Like any other large organization, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) relies heavily on modern, mission-critical applications that are data-heavy and require low latency to enable critical communications and coordination in the field.
Like any other large organization, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) relies heavily on modern, mission-critical applications that are data-heavy and require low latency to enable critical communications and coordination in the field.
Mission success depends on accessing, processing, and sharing data at the tactical edge for large-scale military operations, crisis response, or coordinating the movement of critical supplies and troops. Typically, building a data center infrastructure with limited time and resources is not feasible, not to mention attempting to procure reliable network services.
AWS Modular Data Center (MDC) Unit
AWS Modular Data Center
AWS has approached the challenge by announcing the AWS Modular Data Center (AWS MDC). This new service allows DoD customers to deploy compute and storage capabilities that support large-scale workloads wherever it is needed, including Disconnected, Disrupted, Intermittent, or Limited (DDIL) environments.
Instead of attempting to build new or work within a limited infrastructure, AWS MDC is a cost-effective, self-contained modular data center solution that can deliver webscale workloads. AWS MDC provides defense customers the resources to securely store, analyze, and interpret petabytes of data in real-time to gain a military advantage in the most isolated environments.
The AWS MDC results from DoD’s Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract. Created in 2021, the JWCC is a multi-vendor acquisition vehicle designed to make cloud services and capabilities available at all classification levels and across all security domains. JWCC enables the DoD to leverage the capabilities of the cloud to meet current and future mission initiatives. Further, JWCC is vital in enabling critical warfighter capabilities, such as the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) and the DoD Artificial Intelligence and Data Acceleration Initiative (ADA).
AWS Outposts
AWS MDC is pre-configured with high-availability data center infrastructure, including internal networking, cooling, and power distribution equipment. AWS MDC supports AWS Outposts or AWS Snowball Edge devices for compute and storage capabilities. AWS MDC can scale by deploying additional mobile data center units depending on customers’ needs.
With AWS MDC, customers can leverage AWS services and APIs to run low-latency applications from anywhere. The AWS MDC is a self-contained solution that only needs to be connected to power once deployed to the customer site and networking using AWS Outposts.
If networking is limited or unavailable, like in DDIL environments, AWS MDC racked with Snow Family devices allows customers to run workloads using a scoped subset of AWS services, even when disconnected. Customers can use satellite communications for network connectivity if necessary. AWS MDC comes with a management system to proactively monitor and operate the MDC’s subsystems.
The mobile data center (aka Data Center In A Box) is a concept that has been introduced previously. When Hurricane Katrina devastated the southeastern U.S., infrastructure was destroyed, data centers were rendered inoperable, network capabilities were unavailable, and there were no plans for a quick recovery. Most state and local government facilities in the hardest-hit zone lost everything. Regulations required data to be held within state boundaries, so backups were also destroyed.
image: qz.com
Vendors quickly collaborated on building solutions to get the area up and running. Multiple providers designed their own mobile data centers using old containers that could be transported to areas to assist recovery. Networking was delivered via satellite, and power came from generators. The most rewarding experience was how competitors got together to build something that would help the recovery process.
Each AWS MDC is constructed from ruggedized containers designed and built for intermodal freight transport and can be used across different modes of transportation, from ship to rail to truck. The AWS MDC units are also air-transportable using military cargo aircraft.
AWS MDC is available to U.S. Government customers eligible for the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability (JWCC) contract. The service is currently supported in the AWS GovCloud (US-West) Region and AWS GovCloud (US-East) Region.
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