NASHUA, N.H., 18 Dec. 2006.NextComputing, creators of the FlexTop portable supercomputer, announce a feature addition to its portable NextDimension system, the NextPak massive storage option.
"The NextPak option on the NextDimension is ideal for many vertical solutions applications requiring massive data sets and high performance sustained transfers in an all-in-one small footprint, mobile appliance, which could be used as a data recorder and/or data generator, for example." explains Bob Labadini, president and CTO of NextComputing.
The NextPak is designed specifically for single-box mass storage needs. Configuration possibilities include up to five 2.5-inch HDDs. The maximum storage and performance specifications include: 500GB SATA/7200 RPM RAID, 900GB SATA/5400 RPM RAID, or 240GB SAS/10KRPM RAID.
The NextPak module is a factory option that is attached to the lower, back portion of the chassis. Very thin at only 1 inch, this mass storage option does not compromise the flextop's small size. With the NextPak installed, the system has one free full length PCI Express or PCI-X slot. The NextPak drives are accessible with thumb screws on the back panel, and the drives themselves can also be removed.
Applications that will benefit from this configuration of the NextDimension include sniffer applications for data monitoring, traffic generation appliance applications, high speed analog data acquisition, and enterprise class server/virtualization applications where high-performance processing is required.
Among the industries NextComputing is targeting with this newest feature are Military/Intelligence, Broadcasting, and Oil and Gas. Within all, applications are emerging where massive storage is needed for capture, analysis, and rendering in the field to reduce costs. The review of large imagery data sets utilizing a small, portable form factor in one unified box is a need the NextDimension with NextPak fulfills.
NextComputing also recently announced the availability of thin, lightweight, 17-inch flat panel monitors. One of these monitors can clip onto the front of the NextDimension with the NextPak option attached to the back. At a total of 2 inches, these options together maintain the NextDimension's small form factor and portability.
The system itself, with its high performance AMD Opteron processors, open standards architecture, and multiple I/O options, is flexible.
