Elbrus-Based Servers in Russia’s Public IT Infrastructure: Reliability and Deployment
In recent assessments, officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs described notable reliability problems with servers powered by domestic Elbrus microprocessors. The deputy head of the Department of Information Technologies, Communications and Information Protection explained that these Elbrus-based systems are prone to failure, making quick replacement a challenge. This situation underscores ongoing questions about the use of homegrown hardware for critical services and the resilience of public IT in the face of supply and maintenance constraints.
The official indicated that reliability issues are not isolated to a single batch or model but appear across multiple deployments, complicating continuity planning. The manufacturer has reportedly acknowledged that while many processors have already been deployed, new production has not yet delivered a new wave of units. The exchange reveals a friction between immediate operational needs and the realities of a domestic supply chain, highlighting the difficulty of upgrading without adequate new production. Agencies are balancing current service requirements with a longer term transition to newer, domestically produced processors as manufacturing capacity scales up.
From 2020 through 2024 the ministry purchased 709 servers powered by Elbrus processors, with 32 units added in the current year. These servers support critical functions such as the automated recording of traffic offenses using specialized software and the centralized information system for immigration registration. The scale of this procurement reflects a deliberate shift toward consolidating essential public services on domestically produced computing power, while also exposing vulnerabilities linked to reliance on a single technology stack and the pace of hardware refresh cycles. In practice, this means ongoing maintenance, replacement planning, and security updates all hinge on a domestic supply chain that must prove reliable under real-world load conditions.
At the end of September a leading member of the Russian Academy of Sciences noted that domestic Elbrus processors built on a ninety-nanometer dual-core design were being manufactured at a key microelectronics facility. This development marks a step toward expanding domestic production capacity, though the older process node raises questions about performance, energy efficiency, and modernization of government IT, especially for services with stringent uptime requirements. The remark reflects a broader policy aim to diversify the domestic hardware ecosystem, reduce dependence on imported components, and gradually broaden the range of locally produced processors available to government users.
On the consumer side, a domestically produced home laptop featuring 64 GB of RAM and a 4 TB solid-state drive has been showcased. While aimed at private customers, such products illustrate the wider ambition to build a domestic hardware stack that covers both consumer and public sector needs. Analysts observe that consumer devices, when paired with robust firmware and security updates, can serve as a proving ground for new manufacturing capabilities, supplier ecosystems, and software compatibility tests that may eventually inform government-grade offerings.