High capacity, secure access, mobile storage exchange system

1. A mobile data storage exchange system comprising:

a mobile data center (MDC) comprising a volumetric container having at least one IT equipment operating therein, the at least one IT equipment including at least one information handling system (IHS);

a storage compartment configured within the volumetric container and accessible via an access panel from an exterior of the volumetric container;

a plurality of individual storage slots within the storage compartment and accessible via the access panel from the exterior of the volumetric container, each storage slot providing a docking port for connecting a removable data storage device (RDSD), the docking port enabling access, by one or more of the at least one IHS, to data stored on the RDSD; and

at least one RDSD inserted into a first storage slot of the plurality of individual storage slots.

2. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 1 ; wherein the RDSD is a removable high density storage device that facilitates rapid transfer of data to the MDC from edge data acquisition systems and to a data center facility.

3. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a first storage access panel having a locking mechanism, the storage access panel being a hinged door of the storage compartment, the locking mechanism communicatively coupled to a security access pad that enables entry of access information by a user to open the hinged door and access an interior of the storage compartment, wherein access to the interior of the storage compartment is provided only in response to receipt and verification of an entry of the access information at the first security access pad.

4. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a second security access pad communicatively coupled to a locking mechanism of each docking port, the second security access pad enabling a user to enter unique access data required to open the locking mechanism for a particular docking port of the plurality of docking ports and release a corresponding RDSD held within the particular docking port.

5. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 4 , further comprising a security algorithm executed on the management IHS, the security algorithm configuring the data storage exchange system to:

detect entry of an access request at the security access pad, the access request including a unique access code for accessing a particular RDSD;

compare the access request and unique access code to pre-authorized unique access codes that allow access to remove and/or insert an RDSD of the plurality of RDSDs; and

in response to verifying the entered unique access code matches one of the pre-authorized unique access codes, unlock the docking port of a particular RDSD and signaling an unlocked status of the particular RDSD, the unlocked status enabling physical removal of the particular RDSD and insertion of a replacement RDSD into the docking port.

6. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 4 , further comprising:

a high capacity onboard storage;

a high bandwidth upload system bus (HBUS) communicatively coupling data connections within the docking ports to the high capacity on-board storage for efficient data upload from the RDSD inserted into the docking port; and

a high bandwidth download system port communicatively coupled to the high capacity on-board storage and which enables coupling to a high bandwidth data bus to facilitate data download to a facility storage, the HBDS port located on an exterior-surface of the container for easy access and connectivity.

7. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 4 , wherein the MDC is a velocity cooled (VC) MDC that comprises a ram air cooling system that provides a flow of cooling air across the storage compartment and the high capacity storage to maintain the RDSDs and HCS within n operating temperature range during data transfer and data processing operations.

8. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 2 , further comprising:

a visual indicator associated with each docking port, the visual indicator enabling communication of a status related to the storage device, the status being one from among (i) unlocked and ready for removal, (ii) ready for MDSM insertion, (iii) data transfer completed, (iv) device non-functional or corrupted.

9. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an on-board high capacity storage; and

a management IHS that is communicatively coupled to the high capacity storage and to each docking port, the management IHS executing a data management and integration (ME) module that configures the management IHS to:

detect insertion of a RDSD into a docking port; and

coordinate a transfer of data from the RDSD to the on-board high capacity storage.

10. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 9 , wherein the DMI module further configures the management IHS to:

in response to detecting insertion of the RDSD, initiating a security protocol to confirm the RDSD does not have corrupted data or malware, the security protocol including running a virus scan on the RDSD prior to transferring the data to the on-board high capacity storage.

11. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 9 , wherein the DMI module further configures the management IHS to trigger at least one of the IT equipment to initiate processing of the data retrieved from the RDSD, wherein data is automatically processed within the mobile data storage exchange system while the MDSS is operating in the field.

12. The mobile data storage exchange system of claim 9 , wherein the DMI module further configures the management IHS to:

detect a connection of the on-board high capacity storage with a facility management HIS;

confirm that the detected facility management IHS is a verified data aggregation device; and

enable the facility management IHS access to retrieve, copy, and/or manipulate the data stored on the on-board high capacity storage.

13. A method for enabling mobile collection and processing of in-field collected data, the method comprising:

detecting entry of an access request at a security access pad of a storage compartment configured within a container housing of a mobile data center (MDC), the MDC having at least one IT equipment operating therein, the storage compartment being a part of a mobile data storage exchange system (MDSS) of the MDC, the access request including a unique access code for accessing a removable data storage device (RDSD) from among multiple RDSDs housed within the storage compartment;

comparing the access request and unique access code to pre-authorized unique access codes that allow access to remove and/or insert an RDSD at the storage compartment; and

in response to verifying the entered unique access code matches one of the pre-authorized unique access codes, unlocking the docking port of a particular RDSD and signaling an unlocked status of the particular RDSD, the unlocked status enabling physical removal of the particular RDSD and insertion of a replacement RDSD into the docking port.

14. The method of claim 13 , further comprising, in response to unlocking the docking port, signaling an unlocked status of the particular RDSD.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein the signaling further comprises providing a visually detectable signal to indicate a current lock/unlock status of the particular RDSD and docking port.

16. The method of claim 14 , further comprising illuminating a light emitting diode (LED) to a first color associated with an unlock status, the LED providing a different illumination status while the docking port is locked with a RDSD coupled thereto.

17. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

detecting insertion of a RDSD into a docking port;

in response to detecting insertion of the RDSD, initiating a security protocol to confirm the RDSD does not have corrupted data or malware, the security protocol including running a virus scan on the RDSD prior to enabling a transfer of the data to the on-board high capacity storage; and

coordinating a transfer of data from the RDSD to an on-board high capacity storage.

18. The method of claim 13 , further comprising triggering at least one of the IT equipment to initiate processing of data retrieved from the RDSD, wherein data is automatically processed within the mobile data storage exchange system while the MDC is operating in the field.

19. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

detecting a connection of the on-board high capacity storage with a facility management IHS;

confirming that the detected facility management IHS is a verified data aggregation device; and

enabling the facility management IHS access to retrieve, copy, and/or manipulate the data stored on the on-board high capacity storage.

20. The method of claim 13 , further comprising:

receiving a first access code at a first access panel that controls an opening and closing of a door panel covering the storage compartment;

comparing the first access code to at least one unlock code for the first access panel of the storage compartment; and

in response to the first access code matching at least one unlock code, enabling opening of the first access panel and access to the storage compartment beneath the first access panel.