Crystal Group nos explica cómo es posible emplear la nube empresarial en entornos tácticos.

1. RUGGED HYPERCONVERGED
INFRASTRUCTURE BRINGS
THE ENTERPRISE CLOUD
TO TACTICAL ENVIRONMENTS
White Paper by:
Jim Shaw
Executive Vice President of Engineering
April 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................. 3
TACTICAL HYPERCONVERGENCE.............................................................................. 3
BIG CAPABILITIES, SMALL SWaP ................................................................................ 4
RAPID DEPLOYMENT.................................................................................................... 4
SCALABILITY AND SECURITY...................................................................................... 5
TRUE TACTICAL HCI..................................................................................................... 6
SELECTING AN HCI SOLUTION.................................................................................... 7
ENABLING THE ENTERPRISE CLOUD AT THE TACTICAL EDGE.............................. 7
ENTERPRISE CLOUD AND COTS ................................................................................ 7
VMware VIRTUALIZATION............................................................................................. 9
GETTING STARTED..................................................................................................... 10
ABOUT THE AUTHOR.................................................................................................. 10
ABOUT CRYSTAL GROUP INC. .................................................................................. 11

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INTRODUCTION
The sheer amount of data being generated, shared, and stored is at an all-time high – and growing
every day. Individuals and organizations alike are amassing more data today than at any other
time in history. At the same time, professionals – both in the office and in the field – increasingly
rely on information gleaned from these growing data sets to get the job done, day after day.
Enterprises are harnessing the power of hyperconverged infrastructure, or HCI, to better manage,
provide access to, and protect all this valuable data. In fact, HCI has been taking the enterprise
world by storm. Organizations all over the globe have migrated to and are reaping the rewards of
HCI in office environments; now they are bringing the enterprise-level innovation to bear in
challenging, even extreme, tactical environments. Ruggedized HCI systems tightly integrate
enterprise cloud capabilities with high performance computing, networking, and storage hardware
to deliver a compact, deployable data center.
TACTICAL HYPERCONVERGENCE
Data centers, with storage capacities both large and small, are
undergoing a hyperconvergence; that is, they are migrating to a
hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI). HCI tightly integrates compute,
storage, networking, and virtualization resources in a single, purpose-
built hardware package, such as a rack or transit box, supported by
a single vendor.
HCI’s growing popularity stems from its wide array of benefits –
benefits that dovetail incredibly well with the goals and requirements
for systems deployed in tactical environments, whether in the field, at
sea or shore, in the air, or in space.
Militaries and a growing list of other markets – ranging from homeland
security and border patrol to public safety and emergency services to
oil & gas and mining (see more in the Ideal Applications list) – deploy
hardware and software in the field for data collection, processing,
sharing, and storage; they all stand to benefit from adopting HCI,
which addresses key prerequisites for electronics deployed in tactical
environments.
Ideal applications
for Rugged HCI
include:
Military
Homeland security
Border patrol
Law Enforcement
Government
First response
Public safety
Emergency services
Industrial
Mining
Oil & gas
Energy
Communications
Broadcast
Entertainment
Space
Satellite
Research &
development
Education
Hospitality
Internet of Things
Cloud computing
And more

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BIG CAPABILITIES, SMALL SWaP
HCI represents a significant and positive sea change for military and other applications. The data
centers in most organizations, military and government agencies included, use multiple, disparate
devices – largely from different vendors and at different stages in their usable life. These ad hoc
setups with separate silos of legacy solutions for computing, data storage, and networking can
cause considerable challenges – many of which prove to be expensive and time consuming, and
render the whole system vulnerable, inefficient, and unreliable.
Separate systems entail significant size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP), which is at a
premium on most vehicle platforms, including aircraft, ground combat vehicles, ships, and
submarines. Transporting such systems over long distances and rough terrain, and where fuel
may be difficult and costly to come by, also is problematic.
HCI consolidates multiple devices in a single compute, storage, and networking cluster, and
further adds advanced software to take advantage of the Internet of Things, the cloud, and
resource virtualization. A single HCI rack, for example, can effectively replace at least three
separate devices, saving considerable SWaP – a priority for military applications. Thus, HCI
systems replete with modern, high-performance hardware and robust software deliver more
features and functionality in the same or smaller physical size, weight, and power consumption
footprint than currently fielded and legacy systems.
HCI brings virtualization and the enterprise cloud to the tactical edge, benefitting end users with
a streamlined, integrated system offering increased storage capacities, such that a separate
storage area network (SAN) is no longer needed.
RAPID DEPLOYMENT
HCI simplifies complex systems, streamlining and speeding both deployment and maintenance.
An HCI system can be deployed rapidly, and can be up and running in a few hours or less in most
cases. HCI systems avoid the many integration issues and complexity associated with multi-
vendor, ad hoc environments, which require considerable time and effort for installation, upgrade
or expansion, and maintenance. A single vendor tightly integrates hardware and software
components, ensuring they work together seamlessly in the HCI solution, which is more efficient
and reliable, reduces hands-on management and administration, and offers a lower total cost of
ownership (TCO).

