[rescue] SGI, Origin 200, and speed?

[Sheldon T. Hall]

Jonathan C. Patschke intoned ...
> On Wed, 28 Apr 2004, Sheldon T. Hall wrote:
>
> > So ... to scale up an Origin 200, you just wheel in a second
> > chassis, hook it up, and reboot?  Can the second chassis have
> > different specs, like slower or faster CPUs?
> >
> > I'm beginning to like SGI stuff a lot....
>
> Except, by that time, you've spent more than you would on an entry level
> O2k box (assuming you bought everyting from SGI).

I like SGI stuff a lot, but not enough to buy it _new_, fer $DIETY's sake!
Even SGI's factory refurbs are too rich for my blood.

Mid-spec Origin 200's seem to be pretty cheap on eBay, although I see some
chap who seems to have a warehouse full of 16xR10K/250 O2Ks listed at 2
large a pop.  That seems amazingly cheap for what you get.  It also seems
like buying the stuff used, you don't have to buy very many O200s before
you're better off with an O2k, as you said.

Still, if you want to start small and grow as, say, your revenues grow, a
succession of O200s Craylinked into an ever-larger system seems a reasonable
way to go.  Adding CPUs, SCSI channels, and storage space without having to
(a) toss your old ones and (b) reinstall the OS and move the data, seems
pretty attractive.

Of course, my problem is that I already have enough computing power to ...
to ... well, I've got a lot more than I need, anyway.  My problem isn't a
lack of megaflops, it's a shortage of ideas and the time to pursue them.

-Shel