--- title: Appliance date: 2026-04-08T14:18:00+02:00 author: Hannes Heckel canonical_url: "https://www.fast-lta.de/en/products/silent-ai/appliance" section: Product Pages --- AI appliance • Local inferencing • Made in Europe # Wunderschön. Höchste Performance. The Silent AI Appliance is a fine example of German engineering. It is based on our successful Silent Bricks performance storage solution and has everything a local AI system needs. [Overview & Software](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/products/silent-ai) • **Appliance** • [CARE](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/products/care) ### AI Appliance An AI appliance is a dedicated hardware unit in which an AI model, computing infrastructure (GPU), data storage and software stack are combined into a ready-to-operate system — as an alternative to a self-built AI server or cloud AI. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/ai-appliance) ### On-Premises AI On-premises AI refers to AI systems operated entirely on an organization's own hardware in its own data center or server room — without cloud connectivity, without data transfer to external services. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/on-premises-ai) ## Local AI systems are not all the same On-premises AI has undeniable advantages. Data protection, data sovereignty and cost independence are all arguments in favour of companies and public authorities running their own AI systems. However, many solutions come with drawbacks and require compromises. #### Too expensive Large companies often rely on AI systems developed entirely in-house, including custom LLMs. However, these specialised language models must be trained using the company’s own data and regularly retrained to ensure they can provide the most accurate answers possible. This requires enormous computing power in the form of high-end GPUs, which are becoming prohibitively expensive. #### Too cheap Thanks to YouTube, it is possible to put together your own local AI systems with relatively little effort. However, fine-tuning the components requires a great deal of expertise to ensure they do not hinder one another. Furthermore, these systems lack professional support and ongoing development. And due to the sharp rise in prices for storage and GPUs, performance and scalability are usually expensive or even impossible to achieve. ### On-Premises AI On-premises AI refers to AI systems operated entirely on an organization's own hardware in its own data center or server room — without cloud connectivity, without data transfer to external services. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/on-premises-ai) #### Short-sighted AI is evolving at an incredible pace. Some systems are locked into specific language models and are therefore unable to benefit from these advances. Others are undersized from the outset and not designed to accommodate growth or new possibilities. Both of these factors hinder the deployment of AI and can lead to more shadow AI, even though that is precisely what we are trying to avoid. ## Silent AI is different Silent AI is the turnkey, professional AI system for businesses, public authorities and organisations that wish to use AI with sensitive data without having to worry about lengthy setup processes or IT maintenance. ### Performance A modern platform with ample performance reserves in every respect, from the network to the power supply ### Current GPU The latest Nvidia GPU for fast inference handling thousands of requests per hour, with sufficient memory for modern language models ### Silent AI Vault Storage modules with high-speed NVMe storage and 12, 24, 48 or 96 TB (gross) for local vector data, with multiple layers of redundancy to prevent data loss ### CARE SLA 1, 3 or 5-year contract terms with fixed terms and conditions, no hidden costs, optional 24/7 availability ## Der Silent AI Vault Silent AI stores all data locally in a vector database, which the language model then accesses via RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation). All data is stored with high availability on an easily replaceable storage module containing 12 NVMe modules, which is protected against data loss by redundancy. Each Silent AI Vault offers 12, 24, 48 or 96 TB (gross) of storage; the Silent AI appliance has 2 slots for Silent AI Vaults. ### RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) RAG is an AI architecture in which a language model does not answer from memory but retrieves answers from a defined, controlled dataset and generates responses on that basis — structurally eliminating hallucinations. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/rag-retrieval-augmented-generation) ### RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) RAG is an AI architecture in which a language model does not answer from memory but retrieves answers from a defined, controlled dataset and generates responses on that basis — structurally eliminating hallucinations. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/rag-retrieval-augmented-generation) ## Technical specifications 0">Platform Provision As a turnkey appliance, on-premises GPU Latest Nvidia GPU, 96 GB VRAM, fanless Storage for local data Storage Silent AI Vault storage module with 12x NVMe, triple parity Storage slots 2 slots for Silent AI Vault Storage capacity 12, 24, 48 or 96 TB (gross) per Silent AI Vault Network & Interfaces Data Dual 10GbE (RJ45) or 10GbE SFP+ Optional Dual 25/100GbE (QSFP) Management 1× 1GbE Admin 1× 1GbE IPMI Physical data Power consumption Idle: approx. 170 W Typical: approx. 636 W (1 Silent AI Vault active) Maximum: 1,200 W heat dissipation Typical: 2170 BTU/h Maximum: 4094 BTU/h Dimensions 2U × 19 inches × 640 mm Weight approx. 17 kg AI & Integration Architecture RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) Identity Management LDAP/AD, OIDC/SSO (Okta, Entra ID, Google Workspace) or a hybrid solution User interface Web-UI · Chat API from mid-2026 Authentication LDAP, SSO Connectors MS Office, MS SharePoint, MS Outlook/Exchange, Confluence & Jira, Dozuki, Slack, Nextcloud, SMB/File Server, PDF upload, Web Scraper More in development / on request API from mid-2026 Compliance Data protection GDPR-compliant, no transfers to third countries Regulatory framework NIS2-ready, compliant with the EU AI Act Origin German product · not subject to the US CLOUD Act / FISA Section 702 SLA Up to 10 years, fixed terms The exact configuration may vary depending on availability and requirements. The information provided here is for reference purposes only. ## Frequently asked questions #### How many users and requests can the Silent AI hardware handle? This depends largely on the specific use case and configuration. Complex queries involving a large number of data sources require more processing power than simple queries. Under normal circumstances, Silent AI can process and respond to several thousand queries per hour. #### Which GPU does Silent AI use? The appliance is equipped with a current Nvidia model. The exact specifications depend on availability and intended use, and are always selected in consultation with the customer. As the GPU is used solely for inference and not for training language models, the specific performance is not a critical factor. #### How much storage space is available for the vector database, etc.? The Silent AI Appliance is based on our Silent Bricks performance storage solution and follows the same concept: local data is stored on hot-swappable storage containers known as Silent AI Vaults. Each Vault has a gross capacity of 12 or 24 TB, but models offering up to 96 TB are also available for particularly demanding configurations. The Silent AI has two slots for Vaults, meaning a total of up to 192 TB (gross) is available. ### AI Appliance An AI appliance is a dedicated hardware unit in which an AI model, computing infrastructure (GPU), data storage and software stack are combined into a ready-to-operate system — as an alternative to a self-built AI server or cloud AI. [Mehr erfahren →](https://www.fast-lta.de/en/glossary/ai-appliance)