[SATLUG] Sun's Project Black Box

[Dean McCall]

Has anyone else seen Sun's project black box project?  Quite an 
interesting idea on modular data centers design...good fodder for a 
Friday...


        A Novel Datacenter Concept

Project Blackbox packages compute, storage, and network infrastructure 
capabilities into scalable, modular units outfitted with 
state-of-the-art cooling, monitoring, and power distribution systems. 
Customers will be able to order a variety of standard and custom 
configurations of systems, storage, networking, and software. Housed in 
a standard 20-foot shipping container for maximum flexibility, Project 
Blackbox will be easily transported using common shipping methods. 
Simple hookups for water, AC power, and networking will enable customers 
to quickly deploy Project Blackbox upon delivery.


        Inside Project Blackbox

The Project Blackbox prototype is a computing powerhouse capable of 
hosting a configuration that would place it among the top 200 fastest 
supercomputers globally. The current prototype could support the 
following capacities:

    * A single Project Blackbox could accommodate 250 Sun Fire T1000
      servers with the CoolThreads technology
      <http://www.sun.com/servers/coolthreads/t1000/> with 2000 cores
      and 8000 simultaneous threads.
    * A single Project Blackbox could accommodate 250 x64-based servers
      with 1000 cores.
    * A single Project Blackbox could provide as much as 1.5 petabytes
      of disk storage or 2 petabytes of energy-efficient tape storage.
    * A single Project Blackbox could provide 7 terabytes of memory.
    * A single Project Blackbox could handle up to 10,000 simultaneous
      desktop users.
    * A single Project Blackbox currently has sufficient power and
      cooling to support 200 kilowatts of rackmounted equipment.

https://photos.sun.com/page/1182

Dean