AdvancedTCA for Defense Deployable COTS Solution - Overview. SANBlaze. Inside contents. AdvancedTCA: Meeting DoD Requirements

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1 SAN Technology, Inc. AdvancedTCA for Defense Deployable COTS Solution - SANBlaze Overview AdvancedTCA: Meeting DoD Requirements Inside contents Overview 1 ATCA Anatomy 2 MOSA 3 COTS 4 SWaP-C 4 Rugged Platform 6 ATCA Blades 7 Summary 8 The DoD is under intense pressure to deliver leading edge high performance computing systems for all facets of military operations while simultaneously being restrained by budgetary controls. Solutions must be found that satisfy these demands without making compromises. The DoD has mandated MOSA, COTS and reduced SWaP-C based solutions as part of the strategy for achieving this objective. This paper will outline an operationally proven solution that satisfies these objectives. AdvancedTCA (ATCA ) is an open standards based COTS architecture initially developed by the telecommunications industry to address the high performance networking demands of the central office. Prior to the standard being put in place, the market was fragmented with proprietary technologies that did not interoperate thus introducing cost and risk. The modern military has similarly evolved to become highly reliant on a robust data and network centric model often built on proprietary technology. Fault tolerant and fast access to intelligence data at all levels is essential to maximize effectiveness of military operations. In addition to meeting functional computing requirements there is a mandate to adopt more flexible open standards based solutions. Traditional military computing infrastructure is not meeting the diversity of demands. The highly competitive and technically demanding telecom industry recognized these challenges and thus developed a standards based environment to drive compatible innovative solutions from suppliers. The ATCA ecosystem of products and vendors is proving to be an excellent solution for military applications that are transitioning away from custom purpose built equipment to a flexible standards based infrastructure. ATCA offers mil-spec ruggedized form factors with high density computing power coupled with the modularity, power efficiency, serviceability and redundancy that have been hallmarks of the telecommunications industry. This paper will introduce AdvancedTCA and evaluate it against the COTS and SWaP-C requirements of Modular Open Systems approach for new moderately harsh environment DoD acquisition programs, demonstrating that ATCA is the best solution for many scenarios. 1

AdvancedTCA Reduces Total Cost of Ownership and Expedites Technology Upgrades Commercial Off-The-Shelf products and technologies - COTS Reduces Size, Weight, Power and Cooling - SWaP-C Modular Open

2 AdvancedTCA Reduces Total Cost of Ownership and Expedites Technology Upgrades Commercial Off-The-Shelf products and technologies - COTS Reduces Size, Weight, Power and Cooling - SWaP-C Modular Open Systems Approach Compliant - MOSA Supports virtualization and cloud computing Provides maximum performance net-centric solutions AdvancedTCA is actively engaged in the following key applications: Shipboard communications and data center consolidation Airborne reconnaissance Theater command centers Mobile Tactical Operations Centers (TOCs) Ground and airborne battle management systems Net-centric converged solutions for voice, video, and data C4ISR Anatomy of AdvancedTCA 2

3 AdvancedTCA Standards Background The PICMG (PCI Industrial Computer Manufacturers Group) 3.0 specifications define open architecture modular computing components that can be quickly integrated to deploy high performance service solutions. The specification is branded as AdvancedTCA (ATCA), ratified in December Hundreds of suppliers support the specification providing a rich ecosystem of components to meet a broad range of customers functional needs. Each ATCA system is referred to as a Shelf and contains the following elements: Support for up to 16 slots, for high-density solutions Larger board size, providing more room for increased DSP and packet processing power Cooling for up to 400W per slot allowing for many options in the balance between performance and power demands Hot-swappable chassis components, for minimized MTTR An Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) for status monitoring of all components Flexible power options 120/240 volt AC or 48/60 volts DC MOSA MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) Acquisition programs shall be managed through the application of a systems engineering approach that optimizes total system performance and minimizes total ownership costs. A modular, open-systems approach shall be employed, where feasible. DoDD Five Principles of MOSA 1. Establish Enabling Environment 2. Employ Modular Design 3. Designate Key interfaces 4. Select Open Standards 5. Certify Conformance AdvancedTCA and MOSA share a common set of goals which include: Adapt to evolving requirements and threats Promote transition from science and technology into acquisition and deployment Facilitate systems integration Leverage commercial investment Reduce the development cycle time and total life-cycle cost System interoperability with minimal or no modification of components Enhance commonality and reuse of components among systems Access to cutting edge technologies and products from multiple suppliers Mitigate the risks associated with technology obsolescence Limit exposure to single source of supply over the life of a system Enhance life-cycle supportability Increased competition from multiple vendors The Advanced TCA environment has been designed for reliability and maintainability. This is particularly crucial for military field operations where the ability to hot swap components is critical. SANBlaze has design this right into the Ruggedized Component Platform, where blades, disk drives and power supplies can be hot swapped. 3

