Fuckin woot!!

[BobTheHob]

As some of you may remember, one of my professors go ahold of some SGI and SUN boxes. It turns out, there were only a few workstations, but the best part by far, is that the rest were servers. I'm going to trade him some networking stuff for one of them, I havent decided which one yet though. The server choices consist of mostly SGI ONYXs, with one SGI ONYX2 (fuck yea), as well as one Sun Enterprise server 3500 with 8 400mhz UltraSPARC II CPU's. I would choose the Sun server, but all four of the CPU trays have their service lights lit up.

So I'm prob gonna get the ONYX2, which has dual 400mhz R12k CPU's with 8MB cache each. It didnt come with any harddrives, or sleds for that matter. So I'm going to have to buy some sleds, I have some drives already, so if I might be able to rig up some external thing. It has all the mem slots filled so I'm thinking it has 4-8GB prob. I'm hoping it boots because I really want it, I havent been able to boot it yet on account of it needing a special power cord, i ordered one last night, it should come in next week, hopefully monday.

[BobTheHob]

Update: I discovered I have to run a new outlet to my room to handle the server. I also was informed that due to radio frequency interference, it is illegal to run an Onyx2 at a residence, therefore, for the record, if the FCC asks, I don't run an Onyx2 at my house. :fu: you FCC

[Kintaro]

Just wrap it in tinfoil or something that will actually work to prevent it intefering with things.

[Orethrius]

If I were you, Bob, I'd ask the installer whether he's UL licensed. Once he gets through explaining why he's NOT (which in and of itself is a federal crime), mention that if we all went by minor (read: unreviewed) FCC regs, he wouldn't be able to watch TV on a Saturday during a rainstorm; that laptop with the wireless connection that makes his life so much more bearable, he can forget that, since his wireless hub (according to regs) causes too much interference with other local hubs, and is only saved by a little disclaimer sticker slapped on the bottom; and that he can't listen to his radio because, oh no, it MIGHT send out a signal indicating it's receiving (even though they have no real power there, they've done it before)! It doesn't matter if those are actually enforceable or not, he doesn't know that anymore than you do, and any claim that "I can't install an outlet for an unlicensed appliance without just compensation :wink wink, nudge nudge:" is dubious at best. I'd refer the bloody bastard to the BBB, and if that doesn't work, wrap the PC in tinfoil as per Kintaro's suggestion. I really think he's just trying to extort some cash out of you for your ignorance of regs, I guarantee he's full of shit.

Bottom line: when in doubt, check it out.  Do what you have to do to find a copy of FCC regulations for your area, and see what you have to do to make it legitimate.  If he's attempting to extort you, record your next conversation with the guy, and call the police, especially if he asks for a higher fee.  Refer his name to the Better Business Bureau, and Attorney General if necessary.  Don't let him get away with bullshitting you into paying extra because you don't know the regs.

[adiment]

can somebody explain what the fuck he's talking about in normal person terms?

it seems interesting, but I don't know what the hell is going on.

[BobTheHob]

@Orethrius: lol, you misunderstood. The outlet is being installed by my brother and I. The server is the thing that puts off the RF. Its outlawed by the FCC for home use cause of the RF emmision. I just have to install a higher amperage outlet because the server requires more than 15 amps by itself. I still dunno about the electricity costs, cuz its gonna be running 24/7, oh well.

[Orethrius]

Okay, so change that last bit to apply to whatever agent "told" you that you need to not run an Onyx2 in a residence.  God knows I've set people up with more powerful (read: processing power) rigs, nobody complained then.  Check the regs *yourself* because, unfortunately, our country is FULL of people who want nothing more than a little extra lining in their pockets, and it pays to be able to quote bylaws and work-arounds to "officials" who want to encroach on your installation.  

