: Oracle launches rugged edge-of-network box for hostile environments [5]READ MORE

While most data typically gets crunched in a traditional data centre, that could eventually change. The 5G network spec has been touted as a major driver behind this, particularly in the spaces of industrial and agricultural IoT, thanks to its lower latencies when compared to previous generation mobile standards.

In 2018, Gartner [6]predicted almost 75 per cent of enterprise data would be created or processed at the edge. Separately, IDC expects spending on edge computing to [7]reach $250.6bn by 2024 .

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The ThinkEdge SE30 and SE50 will be available in selected markets by mid-2021. It goes without saying that Lenovo isn't the only cowboy at this rodeo, with HPE plying its own [9]EdgeLine hardware. The new kit is certified by all edge ISV and cloud service provider platforms including AWS Greengrass, Microsoft Azure IoT and IBM. ®

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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YD5vLSpofMcHHwCbGyvHVgAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0

[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/03/02/lenovo_se30.jpg

[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YD5vLSpofMcHHwCbGyvHVgAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[4] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/03/02/lenovo_se50.jpg

[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/09/oracle_roving_edge_box/

[6] https://www.gartner.com/en/documents/3992656/2021-strategic-roadmap-for-edge-computing

[7] https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS46878020

[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offprem/edgeiot&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YD5vLSpofMcHHwCbGyvHVgAAAAo&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0

[9] https://www.theregister.com/2021/02/11/hpe_spaceborne_2_iss/

[10] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/

Anonymous Coward

> Edge computing is a paradigm that sees complex computational tasks – like data analysis or cloud gaming – performed as close to the “user” as possible. By running these tasks closer to the source or consumer, rather than in a vast air-cooled Amazon data centre, you reduce latency.

So basically it's a hip and trendy new name for the way computing has been done for the last half century?

willyslick

No, actually not. Whats new is that the data processing is happening close to the source where the data is collected, and acted upon locally by the application, rather than all data being sent back for processing to a centralized, environmentally-controlled data center which could be a long way away (requires bandwidth and injects latency). An edge device can be located on lamppost, in the middle of a highway, on a factory floor, can be off-grid and use solar or wind power and has different security requirements due to its exposed location. As far as I know, that not the way we have been doing it for the last half century..but it still has a CPU and is a computer, if that's what you mean.

What I'd like to see is a prohibition on Microsoft incorporating
multi-megabyte Easter Eggs and other stupid bloatware into Windows and
Office. A typical computer with pre-installed Microsoft shoveware probably
only has about 3 megabytes of hard drive space free because of flight
simulators, pinball games, and multimedia credits Easter Eggs that nobody
wants. I predict that if Microsoft is ever forced to remove these things,
the typical user will actually be able to purchase competing software now
that they have some free space to put it on. Of course, stock in hard
drive companies might plummet...

-- Anonymous Coward, when asked by Humorix for his reaction
to the proposed Microsoft two-way split