This new Amazon Web Services computer is near indestructible and almost as light as a laptop
Snowcone joins the rapidly expanding AWS family of devices
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
AmazonWeb Services has launched yet another product that it hopes will help customers add even more data to itscloud storageecosystem.
The new Snowcone device allows users to process data on-premise ahead of being transferred to Amazon’sdata centersand servers either physically (it comes with an e-ink label) or via the internet.
The machine is box-like in shape (23 cm x 15 cm x 8 cm) and weighs 2.1 kg, which is barely more than a 15-inchlaptop. It’s also ruggedized, meeting stringent ruggedization standards (ISTA-3A, ASTM D4169, and MIL-STD-810G) for free-fall shock and operational vibration.
Snowcone is also dust-tight and water resistant (meeting the IP65 International Protection Marking IEC standard) thanks to a combination of smart design, thick bumpers and plenty of shock absorbing material.
Inside there are two processors (Graviton2perhaps), 4GB of RAM, 8TB storage, a pair of USB Type-C connectors and two Ethernet ports.
The service is currently available only in North America and caters to a niche audience looking for what Amazon describes as “an IoT hub, data aggregation point, application monitor, or lightweight analytics engine.”
The first five days of on-premise usage are included in the service fee of $60. Any additional usage incurs an extra $5 per day, with a lost device fee of $2,000. In addition, while any data transferred into Amazon S3 is free, transferring it out will cost $30 per TB, which is rather expensive forcloud backup.
Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter
Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get all the top news, opinion, features and guidance your business needs to succeed!
Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled inwebsite buildersandweb hostingwhen DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.
Best genealogy tool of 2024
Best Linux distro for Windows users of 2024
The EU AI Act: What do CISOs need to know to strengthen AI security?
