Schneider Electric, StorMagic and HPE team up on ‘Edge in a Box’

Schneider and alliance partners reveal latest pre-integrated edge solution

Schneider Electric and alliance partners StorMagic and Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) have launched a pre-integrated edge solution to alleviate some of the challenges of deploying compact IT infrastructure in distributed environments.

The companies released details of what is being marketed as an “Edge in a Box”, utilising Schneider’s 6U Wall Mount EcoStruxure-enabled micro data centre, StorMagic SvSAN software, HPE ProLiant Servers, and HPE Aruba networking.

While use cases for edge infrastructure are now well-established, deploying and maintaining small facilities in remote locations brings with it a host of challenges that suppliers are seeking to mitigate. These include the considerable task of testing and commissioning at scale in hard-to-reach locations and minimising set-up complexity where experts are in short supply.

In a press release announcing the launch, Schneider sighted supermarket chains, high-street pharmacies, service stations, universities, hospitals, and research labs as use cases for the compact solution, which can be wall-mounted to save space in constrained locations.

While the solution is pre-integrated, users can customize the plug-in-play data centre according to their own requirements via Schneider’s global network of channel partners. Options include a choice of VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V or Linux KVM hypervisor, and a Lithium ion-based APC Smart-UPS.

“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, IT Channels, Schneider Electric, Europe. “The 6U EcoStruxure Micro Data Center is the smallest, secure and lightweight data centre solution in the market, helping organizations to quickly modernize their IT infrastructure, while reducing the costs associated with deployment, servicing and maintenance.”

The 6U Wall Mount ‘Edge in a Box’ is available immediately globally. Pricing and discounts are also available via the StorMagic and APC by Schneider Electric Channel Partner Programs.