Amazon Web Services has launched a new device called the AWS Snowcone that it is billing as the newest and smallest member of the AWS Snow family of physical ads computing, and storage, and data transfer devices. The AWS Snowcone is aimed directly at rugged or disconnected environments.
The Snowcone weighs 4.5 pounds and features 8TB of internal storage. It's compact enough and rugged to make it usable in a variety of environments, including desktops, data centers, messenger bags, vehicles, and in conjunction with drones. Snowcone measures 9-inches long x 6-inches wide x 3-inches tall. The device enclosure is tamper-evident and tamper-resistant and uses a Trusted Platform Module to ensure security and full chain-of-custody for data.
The device encrypts data at rest and in transit using keys managed by the AWS Key Management Service, and the keys are never stored on the device. Snowcone features an E Ink shipping label designed to ensure that the device is sent to the correct address and to aid in tracking. Snowcone uses dual CPUs, 4GB memory, wired or wireless network access, and a USB-C power cord or an optional battery.
The device has enough compute power to launch EC2 instances and to use AWS IoT Greengrass. The E ink label is very cool, and the rugged device needs no packaging for shipment. Ordering the Snowcone requires the user to open the Snowcapped family Console and click Create Job. It's unclear what sort of cost is associated with the device at this time. In other Amazon news, not long ago a price for the PS5 leaked on the Amazon UK website.