4 COTS The Commercial Off the Shelf (COTS) directive was outlined in 1994 by Secretary of Defense William Perry who recognized the benefits of commercial standards and specifications over military unique requirements. This initiated the move away from purpose built custom equipment. Elimination of single purpose stovepipe systems from the past is critical since they are generally not interoperable, cannot communicate with each other, and are difficult to maintain or upgrade. The ATCA architecture meets all the key criteria for COTS-based military system designs. It is designed specifically for highavailability applications in moderately harsh environments similar to many military infrastructure installations, and is undergoing extensions to add ruggedization options for even harsher environments. Its modularity gives it the flexibility to adapt to a wide variety of data protocols and I/O interfaces, while simplifying maintenance and supply by minimizing the number of building blocks needed across multiple system designs. Mil-Spec Conformance The SANBlaze RCP (Rugged Compute Platform) and ATCA cards have been designed to achieve certification of Mil-spec 910 D, 810 D, NEBS Level III in addition to functional demands of harsh environments and shock/vibration tolerance. Summary of COTS AdvancedTCA Benefits 1. Hundreds of active vendors supplying AdvancedTCA (no single source concerns) 2. Modular a. Reduces logistics impact via standardization of spares across systems b. Easily upgradeable c. Reduces training burdens and NPI time 3. Flexible via standards conformant interfaces 4. Scalable a. Horizontal Scaling (add more nodes, subsystems, or devices to a system, in order to compensate for the increased demand in workload) b. Vertical Scaling (add additional resources to a node, subsystem, or device, to increase that components capability to compensate for increased demands in workloads) 5. Easy to upgrade 6. Maintain legacy investments (hardware and software) 7. Long Life Cycle Management a. Embedded chip set 7 year availability vs months for typical commercial components. SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power Cooling) Reducing system size, weight, power and cooling (SWaP-C) achieves benefits from improving the operational life of individual components through to optimizing total operational budgetary constraints. SWaP budgets are driven down to extend mission life, reduce system foot prints, and life cycle costs. ATCA boards (8U high by 280 mm deep with a 1.2-inch slot pitch) support up to four Mezzanine Modules (AMC s) providing nearly double the compute power and I/O functionality of VPX or CompactPCI on a single blade. Additionally, ATCA vendors are achieving capacities of up to 400 Watts Per Slot with 48 VDC power to all of the cards. 4

Reduced Power Demand in Field Deployments The benefits of improved SWaP-C in field deployments additionally reveal themselves in reduced operating costs.

