[rescue] Re: Introduction + Cray Solaris questions

[Skeezics Boondoggle]

Howdy, howdy.

Wow... I guess I'll have to switch from "digest mode" and procmail off a
separate incoming folder - you rescuers are a chatty bunch. :-)  But it's 
not like "work" is that important anyway. :-)

Regarding my three questions, thanks for all the feedback both on- and 
off-list!

> First up: SSP and software issues.

The good news is that my seller has leads on a complete SSP (a Classic
with the card+software already installed) and on two separate SSP boards
and possibly cables - and I have at least one spare Classic around here
someplace. :-)  So one way or another I hope to acquire the SSP bits I
need to boot the beastie.

And I'm trying to pursue leads here locally through our Sun office,
although I used to work in the building right across the street from where
FPS/Cray/Sun did/does their 6400/E10k work and now their big high-end
benchmarketing stuff.  After YEARS of unsuccessfully trying to arrange a
TOUR of the facility for a local group of sysadmins and geek friends, I
think it's time to just walk up and bang on the damn door and say "Hi, I'm
here for the tour."

I'll root 'em out, though.  Someone up here must still know about these 
machines, and I will find them.  They can't hide. :-)

> Second: Crating + shipping.

It seems the consensus is that for large/precious/heavy systems like this,
you either pay exorbitant rates to have things professionally crated up -
probably paying more for the packing and shipping than for the machines
themselves - or you DIY.  So I'm pursuing all avenues... It may be time
for a road trip!  :-)

> Third: Power.

Re: launching nuclear waste into the sun:  haven't we learned anything
from Star Trek?  One of the first applications of computers was plotting
the trajectory of artillery shells, right?  So three hundred years into
the future we're going to have computers that can synthesize food, produce
completely realistic immersive 3D holographic environments, manage
interstellar navigation at warp speeds, track the position and life signs
of every living creature on the ship, project sensor scans and transporter
beams across vast distances, carry on conversations and even draw complex
conculsions from virtually no available data about the nature of some
unforseen situation or new species - but when it comes to combat, zapping
a beam of energy from one point to another across a short vector of clear
three dimensional space, or they target a photon torpedo on a ship moving
at sublight speeds - and they miss.  I love that.  ("They missed!  Take
another shot!")

So, we load up the barge, shoot it out there, miss, and it slingshots
around and comes hurtling back at us... that'd just be hysterical.  Sure,
we wouldn't be here when it came back, so we'd have to carve some stone
tablets or something so that when future generations encounter this old
barge plummeting through the atmosphere they'll uncover the stones:  
"Haaaa ha!"  :-)

But I tell ya what:  I'll fire up the 6400 and get right to work on 
plotting the proper trajectories so that any waste produced by the small 
reactor I bury in the basement to power the machine will be accurately 
delivered to its fiery destination. :-)

</digression>

But I don't think a separate 200A feed is overkill - with the two Cray
cabinets, up to three 2000E's, a 2000, and a spare 56" Sun cabinet for
additional disk drives - hell, maybe even the Auspex if I can find the
right stinky old Mbus module for it - we're talking about eight 30A/240V
circuits just for this stuff.  I already stole the 40A dryer circuit to
power a subpanel for my other gear, plus two 20A/120V circuits dedicated
off the main to the existing finished space.  I've got 20A quads spaced
every 4-5' around the room...

IIRC, the fully-loaded 2000/E draws 3950W continuous, and even though I'll
have only 4 of 10 fully-populated system boards, each 'E' has two full
30-disk SSAs in it as well. :-)  So, I'm going to base my initial
estimates using close-to-maximum ratings, and properly size things now so
that I don't have problems later.

Besides, I *love* doing electrical work.  Some people drink wine or take a
hot bath or get a massage to relax - but me?  I'd rather be pulling Romex
and snapping in new breakers and figuring out the optimal way to wire up a
three-way light switch.  But I have a great respect for Mr. Sparky, and I
ain't burned nuthin' down yet! :-)

So I'm going over the Oregon electrical code for adding new residential
service and seeing how much of the work I can do myself.  I'm a total Home
Despot junkie.  Mmmmmm, new meter sockets.  Mmmmmm, wire spools.  :-)

Cheers!

-- Chris
<skeezics at boondoggle.com>