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HCI brings enterprise-class features and functionality to the field through commercial off-the-shelf
(COTS) technologies, which deliver several key benefits. The use of COTS technologies enables
organizations to benefit from: the rapid pace of commercial technology advancement, cost
savings from economies of scale, and far greater component availability and fewer obsolescence
issues over a long operational life.
HCI systems don’t require specialized knowledge for maintenance and administration, whereas
many ad hoc environments must rely on the expertise of several different specialists to service
three or more separate solutions. In stark contrast, an IT generalist can service an entire HCI
setup – whether one system or many. COTS technologies, especially those connected to the IoT,
tend to be easier to troubleshoot than their proprietary counterparts.
Systems need to be reliable, especially when deployed in tactical environments and mission-
critical applications. In fact, even if one node in an HCI solution fails, the system keeps working.
Downtime is minimized with help from HCI’s self-healing infrastructure, which proves particularly
useful when systems can’t be serviced immediately. In fact, the software-centric hyperconverged
infrastructure lends itself well to remote technical support to further increase already high system
availability, or reliability.
HCI solutions can provide significant cost savings compared to the cost of acquiring and
maintaining three separate systems. Lower-priced systems and linear upgrades can potentially
speed return on investment (ROI) and streamline acquisition and technology refresh cycles,
effectively putting the latest advanced technology in the hands of eagerly awaiting personnel
faster.
SCALABILITY AND SECURITY
Data growth is unpredictable. Analysts indicate 90 percent of the world’s data has been generated
in just the past few years, which makes it incredibly difficult to predict future data management
needs. Data processing, networking, and storage systems, therefore, need to be scalable to better
accommodate future growth.
HCI is scalable; users can start small, such as with a single HCI system, and expand as required
or desired. HCI’s linear scalability ensures that organizations can ramp up their capabilities just
by adding on more systems, with minimal effort or downtime. HCI’s fast, effortless scalability is in
stark contrast to methods currently used at many organizations, including militaries, which have

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historically added on more servers, nodes, and switches – and invested significant IT time and
effort in integrating legacy and modern systems, trying to get dissimilar devices to communicate
and work together. HCI, on the other hand, provides purpose-built, turnkey systems designed with
tightly integrated hardware that works together effectively and efficiently as a unified, cohesive
whole.
Data protection is a considerable concern for virtually all organizations, especially militaries. With
HCI, users need secure only one physical box. Top-of-the-line HCI solutions also incorporate data
protection software. Virtualization enables classified and unclassified data on the same system
without security concerns. The enterprise cloud further provides redundancy, or data replication,
for disaster recovery.
The ultimate system protection, however, comes in a rugged package. Rugged hardware is
designed from the ground up to be reliable and resilient, regardless of the how challenging the
terrain or extreme the environment. HCI systems are designed to deliver advanced, sophisticated
capabilities in a portable package. To be deployable, particularly in extreme tactical environments,
HCI solutions should be housed in a rugged platform designed for long life and constructed of
strong materials.
TRUE TACTICAL HCI
History has shown that commercial and enterprise hardware are quickly and easily destroyed in
long- or even medium-term deployment in tactical environments. Exposure to drops, shock and
vibration, and various elements common of tactical environments – freezing temperatures, sand,
sea spray, and even mist and fog – renders systems designed and intended for office
environments unreliable and then unusable.
Deploying an enterprise HCI system in tactical environments would stunt its usable life, but rugged
HCI systems designed and tested to withstand extreme conditions fare exceedingly better with a
much lower cost of ownership. Military officials and personnel learned the value of rugged
hardware decades ago, and rely on rugged enclosures and hardware design techniques to bring
commercial and enterprise-level technology, including HCI, to personnel in the field and at the
tactical edge.