5 Reduced Power Demand in Field Deployments The benefits of improved SWaP-C in field deployments additionally reveal themselves in reduced operating costs. The high density compute/networking/storage capabilities of ATCA rapidly address the size and weight constraints. SANBlaze prides itself on being on the leading edge of delivering on that mandate without compromising on performance. The big payback on adopting ATCA in the field is evidenced in power consumption efficiencies. Diesel fuel to power hungry generators in forwardfield deployments can cost anywhere from $13/gallon in peacetime up to $600/gallon in hostile areas. A significant percentage of power loss in computing platforms is from conversion from AC to DC. With ATCA systems designed to operate on DC power, costly conversion steps are eliminated. Improved compute efficiencies also result in reduced demand on cooling further contributing to the economy of the platform. Reduced power consumption delivers large payback dividends over the full operational lifecycle. Pictured is a 6 slot SANBlaze ATCA Rugged Compute Platform being deployed into field operations, with the system consisting of: 4 CPU blades 10 GB Storage blade 10 Gb Network Switch blade This unit has a 2 man carry weight of approximately 130 lbs. and a measured operational power consumption of only 922 watts. Server Consolidation using ATCA A key method for increasing compute density and optimizing SWaP is through the use of server virtualization technology. The DoD s strategic objectives for data center consolidation include: Reduce cost Reduce environmental impact Improve efficiency and service levels via automation Enhance business agility and effectively manage change Due to high compute density and high availability, the ATCA architecture is being deployed as a more compact, more reliable, more powerful alternative to a server farm typically implemented as a number of 1U industrial (or commercial) computers. Further compute density is achieved through virtualization. Virtualization is a critical element of server consolidation further reducing SWaP. Server virtualization transparently and dynamically shares system resources across multiple server instances, maximizing the utilization of available capacity. Benefits of Virtualization include: Ease of systems management and configuration A new virtual machine can be rapidly provisioned on demand without the need for additional hardware acquisition A virtual machine can easily be relocated from one physical machine to another as needed Isolation of errors within one server environment from other servers Due to easy relocation, virtual machines improve disaster recovery processes ATCA delivers the entire computing platform to support COTS based virtualization from processing capacity through to storage and networking. 5

SANBlaze Rugged Compute Platform for Tactical Ops The final phase is having a field deployable system that meets the specified environmental criteria.

6 SANBlaze Rugged Compute Platform for Tactical Ops The final phase is having a field deployable system that meets the specified environmental criteria. The SANBlaze Rugged Compute Platform for Tactical Ops (RCP) is a field deployable ruggedized tactical communications AdvancedTCA Platform. The RCP boasts superior computing density, inherent redundancy, and class leading power efficiency, modularity and convenient serviceability thus addressing both the COTS and SWaP-C requirements. Rugged Compute Platforms are designed for Tented Field and Mounted deployments. Tented Field deployments are integrated into rugged transit containers to meet stringent shock and vibration requirements. Common applications include: Command, control and mission logistics as well as communications and messaging. AdvancedTCA is well suited for Ship, Air, and vehicle mounted implementations that may have: physical /accessibility restrictions, data pre-load requirements and where low power provides strategic and cost advantages. The RCP is a modular system of building blocks comprised of: networked computing elements, best-in-class storage, switch and payload blades that conform to the ATCA standard. Compute Blades: multi-core true 64-bit SMP, up to 192GB Storage Blades: 6TB per slot, RAID 0,1,5,6,10,50 Switch Blades: multiport, 10Gb Support for backplane speeds of 40 Gb Multiple power options include 120/240 Volt AC and 48/60 Volt DC SANBlaze directly offers the RCP with a range of storage and processer options which are further enhanced by partner offerings, eliminating the risks inherent with sole source suppliers underlining the benefits of an ATCA based solution. The platform is interoperable with a vast selection of RTM and artms that mate with both SPARC and X86 processor blades. Choices include SVGA Video, Fibre Channel, USB, RS232C 9pin serial full Modem Control, and numerous SAS/SATA/SSD drive options. AMC choices include SAS, SATA, SSD, 10 GB, Quad 1GE, FC, FCoE and PCI express Flash storage modules. References: (600GB Intel SSDSA2CW600G3 vs. 600GB Toshiba MBF2600RC) 6

ATCA Blades Processor Blades The SB-ATCA7300 features two 6-core Intel Xeon processors, and up to 192GB of DDR3 memory to deliver true 64-bit SMP computing for faster application execution in

Addressing the increasing demand for Virtualization in performance and mission critical computing environments, SANBlaze provides VMware tested and certified Storage and Processor Blade solutions to

Storage Blades The ATCA2000 Storage Blade eliminates the cost, space, management and power requirements of an external storage device without losing any functionality and performance.

