Rugged Servers: What Do You Mean 'Stress-Tested?'

Durability, reliability, and security are three key characteristics that every worthwhile, stress-tested rugged server should have. After all, you want your particular application, whether military, industrial, or commercial, to be as consistent, stable, and low-maintenance as possible.

Trenton Systems' ruggedized rack-mount servers are stress-tested to the extreme right here in the United States. We ensure that your commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) or custom server is able to withstand even the harshest of conditions on land, in air, and at sea.
But just what exactly does "stress-tested" mean, and how does it guarantee durability, reliability, and security in rugged computing?

Durability

Photo: hot, cold temperatures

In the rugged computing industry, servers and workstations usually have their hardware - think CPUs and memory modules - stress-tested to adhere to the in-field performance expectations of customers. They also meet certain military and industrial standards, including MIL-STD-810, MIL-STD-461, and MIL-S-901. Each of these standards tests for a specific purpose. The MIL-STD-461 tests for electromagnetic compatibility, while MIL-STD-810 and MIL-S-901 test for various environmental stressors and high-impact physical shock, respectively.

Trenton's rugged servers not only meet these requirements, but our rack mount design allows you to easily customize, replace, or repair your server's components. You just simply remove and get to work. That way, you don't have to overhaul the entire system just to solve a minor issue. 

Trenton also temperature-tests its servers in accordance with MIL-STD-810, ensuring a wide range of temperature variability on all fronts.

Our test engineers can place over 100 probes on a board before the system is placed into our awesome environmental testing chamber. The chamber lets us control the environment while the probes report on temperature fluctuations. Our engineers then calculate the minimum and maximum temperatures for each component. Whether blazing hot or bone-chillingly cold, you're in business.

Trenton also tests for humidity, vibration, and much more via our partnerships with third-party testing laboratories.

Certain military and industrial environments are already stressful enough. With Trenton, you can leave the stress to us. Your program or application deserves a reliable rugged server that will let you and your team get back to focusing on the mission, not the machine.

Our systems are tested for months in our lab before they are released to the world. We test numerous operating systems to ensure that everything is good.

- Michael Bowling, CEO of Trenton Systems

Reliability

Photo: rack mount server

Stress-tested servers are tried-and-true machines with a long service life. Some rugged computers and components last, at best, three to seven years. That's pretty good, but why stop there?

We've all been there. We buy a computer that seems like it fits our needs, and after just a few years, it fails, or you encounter issues that cost exorbitant amounts of money and time to fix. Now we have to go out and buy another computer or drop more dollars on an expensive repair or replacement part. Ugh. We're already stressed just thinking about it.

At Trenton, our average computer life cycle surpasses the industry average by 3.67 times. Our computers and components are built to withstand the test of time, lasting, on average, between 11 and 15 years.

The result? No repeating the design, qualifying, and certifying processes, and a hefty chunk of money saved. And that's money you can use to focus on what matters.

A shorter computer life cycle robs you of the hours that could have been allocated toward other opportunities. In terms of expanding your project scope, the opportunity cost becomes clear, quickly.

- Tony Oliva, Project Manager at Trenton Systems

Security

Stress-tested servers wouldn't be worth their salt without tight security, especially given the increasingly sophisticated efforts of hackers to steal, destroy, or leak sensitive information.

Security breaches can be stressful, destabilize your business or organization, and cause immense damage to the server you spent time and money on perfecting. Trenton Systems stays abreast of the latest cybersecurity trends and technologies to ensure that this doesn't happen.

We constantly monitor for the latest security updates, and our engineers implement solutions quickly, whether with regard to our customizable BIOS, firmware, Intel's Management Engine (IME), and other technologies.

As always, customers may request additional security enhancements to fit their needs. Take a look at how Trenton Systems helped a military prime meet a United States Department of Defense security requirement here.

In addition, feel free to reach out to us with any questions and concerns about improving the security of your Trenton rugged server.

The Lowdown

Stress-testing is a complex process that involves taking a rugged server and pushing it to its limits to ensure durability, reliability, and security. Improperly stress-tested systems are at risk of failure during operation and not meeting required military and industrial standards. When lives and national security are at stake, this is particularly unacceptable.

Trenton Systems understands that its customers need a durable, reliable, and secure rugged server so that they can carry out their duties without fear, worry, and stress. Time and time again, Trenton has proven that its powerful military and industrial servers can withstand the test, and stress, of time.

Whether operating inside a tank or powering an extensive surveillance system, Trenton Systems takes stress-testing seriously so that you can get back to what's important.