With the birth of cell phones, mobilization and instant communication became common place throughout the world. Similarly, federal agencies like the Department of Defense (DoD), civilian agencies and state/local and education entities operate with a similar need of mobilized data for communication, operations and mission success. Data is now being generated outside of the office, classroom or military base and is instead appearing on the edge – places like a factory floor, classrooms, battlefields, oil rigs, coffee shops, hospitals and beyond. In order to ensure business continuity and mission success, organizations need tools to harness their data at the edge. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), the international IT company founded in 2015 when it split from Hewlett Packard, Inc., created the HPE Edgeline EL8000 Converged Edge System to enable any organization to perform business or mission functions at the edge. Here is a breakdown of key advantages of HPE’s converged edge system.
Size and Portability
One of the first things of notice about the product is its size. Its compact design makes mobility effortless – useful in environments at the edge where users may be traveling often or in cramped spaces. Weighing only between 50-58 pounds, the EL8000 was designed specifically for space-constrained environments, having a unique 17-inch depth form factor that fits into limited infrastructures too small for other x86 systems. The chassis has an 8.7-inch width which brings additional flexibility for deploying at the deep edge, whether it is in a telco environment, a mobile vehicle, or a manufacturing floor. Use cases where size and portability are important include employees for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). When called in for hurricane assistance, for example, employees have a portable, compact data center out in the field with them where networks for wireless communication are limited to nonexistent. FEMA employees can process all their data on site, bringing insights back from the edge to help with faster assistance to affected areas.
Versatility
Versatility doesn’t just include the places where you can bring the EL8000, it is also flexible with its components. Within the chassis, a user can mix and match its servers and hard drives. For example, the two top slots can be used for storage or the servers themselves can have a GPU for graphics (versus computing) and allow dense graphics capabilities like Google maps directly into their environment.
Furthermore, the EL8000 is a versatile platform that enables edge compute transformation so as use case requirements change, the system’s flexible and modular architecture can scale to meet them. Scalability comes in handy for education systems as they navigate between remote and hybrid learning environments. Classrooms can now have their own designated server so students can share information and work collaboratively regardless of location.
Reliability
The size and versatility of the edge computing system lends itself well to being a reliable piece of machinery. Achieving the industry standard of ruggedness, the EL8000 is dependable and robust, able to operate in extremely harsh environments and conditions. Easy to configure and troubleshoot at the edge with remote hands or no hands, it comes with a low failure rate and trusted platform module (TPM) security built in. For military missions, having a dependable tool at your fingertips can make a very real difference in mission completion.
When it comes to wading into edge computing products like the EL8000, some organizations choose third party vendors to assist with the design, deployment, servicing, operation and maintenance of the product they implement. These separate entities often bring decades of experience with various verticals like federal, civilian or commercial markets and therefore understand the different organizational requirements (especially with the unique specifications of the DoD). Additionally, some organizations offer flexible options for assistance from complete responsibility of edge-to-edge security or simply providing consulting services like providing recommendations or technical expertise so organizations can manage on their own.
Whether you choose to go through a third party or implement an edge computing platform on your own, HPE’s Edgeline EL8000 Converged Edge System, given its size, portability, versatility and reliability, is one of the best products available for any edge environment today.
For more information on HPE, click here. To speak to an Iron Bow expert, feel free to reach out to us.
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