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SELECTING AN HCI SOLUTION
Rugged HCI systems, designed for deployment in tactical environments, are true hybrid solutions
that deliver the best of a few worlds – rugged, combat-proven and field-tested hardware,
commercial networking equipment, and enterprise cloud and virtualization technologies. Consider
HCI systems that combine proven, industry-leading technologies from well-respected, trusted
providers to reap benefits over a long operational life.
HCI systems consolidate several high-tech solutions in a single, sophisticated box, supported by
a single vendor. Working with a single supplier is a big benefit to HCI, compared to the frustration
that can stem from multi-vendor setups. It is advantageous to select an industry partner with a
positive track record for providing responsive and knowledgeable technical support.
ENABLING THE ENTERPRISE CLOUD AT THE TACTICAL EDGE
Crystal Group, a longtime designer and manufacturer of fail-safe computing architecture and
rugged electronics able to withstand harsh environments and deployed on 500 military programs
to date, has partnered with enterprise cloud, virtualization, and software-defined storage leaders
to bring the benefits of hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) and enterprise-level capabilities to
tactical environments.
Rugged enterprise cloud systems from Crystal Group harness HCI and integrate the company’s
rugged servers with Brocade networking switches and a choice of Nutanix enterprise cloud
solutions and VMware virtualization and cloud computing software.
ENTERPRISE CLOUD AND COTS
Crystal Group’s commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) portfolio includes a rugged HCI solution
featuring Nutanix Acropolis and Prism software loaded on the Crystal Group RS2616PS18
Rugged 2U Server with Brocade ICX switches. The following technologies combine in a cohesive
HCI system in tactical environments.
The Crystal Group RS2616PS18 Rugged 2U Server is designed to deliver high-performance
computer processing and high-end storage capacities in a compact footprint (3.5 x 7.5 x 18
inches). The rugged server is housed in a rugged, rack-mounted, carbon-fiber chassis with an 18-
inch depth, and weighs 29 pounds when fully loaded with drives. The RS2616PS18 boasts Intel
Broadwell central processing units (CPUs) and Dual 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) connectivity, and

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accommodates six to 16 solid-state drives
(SSDs) to provide up to 1.6 terabytes (TB)
of storage capacity. The rugged server is
tested to withstand operating temperatures
between -55 and +85 degrees Celsius,
humidity between 20 percent and 95
percent, shock to 20g, and vibe to
4.43Grms. It also meets or exceeds several
key military and electromagnetic
compatibility standards (see Rugged Server
Standards list).
Nutanix Acropolis scale-out data fabric for
storage, compute, and virtualization
combines feature-rich, software-defined
storage with built-in, enterprise-class
virtualization. Acropolis can run virtually any
application at any scale, and eliminates the
need for standalone storage area network
(SAN) or network attached storage (NAS)
solutions.
Nutanix Prism one-click management for
data center operations provides a simplified
way to manage virtual environments.
Powered by advanced data analytics and
heuristics, Prism streamlines common
workflows within a datacenter, eliminating
the need to have disparate management
solutions.
Brocade ICX scalable switches deliver a scalable, high-performance network solution that
leverages the Brocade Campus Fabric technology for simplified network deployment and
management, scale-out networking to increase ports incrementally when and where needed, and
investment protection. Brocade ICX switches support auto-configuration, simplifying deployment
with a truly plug-and-play experience and automating feature configuration without requiring a
Crystal Group RS2616PS18 Rugged 2U Server & RCS7750-48 Switch
Crystal Group’s RS2616PS18 Rugged Server is tested
to the following standards:
MIL-STD-810, Operational Temperature, Method 501/502
Procedure I/II: -15°C to +55°C, +71°C option, with select
CPUs; -40°C operational with temperature kit and SSD
MIL-STD-810, Storage, Method 501, Procedure I/II: -55°C
to +85°C
MIL-STD-810, Humidity, Method 507, Procedure II: 240
hours with humidity kit
MIL-STD-810, Altitude, Method 500: 12,500ft operation,
40,000ft transport
MIL-STD-810, Vibration, Method 514, Procedure I: 4.43
GRMS, 5-2000Hz, 60 min/ axis with solid state drives +
vibration kits
MIL-STD-810, Shock, Method 516, Procedures I/V: 20g,
11msec--functional shock; 40g, 11msec crash hazard
shock
MIL-S-901, Grade A, Class 2, Type B
MIL-S-901, Grade A, Class 2, Type A: With solid state
drives & vibration kits
Systems may require an internal kit to meet or exceed the
following standards:
AC, FCC compliant
AC, MIL-STD-461, RE102, CE102 compliant
DC, MIL-STD-461, RE102, CE102 compliant
RTCA DO-160 Section 21, Category M

