Published in Military Embedded Systems
Written by Steven Petric
System integrators seeking secure data-at-rest (DAR) solutions for deployed sensor-rich platforms are faced with handling increasing amounts of data from an ever-greater number of more powerful onboard sensors.
The need to capture and store the veritable firehose of incoming data, without introducing bottlenecks and losing data, is now being addressed with the availability of network-attached storage (NAS) devices that support data rates up to 100 Gigabit Ethernet. One beneficial trend for data storage is the advent of high-speed non-volatile memory (NVMe) solid-state memory devices that can keep up with the faster Ethernet. Additionally, NVMe devices are cost-effective and help reduce size, weight and power (SWaP), often a critical factor for extending the reach and duration of ISR [intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] missions, many of which are deployed on uncrewed platforms.
Moore’s Law doesn’t just apply to processor performance – users of solid-state memory devices benefit from the increasing densities and affordability of rugged solid-state storage devices. Another important trend improving the capabilities of deployed NAS products is the use of two-layer encryption to protect the stored data, specifically the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) program, which speeds the access to approved commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) data-protection technologies.
All of these converging trends are now driving the next major advance in data-storage solutions: the integration of built-in intelligence capable of processing and analyzing data during the mission. The usual way of handling data is that, after the sensor data is processed in real time by the mission computer, it is dealt with post-mission using removable storage media, usually delivered to a data center where it can be analyzed to identify patterns and signals of interest. Now, if the NAS features a cost-effective GPU processor with extreme parallel processing power, artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) and deep learning techniques can be developed to garner actionable information from the stored data on the platform during the mission.
Steven Petric
Senior Product Manager
The Product Manager for our data storage solutions, Steven, is a data-driven professional with over 20 years of experience bringing new offerings to market and improving existing offerings. He has a Masters in Business along with Pragmatic Marketing Certification and is a Project Management Professional (PMP).
