Edge server storage
SSDs engineered for a life on the edge
Edge server SSDs face some of the toughest requirements in the storage industry. At the rugged edge, they meet extreme temperatures, harsh climates and mechanical stress. Needless to say, it takes more than your average SSD to handle environments like that for years on end.
Even edge servers deployed in less stressful operating environments demand the best from their SSDs. Edge servers tend to be compact and thermally challenging while still requiring top-level flash storage performance.
Exascend is combining its decade-long expertise from the mission critical and enterprise storage sectors to create edge server-appropriate SSDs. To us, that means enterprise-level performance in rugged, industrial-grade, hardware. That’s how we are enabling the future of edge computing.
Why don’t you join us in the future of edge computing?
Storage challenges on the edge
Restricted space, unconstrained performance
Edge servers serve a critical function in modern computing infrastructure by bringing high-performance computing closer the applications where it is needed the most. However, unlike servers in traditional data centers, edge servers offer limited space for components and operate in uncontrolled thermal environments.
That presents a major challenge.
On the one hand, edge servers are meant to improve computing performance for the applications they serve, but on the other hand, space constraints and thermal challenges limit the edge server’s ability to perform at the highest level.
Tough and exposed environments
Rugged environments with challenging climates
Edge servers are often deployed in rugged edge environments where they need to withstand tough ambient environments and environmental challenges. This includes environmental challenges such as:
- Extreme temperatures and humidity
- Pollutants including dust and air pollution
- Shocks and vibrations
Fully exposed to security threats
Since edge servers tend to operate autonomously on the edge, security is a critical consideration. Put simply, it doesn’t matter if all the communications with the edge server is encrypted if a perpetrator can simply steal the whole server or the SSDs with sensitive data inside.
Moreover, edge servers present potentially exploitable attack surfaces for sophisticated full-system attacks, making edge security a key concern.
Long-term economic feasibility
Edge servers are often deployed in remote and hard-to-access locations where they’re expected to tug along for years on end. That means that the financial feasibility of edge servers rests on two things: keeping on-hands maintenance to a minimum and using components with ample performance to keep up with applications still in the future.
Edge computing has a bright future, but it will only become a reality if it makes business sense. That’s a tougher requirement than it sounds.
Edge servers with NVMe: free white paper
Premio in partnership with Exascend tested and qualified our industrial NVMe SSDs for their next generation rugged edge computers. The result: extreme NVMe performance at the edge – and a white paper about what we learned. Download it for free below!
Why Exascend edge server SSDs
With our rugged flash storage solutions and industrial SSDs, we don’t just assemble industrial-grade components and call it a day. On the contrary, selecting suitable components is the easy part. We spend most of our resources on developing innovative new technologies and optimizing our products for the toughest applications imaginable.
That makes our products punch far above their weight class – even compared to other industrial-grade products. Put simply, we bring out the full potential of industrial-grade components with our unique innovations. The result is more reliability and performance to spare for you.
We designed our edge server-optimized SSDs not with regular data centers or simple edge servers in mind. We designed them for rugged applications beyond what most would even call the rugged edge. Our approach is straightforward: if an SSD is engineered to handle even the most extreme environments and environmental challenges, then surely it’ll excel in your average rugged edge application as well.
Our customers’ experiences using our products in their rugged edge applications suggest that this approach is the right one. With extreme ruggedness and unwavering performance even in the toughest thermal environments, we’re constantly proving that real ruggedness matters.
In terms of performance, we have one goal in mind with all our edge server-optimized SSDs: enterprise performance everywhere. That means that our customers don’t need to choose between ruggedness and performance.
We make this possible by leveraging technologies that dynamically optimizes the performance profile according to ambient temperatures and other environmental factors that would otherwise reduce have a strong impact on performance stability.
We are also an enterprise-class innovation leader and deliver all our SSDs with our unique quality of service (QoS)-enhancing technologies. That means the ultra-low latencies you are used to from enterprise applications in your edge applications.
Security couldn’t be more important in the industry sectors we serve. Whether it’s a mission-critical application processing classified data or an edge server handling users’ private information, we offer a suite of security technologies that fortify protection against any threats.
Our security technologies popular in edge servers include:
- Military-grade AES-256 data encryption
- Full disk encryption (FDE) as self-encrypting drive (SED) with TCG Opal 2.0, IEEE 1667 or BitLocker
- Secure data sanitization options, including crypto erase, fast erase, normal erase and fully customized data sanitization
- RAID ECC and Data Retention Plus™ for automatic data repair and extreme data retention
- Access Guard, limiting storage access to to pre-approved devices
The expertise we bring to you
Edge expertise
We have a long history of developing uniquely capable edge SSDs together with our customers – edge computing leaders. That’s what gives us our real edge computing edge.
With our extensive tuning services, we can target exact levels of power consumption, performance floors and thermal ceilings in our edge-optimized SSDs.
Our MIL-I-46058C-qualified conformal coating protects our edge-optimized SSDs from moisture and contaminants – delivering ruggedness ready to tackle rugged edge applications.
Customized like no other
We pride ourselves with offering the industry’s most extensive customization services. Whether you need some mild tuning or something completely new, we’re ready to deliver.
Industrial-grade E1.S
Next-generation enterprise performance on the edge
The brand-new E1.S (EDSFF) form factor was purpose-designed for data center and server applications. Combining incredible storage density with a thermal design suitable for large-scale data storage, E1.S is taking the world of enterprise storage by storm.
In line with our mission to bring enterprise-class performance everywhere, we decided to combine our industrial-grade and enterprise storage expertise into something new: the world’s first rugged E1.S SSD.
Take your application's edge to the rugged edge
Unleash your enterprise applications’ true potential by bringing them all the way to rugged edge environments with the help of our PI4 series E1.S SSDs. The time for enterprise-level computing everywhere is finally here.
Examples of suitable edge applications for Exascend PI4 series E1.S:
- Edge servers and equipment
- Offshore power and resource installations
- Telecommunications equipment and stations
- Traffic and environmental monitoring stations
Adaptive Thermal Control™
Our unique Adaptive Thermal Control™ technology tackles the issue of overheating and thermal throttling that is unavoidable in high-performance PCIe NVMe flash storage devices and is a common challenge in edge servers.
Recommended edge server SSDs
PI4 series
The PI4 series brings together Exascend’s industrial expertise with the high-speed PCIe 4.0 interface and high-density 3D TLC.
The result is a highly competent lineup of industrial-grade storage with enterprise-class performance available in the M.2, U.2 and E1.S form factors.
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PE4 series
The PE4 series is Exascend’s enterprise-grade lineup of high-performing PCIe 4.0 devices. With extreme sustained read and write speeds along with Exascend’s technologies, the PE4 series brings the PCIe 4.0 interface to the next level.
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PI3 series
The PI3 series brings together Exascend’s industrial expertise with the high-speed PCIe 3.0 interface and high-density 3D TLC – resulting in a highly competent lineup of industrial-grade storage.
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Industrial CFexpress
Exascend’s Industrial CFexpress combines the flexibility of compact card storage with high-performance industrial-grade NAND flash – making it an ideal choice for applications that demand ruggedness and portability, including industrial automation, ADAS, data loggers and rugged edge equipment.
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