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The Chassis - Netronome
Client:
Rob Bostedo, Director of Manufacturing at Netronome Systems, Inc.
Manufacturing Process:
Design & prototype manufacture Company Description:
Netronome Systems develops high-performance network flow processing, deep packet inspection and application acceleration solutions for networking, communications and security appliances and the IT organizations that use them. The company was founded in the United States of America in August 2003 by three individuals with successful track records in the networking business.
The Problem:
Netronome came to MotionTouch with a design requirement to develop a uniquely styled lozenge-shaped 19†chassis for the Netronome Open Appliance 8100, a full-function turnkey solution that combines Netronome's application acceleration cards and flow management software.
The Challenge:
The design should establish Netronome's product as a uniquely functioning device. Its design style was intended to echo a previously successful industrial-strength network campaign. Netronome wanted the fascia design to feature a grill covering the fans, which would possibly resemble the front grill of a sports car. Evocative adjectives associated with this design were: strong, fast, powerful and sleek.
Netronome suggested that the chassis be built between two extruded aluminum sidepieces in order to create the lozenge shape. The front fascia design should incorporate a touch-panel device, which would be held permanently and used to control the product.
The Process:
A key issue in the design of the unit was the ease with which service engineers could access the internal components in the chassis. MotionTouch recommended that the fascia panel and base holding be able to slide out of the chassis on rails. This would enable easy servicing.
Another important factor was the thermodynamic design of the chassis. The internal components generate heat, requiring constant air flow to cool the system. MotionTouch evaluated and recommended a fan-driven cooling system comprising three filtered fans to ensure that dust particles were not sucked in.
The Solution:
By working closely with the Netronome team, MotionTouch soon established the design concept, allowing a full CAD model to be produced within three weeks.
MotionTouch delivered a design with a front panel configuration including an air grill, 4, 8 or 16 RJ45 ports, 2 USB ports, a power button, a reset switch, status LEDs and a housing touch-panel display using an ARM processor.
The touch-panel processing unit would not be user-removable, so it needed to be used as part of the front panel. The design allowed for easy access to the three buttons located on the top of the display. Power was provided and it connected to the chassis via the base of the processing unit.
The Product:
The chassis' front panel has an industrial appearance, being made from brushed aluminum, and gives a feeling of sleekness, speed, power and reliability whilst holding the display providing the RJ45 ports and sufficient air flow for the fans.
The chassis differs from previous-generation products in that the top stays fixed within the rack cabinet, while the base gets pulled out for easy access to the internal workings. The lozenge shape was created using folded sheet steel in order to provide for the required internal components and stay within the 2U height limit.
The Outcome:
The product was launched in February 2007. Its styling and ease-of-use contributed to an excellent reception at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.
Rob Bostedo says, "MotionTouch delivered the product that we required in a very tight timescale. The MotionTouch design team was able to translate our product vision into reality. The product generated a fantastic response at the RSA show. I was impressed with both the responsiveness and attention to detail by the MotionTouch team. I enjoyed working with their team and look forward to working with MotionTouch in the future."
Henry Powell says, "The project excitement came from the design brief. Designing the chassis to look like a retro car grill is innovative and certainly very striking. The result was a very exciting product that really does justice to Netronome's remarkable technology. The technical challenge in meeting the space and thermal requirements exercised all of our minds as this project ran on a very demanding time schedule. The team worked through the Christmas period to deliver on time. We are very pleased to have been involved in this great success."
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