Cloud computing heads to the battle’s edge in an 88-pound box

Presented by Oracle Oracle's logo

In early 2021, Oracle Cloud conducted a crucial technology demonstration for the United States military as part of Cyber Quest 2021: standing up a tactical cloud in a forward operating base (FOB). Tactical clouds allow warfighters to access and process data locally, usually in remote regions, instead of sending it back and forth to a base over constrained networks. With powerful computing and storage resources at hand, synchronizing only as needed with the cloud, troops gain faster data processing, plus insights that can yield a battlefield advantage. The exercise was part of Cyber Quest 2021, which is hosted by the US Army Futures Command (AFC) to allow companies to demonstrate new technologies in simulated combat conditions. Lessons learned from the 13-day event can inform procurement requirements for technologies the Army needs to deter global conflicts.

Roving edge devices and infrastructure

Oracle showed how it could deploy a Roving Edge Device (RED)—ruggedized portable server nodes with core infrastructure and cloud platform services—in a tactical operations command center, running on generated power. The technology was able to process biometric authentication and encryption algorithms in real time, for example, and thus secure identification, credentials, and access management.

Oracle Roving Edge Infrastructure enabled the Oracle team to develop, test, and validate on Oracle Cloud in FOB conditions and then execute on the RED platform without modification, synchronizing with the cloud as needed. This integrated service extends the cloud’s power by delivering key capabilities to remote, austere environments.

Each Oracle RED is equipped with high-performance hardware, high-speed networking, and an embedded GPU, which supports advanced processing, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. Encased in a 3U military grade (MIL-STD-810) ruggedized shock mount case, the device weighs less than 88 pounds and is electromagnetically shielded to limit emanations and interference. Clusters are available in configurations from 5 to 15 nodes.

Investing in US government missions

Oracle’s commitment to the US government spans more than 40 years. With the shift to cloud that focus has not wavered, as the development of Oracle RED demonstrates. Oracle continues to invest heavily to bring commercial innovation and parity to US government missions. Our EverythingEverywhere commitment means government agencies can access the same services with consistent service level agreements (SLAs) in cloud regions that span all data security classifications, including Special Access Programs. Combined with a business model that favors price-performance advantage and low egress fees, Oracle offers compelling value for government agencies.

Oracle also offers dedicated regions to support all US government classification environments from headquarters to the mission edge. Unclassified workloads run in regions authorized through FedRAMP High and DISA Impact Level 5. Classified workloads are supported in a growing number of dedicated regions built to Department of Defense and Intelligence Community standards.

With more than 30 global regions and hundreds of services as of 2021, Oracle Cloud continues to rapidly expand. And for the most demanding workloads, such as geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) and satellite image analysis, Oracle Cloud enables the Department of Defense and other organizations to harness high performance computing without the upfront investment and complex maintenance of the past.

About Oracle Cloud

Oracle Cloud is the first public cloud built from the ground up to meet the needs of the most demanding enterprise processing and security requirements. Oracle Cloud is designed with security, performance, and interoperability as key tenets. With a full range of infrastructure, platform, and applications, Oracle Cloud delivers higher performance, lower cost, and easier migration.

This content is made possible by our sponsor Oracle; it is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of GovExec's editorial staff.

NEXT STORY: Making satellite imagery actionable for warfighters

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.