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highly-trained network engineer onsite. Providing simple but powerful enterprise-level network
management and monitoring, Brocade ICX switches benefit from Brocade HyperEdge
Architecture for deployment flexibility and consolidated management, and sFlow hardware-
accelerated network monitoring on every port.
VMware VIRTUALIZATION
Crystal Group delivers HCI systems and rugged hardware running any of a variety of VMware
software, including data center, networking and security, cloud management, personal desktop,
and digital workspace solutions. In fact, CIOReview named Crystal Group as one of the “Most
Promising VMware Solution Providers” in 2016. Visit:
http://magazine.cioreview.com/magazines/November2016/VMware/
Defense and other organizations deploy VMware software, as well as Crystal Group rugged
hardware, for semi-permanent and mobile applications, such as forward operating bases (FOBs)
and mobile military shelters, in tactical environments.
VMware's Horizon Cloud with On-Premises Infrastructure combines the cloud with the simplicity
of HCI to rapidly and securely deliver virtualized desktops and applications to end users across
devices and locations through a single platform. VMware Horizon is designed to boost the
simplicity, flexibility, speed, and scalability of IT and data center installations.
VMware vSphere cloud computing virtualization enables private cloud capabilities, such as server
consolidation and mobility; provides enhanced resource allocation; and supports disaster
recovery. VMware vSphere, which can be a central component of any HCI, requires external,
shared storage for hosts within the virtual infrastructure to access enterprise features.
VMware vSAN software, a core building block of the software-defined data center, works with the
latest server and storage technologies to provide a common storage platform, ensuring access to
mission-critical data and a consistent experience whether on-premises, off-premises, or via the
cloud. vSAN is designed to extend virtualization to storage seamlessly, leverage server-side
resources, accelerate responsiveness and time-consuming tasks, and enable the rapid
deployment and scaling of compute and storage infrastructure.
The VMware vRealize cloud management platform addresses the health, performance, and
capacity of IT operations for compute, storage, network, and application-level resources across a

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hybrid and heterogeneous IT environment. vRealize helps users manage the complete lifecycle
of services delivered in the HCI or hybrid IT environment to improve system efficiency,
performance, and availability.
GETTING STARTED
In the end, HCI systems designed to be deployed in tactical environments combine rugged
hardware and robust software to deliver a wealth of enterprise-level benefits in the field. Rugged
HCI solutions help to increase availability, security, continuity, and sustainability to users whose
missions and lives likely depend upon reliable access to mission-critical information and
applications.
The time to adopt HCI in tactical environments is now, and getting started is both fast and easy.
Contact Crystal Group to learn more about HCI and to start consolidating and streamlining IT;
increasing agility, availability, and security; and harnessing cloud computing to support mission
goals, to do more with less, and deliver and extend access to critical resources on demand, from
virtually any location.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jim Shaw is the Executive Vice President of Engineering at Crystal Group. Since
2006, Jim has led the engineering department and the new product development
team.
Jim’s revolutionary design prowess led to the birth of the rugged series (RS)
chassis for the military and industrial computing markets. During Jim’s tenure at Crystal Group
the company has expanded its rugged product lines with embedded, storage, displays, switches,
carbon fiber options, and custom power supply designs.
Jim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa State University
and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Iowa. Prior to joining Crystal
Group, Jim held a management position in engineering at Rockwell Collins, located in Cedar
Rapids, Iowa. While at Rockwell Collins, he was honored three times as an Engineer of the Year
nominee for his work in high performance electronics packaging. He has authored or co-authored
eight international patents.

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ABOUT CRYSTAL GROUP INC.
Crystal Group Inc., an employee-owned small business located in Hiawatha, Iowa, USA, is a
technology innovation leader specializing in both custom and COTS products for defense,
government and industrial markets since 1987. Crystal Group designs and manufactures
installation-ready rugged servers, displays, networking devices, embedded systems, power
supplies and storage devices that fit critical applications in demanding environmental conditions.
The company is certified to quality management standards AS9100C:2009 and ISO
9001:2008. Crystal Group products meet and exceed MIL-STDs 810, 167-1, 461, MIL-S-901,
IEEE and IEC industrial standards. Additionally, the company offers integration services,
configuration management, product life-cycle planning and 5+ year warranties.
Contact:
Leslie George, Director of Marketing
Leslie.george@crystalrugged. com
800. 378. 1636
crystalrugged. com
© 2017 Crystal Group Inc. All rights reserved. All marks are property of the respective owners. Design and specifications
are subject to change.