Schneider Electric, StorMagic and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have launched a collaborative Edge in a Box in a wall-mounted data centre to help IT professionals overcome problems with distributed environments.

Available immediately across the globe, the joint product uses Schneider Electric’s 6U wall-mount EcoStruxure Micro data centre, StorMagic SvSan software and HPE ProLiant servers to deliver simplified, pre-integrated and cost-effective IT systems specifically designed for edge computing environments.

It meets the compute requirements of any small or space constrained site. It can be wall-mounted to save space and offers customisation through a global network of channel partners. From supermarket chains, high-street pharmacies and service stations, to universities, hospitals and research labs, Edge in a Box can meet the requirement for resilient power, low-latency connectivity and secure, on-premise servers and data storage at the edge.

Comprising StorMagic SvSan software, two HPE ProLiant servers, a choice of VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V or Linux KVM hypervisor, alongside APC Smart-UPS with lithium-ion models, APC power distribution unit and HPE Aruba networking, the system is optimised to run edge applications with high uptime.

Together with EcoStruxure Micro data centres and HPE ProLiant servers, StorMagic Edge in a Box delivers a combination of cost, performance and lightweight, high-availability edge compute for organisations of any size – from one to thousands of sites.

“Customers with edge sites are experiencing a number of unique challenges, including budget constraints, lack of space and limited, or non-existent IT support,” said David Terry, vice president at Schneider Electric. “The 6U EcoStruxure Micro data centre is the smallest, secure and lightweight data centre in the market, helping organisations quickly modernise their IT infrastructure, while reducing the costs associated with deployment, servicing and maintenance.”

Edge in a Box lets IT professionals:

• Mitigate IT downtime and impact on business through available, resilient IT.
• Reduce the complexity of on-site work, testing or commissioning through pre-integration.
• Simplify system configuration and programming.
• Reduceorder complexity and delivery times for rapid installation.

“IT teams must be able to quickly deliver what the business needs – simplicity, low-cost and 100 per cent uptime to ensure confidence that business-critical applications are always running,” said Bruce Kornfeld, chief product officer for StorMagic. “By combining StorMagic SvSan with APC by Schneider Electric infrastructure and HPE servers, customers can work with their integration partner of choice to customise, build and deploy Edge in a Box that meet their budget and space requirements.”

The joint system is quick and easy to deploy, and can include Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure IT data centre infrastructure management platform as an option. With real-time data analytics and predictive servicing capabilities, EcoStruxure IT remote monitoring enables users to work with managed service providers, IT providers and value added resellers to increase uptime and reduce the cost of on-site maintenance.

“At HPE, we are committed to enabling our partners with the technologies and resources to accelerate time-to-market for their products,” said David Stone, HPE vice president. “Through the HPE technology partner programme, our partners can efficiently validate their innovations with a range of our storage, networking and compute offerings. This portfolio includes HPE ProLiant servers, which are high performing, secure and versatile, and can power various workloads and increase outcomes. By integrating HPE ProLiant servers with advanced technologies from Schneider Electric, we are able to power the edge in the box. Together we are making it easier for customers to deploy and manage edge computing and enable them to focus on unlocking new value and creating new experiences from edge-driven data.”

EcoStruxure IT offers a free 30-day trial for end-users and partners. Its public API provides integration with third-party management platforms, increasing resilience across multiple edge locations without the need for local IT support. Users can also leverage EcoStruxure Asset Advisor and Schneider Electric’s service bureau for round-the-clock remote monitoring and troubleshooting support.