AWS puts a datacenter in a shipping container for US defense users
- Reference: 1676460906
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/02/15/aws_modular_datacenters/
- Source link:
Amazon's cloudy business says that [1]AWS MDC is available as a self-contained modular datacenter unit for US Department of Defense (DoD) agencies, which can scale by deploying additional units. Each one is housed inside a ruggedized shipping container for freight transportation via ship, rail or truck, or even air transport using military cargo aircraft.
Each MDC unit is an environmentally controlled physical enclosure that can host racks of AWS Outposts or AWS Snow Family devices. [2]Outposts is a portfolio of managed infrastructure that enables AWS services to be run at a customer's site, or elsewhere in this case. The [3]AWS Snow Family are appliances designed to move petabytes of data to and from AWS, or to process data at the edge.
[4]
The reason for developing these modular server farms is because the US military relies on modern applications that are data-intensive and depend on low latency to enable critical communications and coordination in the field, says AWS.
[5]
[6]
Having the ability to share and access data at a specific location is increasingly essential to mission success, the company claims, whether that is a military operation, crisis response effort, or coordinating transportation of critical supplies and troops.
Modular datacenters have been around for several years, as a way of quickly standing up IT infrastructure, and using a standardized shipping container has also been seen before - [7]Schneider Electric introduced an overhauled portfolio for customers in the middle of last year.
[8]
The AWS MDC provides DoD users with the ability to deploy compute and storage infrastructure to support even large-scale workloads wherever required, including in Disconnected, Disrupted, Intermittent, or Limited (DDIL) environments, the company said.
[9]Taking notes from AWS, Google prepares custom Arm server chips of its own
[10]Uber strikes deals with Google and Oracle to cut datacenter dependence
[11]The Twitpocalypse may have begun, as datacenter migration reportedly founders
[12]IBM says it's been running 'AI supercomputer' since May but chose now to tell the world
Each unit is a self-contained system, and only needs to be connected to power once deployed on site, and a network connection if AWS Outposts is employed. Customers have the option to use satellite communications for network connectivity.
"With AWS Modular Data Center, we are converting datacenters from fixed infrastructure that is difficult to build and manage in remote environments, to a comprehensive service that is simple to use, secure, cost-effective, and can respond to large-scale compute and storage needs wherever the mission demands," said Amazon's director of Defense business at AWS, Liz Martin in a statement.
The MDC is available to US government customers who are eligible for the [13]Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, AWS says. The service is currently supported in the AWS GovCloud (US-West) Region and AWS GovCloud (US-East) Region. ®
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[1] https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/publicsector/announcing-aws-modular-data-center-u-s-department-defense-joint-warfighting-cloud-capability/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/12/09/outposts_local_zone_wavelength_its_a_new_era_of_distributed_cloud_says_aws_architect/
[3] https://aws.amazon.com/snow/
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2Y@0PsHdL8EuGOOy0ytnn7QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@0PsHdL8EuGOOy0ytnn7QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33Y@0PsHdL8EuGOOy0ytnn7QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2022/06/10/schneider_electric_dcim_tools/
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44Y@0PsHdL8EuGOOy0ytnn7QAAAMY&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/14/google_prepares_its_own_custom/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/14/uber_google_oracle_deals/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/09/twitter_glitches_raises_tweet_limit/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/10/ibm_vela/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2022/12/08/joint_warfighting_cloud_capability_awarded/
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Highly original
I know they had a containerised[0] datacentre, I don't know if they were first
[0] Proper metal containers, none of this new-fangled Docker malarkey...
Thanks for the press release
Because that is what it read like.
@Roger Kynaston. If not the first, they certainly had a product which reads like the press release/article: the Sun Modular Datacenter.
Err...
So you need a satellite connection, so what's the point? Plus, just dont open the door to let the dust/sand/snow in. Plus plus have they tried the helicopter drop test? Plus plus plus the generator noise. I've been through this "thought up by office types" for battlefield use stuff before... Can't say more, but I hope they have a nerdy jarhead that is down with devOps.
Re: Err...
All these nerdy types, they've never heard of a military base? They think that all soldiers live in tents making fires from whatever scraps of wood they can lay their hands on, fashioning weapons from sharpened sticks.
Where I worked we had the same basic system for backup and recovery of our IT starting in the mid 1990s. The company we used had a standard 53 foot trailer with the same kit we used. It also didn't need external power as it had a generator as part of its load-out. It seems the military would want a mobile IT unit to include a power source rather that rely on what may or may not be available.
It's been done before...
Many years ago I did some minor work on a floating datacenter project meant for the Zumwalt-class destroyer. It was unit-built in a warehouse, with all the IT equipment already inside, and sealed and embedded in the ship as a whole during construction. While that class of ship was an overpriced disaster, the DC was still a neat project. The entire center was completely sealed and watertight, with even the data connections using special watertight military-grade connectors. (e.g. instead of RJ-45, it was a screw-in sealed stainless steel monster.) I saw a video of them performing shock testing where they towed it out on a special barge and then set off charges underneath to make sure it would still work after an explosion. During construction they even did their best to keep dirt out; there were adhesive pads you had to step on before going inside to make sure dirt didn't accumulate in inaccessible corners.
so ...
... it's on-prem?
Highly original
Weren't SUN first to this party?