Amazon Web Services (AWS) has announced the general availability of AWS Snowcone, a new small, ultra-portable, rugged, and secure edge computing and data transfer device, the company reported on Thursday.
“Thousands of our customers have found AWS Snowball devices to be ideal for collecting data and running applications in remote and harsh environments. Since 2015, customer use of Snowball devices has greatly increased, as has their need for an even smaller device with even greater portability,” said Bill Vass, VP of Storage, Automation and Management Services, AWS.
AWS Snowcone has been built to withstand harsh conditions and is designed for a variety of use cases in environments outside of the traditional data center that lack consistent network connectivity or require portability, including healthcare, industrial IoT, drones, tactical edge computing, content distribution, data migration, video content creation and transportation.
The solution will enable customers to collect and process data, run local computing applications, and move large volumes of data from log files, digital media, genomic data and sensor data from connected devices to AWS.
AWS Snowcone will also provide maximum flexibility for edge computing environments, offering a small, ultra-portable, rugged, and military grade secure device to run applications and migrate data to AWS.
Snowcone will integrate anti-tamper and tamper-evident features to help ensure data on the device stays secure during transit. AWS’ solution has complied with ruggedization standards such as ISTA-3A, ASTM D4169 and MIL-STD-810G standards.
“With more applications running at the edge for an expanding range of use cases, like analyzing IoT sensor data and machine learning inference, AWS Snowcone makes it easier to collect, store, pre-process, and transfer data from harsh environments with limited space to AWS for more intensive processing,” added Vass.
AWS Snowcone will enable customers to move data to AWS offline by shipping the device and online using Ethernet or Wi-Fi with AWS DataSync, which are integrated into the device. The solution will feature 2 CPUs, 4 GB of memory, 8 TB of storage, and USB-C power.
The company’s offering will be able to operate in extreme environments or disconnected remote sites, including oil rigs, first responder vehicles, military operations, factory floors, remote offices, hospitals, or movie theaters, for long periods of time without traditional data center conditions.
Novetta has integrated AWS Snowcone in the advanced analytics solutions. The company has focused on mission success for its customers in the public sector, defense, intelligence, and federal law enforcement communities.
“Snowcone gives us a rugged, secure, and portable edge computing platform that we can use in disaster zones and austere edge locations. In our recent field exercises, Snowcone performed admirably as a sensor hub at the edge to track people and assets in a disaster zone,” said Rob Sheen, Senior Vice President, Client Operations at Novetta.
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