The Military trains its soldiers to survive the toughest of environments- from the hottest deserts to the coldest mountains. The rugged training ensures they survive the toughest of conditions, from battlegrounds to home ground. Whatever they carry to such places also needs to survive these tough conditions. This includes the technology they will take with them. This article will tell you how to find the best military computers and servers.
- What is Military-Grade in Technology?
- Industrial Applications
- Modern Defense Systems
- Top Quality Military-Grade Technology
What is Military-Grade in Technology?
Imagine taking your notebook to a jungle- if it survives the bugs, dirt, and heat, just the humidity might cause it to short circuit. This is where military-grade or ‘rugged’ technology comes in. First, let’s understand what exactly military-grade means. It doesn’t only mean ‘durable’. There are many tests designed to see if a computer or server will survive in rough and tough conditions. If the technology passes all these tests, then it will carry an ML-STD-810G designation. This standard consists of various environmental tests to provide evidence that the equipment can withstand tough conditions of the field. IP stands for Ingress Protection, and this specifies the level of environmental protection of electrical equipment against various substances. If the computer boasts the ML-STD-810G, it means the computer passed some of the 24 laboratory tests designed in the standard. The more tests passed, the more rugged it is. No computer has passed all tests as of yet. To find the best equipment, look for the tests performed on it.
Temperature
The computer equipment needs to be able to withstand temperatures from 33 to 71 degrees celsius. It should be able to survive in the freezing temperatures as well as the high temperatures. Another test is sudden temperature drops and increases for unexpected situations.
Humid Conditions
When the environment is humid, even humans find it difficult to breathe. Humidity means a higher degree of moisture in the atmosphere. Too much humidity can cause a computer to short-circuit. If computers are used in humid weather for a longer period, they can easily rust. This is the reason, military-grade computer equipment is tested to survive humidity for a longer time.
Dust Particles
The sand and dust particles are so small that in windy conditions, they can easily get inside the computers and accumulate until they damage the machinery inside. Military-grade computers come with casings that do not let small dust particles enter. This allows the military to operate these machines easily in the desert.
The IP rating has 2 digits. The first is for the level of protection against dust. The IP rating of 0 means no protection against sand and 6 means protected against dust.
Water Immersion
There are many unexpected conditions that military personnel may need to go through. One of them is travelling through water. Most of the time, the equipment is carried on their backs. This means military-grade computers should be able to survive a good soaking. They are tested for water immersion through simulated rainfall and are soaked in vats of water for varying durations.
The second digit in IP is for the level of protection against water. The IP rating of 0 is no protection against water, 7 means protected against immersion in 1-meter depth for 30 min, and 8 means protected against submersion at depth, under pressure.
If a piece of computer equipment has an IP67 rating, it’ll mean it is completely dustproof and can be immersed in water for half an hour to a depth of one meter.
Sun
Sitting in the sun for some time and working on your laptop is okay, but if you sit for a longer time, your laptop will start to heat up if it is not designed to withstand heat. Direct sun exposure also leads to a damaged screen, especially if it is an LCD. Repeated exposure to direct sun will damage the computer and may cause it to malfunction. This is why military-grade computers can withstand direct sunlight exposure for 3 to 7 days.
Air Pressure
The air pressure differs with altitude. A military-grade computer and server need to withstand the conditions of very high or very low altitude. Be it mountains or in a submarine, a military-grade server or computer should work just fine.
Shocks and drops
Military personnel may need to travel through various terrain. They may be parachuting their equipment out of helicopters, or they may be in a truck on a rocky mountain. This is why military-grade computers need to be able to withstand shocks and drops that other computers can not withstand. This is tested through mechanically induced shocks.
Security
Many military operations involve transferring sensitive information. Military-grade equipment is designed with security in mind. They are protected against malware and cyberattacks, mostly with a pre-activated security system.
Industrial Applications
Many process industries like food & beverages, pharmaceuticals need servers that can survive extreme temperature and pressure. Similarly, many manufacturing industries also manage their operations using rugged servers that can withstand harsh conditions that conventional servers can not survive. For example, in the production units of any food company, the temperatures rise to quite high levels. Due to this, the computers and servers there will not survive if they are not designed to be military-grade. The airborne servers allow advanced communication applications on aircraft, both line-fit, and retrofits. These are available for Ethernet-based network installations.
Modern Defense Systems
Computers are used to enable many applications in the military. These include next-generation combat systems, autonomous missile systems, and battlefield sensor systems. These applications also involve military GPS, battlefield radar, combat management systems, air pressure, and communication command, control, and intelligence. For these systems to work in battlefield conditions, a military server is utilized are compact with lighter chassis and can withstand unexpected harsh conditions. The modern defence systems applications are designed to be operable in the toughest of conditions.
Top Quality Military-Grade Technology
The military-grade is associated with the ruggedness of the technology. Military computers and servers are not exclusive to the military, they can be applied in many industries. First, ensure that they have passed most of the tests in MIL-STD-810G standard, check their IP rating for sand and water protection. This will help you shortlist the rugged computer you are looking for. The top quality military-grade computers and servers will have the following characteristics:
Massive Storage
The computers and servers usually have massive storage. The average of rugged servers is around 50 to 80 TB, which are usually expandable. In some cases, the storage is also removable. If an unexpected situation occurs, you can simply remove the storage and leave. Removable storage also helps in making the transfer of data much easier and faster.
Portability
Military technology is mostly portable. They are manufactured with mobility in mind, so they are compact and very light as compared to conventional servers. They have shallow depth and front panel-only access, which means they can be used in the shortest of spaces.
The size ranges from 1 U computer to 5 U computers. These are suitable for space-constrained environments. The average weight of a military server can be around 10 to 15 lbs.
There are many computers designed around the space they are going to be on. If they are meant to be airborne, the focus will be on them being lightweight and efficient.
Speed and Performance
Most of the military servers come with four-core or six-core processors. The smaller size will not in any way mean that they lack in performance and speed. They are usually faster than any conventional computer. They are fast, reliable, and very efficient in any kind of environment.
Durable
As they are designed to survive tough conditions, they are very durable, even with repeated exposure to conditions like harsh weather, humidity, rocky terrain, direct sun exposure, and desert conditions.
Customization
Many IT companies are offering customizable computers and servers to match the exact requirements of the job. From processor and memory to screen size and temperature condition protection, military computers can be customized according to requirements.
Military-grade computers can be configured for the air force, navy, and army according to what they may require. For the air force, they can be made as light as possible, for the navy, air pressure is targeted and for the army, the computers need to be portable and withstand varying environmental conditions.
As a military-grade technology is not solely for the military, it can be designed according to the industry requirements specific to any field. Many industries need to limit their operations due to the inability of technology to work in environmental conditions. Military computers can be designed specifically around those conditions.
Military computers can be applied in other industries on an individual level as well. A construction worker, a civil engineer, a trekker, or an animal photographer can consider military-grade technology for the harsh conditions they work in.
The military computers and servers are made to be tough like the person they are meant for. Whatever terrain they are on, they can trust the computers to survive with them. They are designed to withstand the harshest environment, which makes them applicable in so many other ways than only the military. Keep the above things in mind to find top-quality military computers and servers.