U.S. army takes cloud computing to Afghanistan
TAMPA — The U.S. military is taking cloud computing into rugged terrain in Afghanistan, where according to Lt. Gen. Richard Zahner, the basic hardware and software technology is being packed into mobile boxes that later this year will start to play a key role in networking for soldiers in the sky and on the ground.
“We now have a government-owned cloud set,” said Lt. Gen. Zahner during his keynote address at the Biometric Consortium Conference here. “We’re leveraging cloud technology where it’s needed.”
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) makes use of private cloud computing in the United States for the benefit of the military, for instance in a data center run by HP.
But this is the first time that military-run cloud computing has gone to Afghanistan, where warfighters in the field may depend on it for critical surveillance and decision-making information via secure networks. “The goal is to get precise and relevant information to the warfighter,” Zahner said.
The military’s mobile cloud computing nodes will be assembled from specially designed hardware (measuring about 2 by 2 by 2 feet) into a terrestrial IP-based network that will include 3G wireless and security (including biometrics) and will cover rugged areas of Afghanistan.
Various edge nodes for brigades and battalions are expected to be deployed, including with airships that will remain airborne for extended numbers of days as nodes to support signals intelligence and video.
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