General Micro Systems (GMS), a supplier of computing engines in boxes, boards and servers, has launched its ultra-rugged, naval-focused 1U and 2U “Shorty 4” servers.
At only 16-inches deep, the servers flexibly mount in table-top, equipment tray, sideways or vertical orientations, or can be rack mounted in space-constrained naval applications where full-sized server racks are too enormous to be practical. Surface combatants, sub-surface vessels, fast boats, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) drones and manned naval aircraft all need leading-edge scalable rackmount server performance in the smallest possible size, weight and power (SWaP).
“If you’ve been on a ship, no matter how large, you see that the hallways and equipment rooms are very tight and jammed with equipment. This is especially true in submarines and other specialized vessels such as littoral and fast insertion boats,” said Ben Sharfi, CEO and Chief Architect, GMS. “With a footprint similar to a gaming laptop but with 10 times the performance, these two Shorty servers are ideal for cramped and constrained naval applications. No rack is required with Shorty 1U or 2U.”
The leading-edge Shorty 4 servers come equipped with Intel’s 4th generation Scalable Xeon® CPUs, PCIe Gen5, and DDR5 ECC memory, and are available in 1U and 2U versions. Both servers use GMS’ “egg crate” honeycomb-like design, which mechanically divides the server into rigid quadrants to resist flex to dramatically enhance the unit’s shock and vibration performance.
Constructed from heavy gauge steel or super lightweight aluminum, plus internal gussets and cross braces on internal structures, the servers can survive high shock and vibration but are still cost effective. GMS RuggedDNA™ methodology for design, ergonomics and environmental tolerance is inspired by MIL-SPEC design guidelines found in GMS’ rugged Level 4 and Level 5 full MIL-SPEC VMEbus, OpenVPX, small form factor, and rugged smart display products used by the Navy in airborne and ship-based applications such as the P-8A Poseidon aircraft, DDG, Aegis and LCAC.