[BobTheHob]

Okay, so change that last bit to apply to whatever agent "told" you that you need to not run an Onyx2 in a residence. God knows I've set people up with more powerful (read: processing power) rigs, nobody complained then. Check the regs *yourself* because, unfortunately, our country is FULL of people who want nothing more than a little extra lining in their pockets, and it pays to be able to quote bylaws and work-arounds to "officials" who want to encroach on your installation.

lol, I probably should have specified, I had checked on it myself. The Onyx2 has an FCC rating of "Class A", which basically means that it can only be used in an enviroment classified as commercial or industrial. The electromagnetic emmisions are too high for legal residential use.

Also, the processing power isnt really the issue with the legality, its really more like the power comsumption and actual systems in place. For instance, the Onyx2 consumes about 1,840 watts @ 120V, which if you do the math (1840/120), comes out to about 15.33A. So basiacally what were talking about here, is a server that can run on 120v, but consumes over 15 amps, therefore, you couldent even plug it into a normal household (15amp) outlet by iteself without tripping the breaker. So, thats alot of power, and usually when ya got alot of power, ya get alot of electromagnitism. Also, you have the part about the subsystems, like all the SCSI controllers, SCSI cables, backplanes, and backup power supplys etc.
All in all, it is a power hungry bitch. I dunno what I'm gonna do about the electric bill. I found a source on the net that said the Onyx2's predesessor, the Onyx, uses about $80-$100 a month in electricity. I have some people lined up though for accounts for 3d rendering and animation, so that should pay for it.

[Aloone_Jonez]

lol, I probably should have specified, I had checked on it myself. The Onyx2 has an FCC rating of "Class A", which basically means that it can only be used in an enviroment classified as commercial or industrial. The electromagnetic emmisions are too high for legal residential use.

I've build small FM transmitters with power output of 200mW - above above the UK's legal limit of 10mW, and I've never been caut so fuck the FCC, you'd be very unlucky if you're gripped.

Also, the processing power isnt really the issue with the legality, its really more like the power comsumption and actual systems in place. For instance, the Onyx2 consumes about 1,840 watts @ 120V, which if you do the math (1840/120), comes out to about 15.33A. So basiacally what were talking about here, is a server that can run on 120v, but consumes over 15 amps, therefore, you couldent even plug it into a normal household (15amp) outlet by iteself without tripping the breaker. So, thats alot of power, and usually when ya got alot of power, ya get alot of electromagnitism. Also, you have the part about the subsystems, like all the SCSI controllers, SCSI cables, backplanes, and backup power supplys etc.
All in all, it is a power hungry bitch. I dunno what I'm gonna do about the electric bill. I found a source on the net that said the Onyx2's predesessor, the Onyx, uses about $80-$100 a month in electricity. I have some people lined up though for accounts for 3d rendering and animation, so that should pay for it.

The problem seems to be the huge current (120V must be pretty shitty in the UK on our 230V supply nearly 3KW is ok) an electric cooker outlet could be used. From what you're saying this system will have a very large swicthed mode power supply and the problem is that some RF will be conduced into the mains power supply, probably more than will be radiated,  you can buy special RF filters that you connect to the mains supply of your equiptment to solve this problem.

[WMD]

A computer that uses 1800 watts?  Wtf is in that thing?

[Refalm]

A computer that uses 1800 watts?  Wtf is in that thing?

Industry 1000 cm coolers? :eek:

[BobTheHob]

A computer that uses 1800 watts?  Wtf is in that thing?

http://www.sgi.com/products/remarketed/onyx2/, its the cube in the front on that photo

[Aloone_Jonez]

What the fuck do you need a supercomputer for?

[Calum]

how do cookers work? electric cookers would require at least that much power, i reckon, can't you get it wired in the same way as your cooker? (careful now!)

[BobTheHob]

What the fuck do you need a supercomputer for?

For the same reasons as any other UNIX geek, lol. Actually, I'm thinking about buying alot of X-terminals at an auction and putting them around the house. As well as a file server, DNS server, gateway, web server, network boot server, and the list goes on and on.

@Calum: yea, my room is actually right near the main breaker boxes, so I'm going to run a 25 amp outlet to it. That should be enough amperage for it. Besides, I dunno if my mom would like me removing the stove and replacing it with a large server