High Capacity Storage Systems Look to PCI Express

Massive, data-intensive applications are becoming a fixture in today’s C4ISR platforms. Fewer boots on the ground means more electronic eyes and ears filling in the gaps and coordinating information. C4ISR systems need to juggle huge amounts of signal and imaging data from incoming intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sources, drawn from radar, sonar, high definition video and infrared sensors to name just a few.

Data-intensive applications continuously drive demand for high volume local storage capacity. High bandwidth incoming data streaming into the front end of advanced systems can create a number of challenges with regard to the storage array on the back end. By definition, SWaP (size, weight and power) considerations in deployed equipment increasingly demand that on-board systems economize on all three metrics. Ensuring sufficient storage volumes in the space allowed is a pretty basic idea.