7 ATCA Blades Processor Blades The SB-ATCA7300 features two 6-core Intel Xeon processors, and up to 192GB of DDR3 memory to deliver true 64-bit SMP computing for faster application execution in deployed virtualized environments. Its PICMG 3.1 compliance provides redundant 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10Gbps) connections that are optimized for pipelined packet processing. Addressing the increasing demand for Virtualization in performance and mission critical computing environments, SANBlaze provides VMware tested and certified Storage and Processor Blade solutions to the AdvancedTCA market. The SB-ATCA7300 complements a broad set of storage and I/O RTMs and is an ideal pairing for the VMware Ready SB-ATCA2000 storage blade family. Storage Blades The ATCA2000 Storage Blade eliminates the cost, space, management and power requirements of an external storage device without losing any functionality and performance. The ATCA2000 improves system MTBF, system performance and system capacity, in a single slot ATCA footprint. The ATCA2000 storage blade serves two architectural purposes in mission critical ATCA deployments. First as a replacement for DAS (direct attach storage) boot solutions, the blade eliminates the single spindle, single point of failure that typifies far too many server deployments. Second, as a replacement for a 2-10 TB external SAN, the ATCA2000 eliminates expensive HBAs and cables associated with external storage, and dramatically reduces the storage footprint in terms of both space and power. The ATCA2000 family has a secure html (https) web interface, command line interface (CLI), and setup wizards for ease of configuration. High availability and full support for VMware further positioning the platform as a turnkey solution. ATCA2000 SSD Blade with networked flash revolutionizes the bandwidth and capacity achievable with a single ATCA slot. With up to 6TB of solid state flash storage capacity, it boasts 1500MB/s of sustained backplane bandwidth, high IOPS (25,000) and low latency. It is protected with a sophisticated hardware RAID engine that boasts an independent 1GB battery protected cache. Expansion to 20 disks is accomplished by pairing with a JBOD blade installed in an adjacent slot. The ATCA2000 SSD puts large pools of networked flash storage in the ATCA chassis to eliminate I/O bottlenecks and deliver astounding performance for applications that require high IOPS/GB and/or low response times, such as server virtualization, database and video media delivery. The blade enables a fully homogenous ATCA deployment, with all the benefits therein: low power, ruggedness, reliability, and interoperable modularity. ATCA2000 FDE (Full Disk Encryption) Storage blade encodes sensitive user data stored on each disk with no performance penalty, by using Seagate's self-encrypting FDE drives, and LSI's standards-compliant key management software. ATCA2000 FDE protects data at rest from security breaches with minimal cost and complexity. 7

8 SANBlaze Technology, Inc. One Monarch Drive Suite 204 Littleton, MA Phone (978) Summary AdvancedTCA boasts superior computing density, inherent redundancy, class leading power efficiency, modularity and convenient serviceability. This addresses both the COTS and SWaP-C requirements of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) for new DoD acquisition programs. Solution design to deployment time is radically reduced due to the range of ATCA products available today. Fax (978) ATCA offers end-users the broadest selection of interoperable products, with over 300 active vendor participants. DoD adoption of ATCA has begun and is an excellent fit for applications that require complex, dense computing in moderately harsh environments. SANBlaze has the range of products, experience and partners that can deliver the platform required to deliver your ruggedized field solution. For more information please visit the SANBlaze web site at: or send SANBlaze Technology, Inc. is a leading provider of storage, networking and multifunction solutions for embedded systems. SANBlaze embedded computing products include a complete line of ATCA storage and compute blades, multifunction RTMs for ATCA blades, and AMC storage and networking controllers and modules. Additionally, the company provides fully configured and integrated ATCA systems and services. Copyright 2012 SANBlaze Technology Inc. All rights reserved. Referenced products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners UC 123 r5 8

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