Great...now we will all see this...
Posted on 02/08/2008 11:15:42 PM PST by stickman20089
Thomas Watson, founder of IBM, is oft misquoted as stating that the world really only would need five computers. Ironically the frequently used, erroneous quotation may come to true by the very hands of the business Watson created.
IBM launched an Epic project with an almost unfathomable goal -- to develop a single supercomputer capable of running the entire internet as a web application. The project, codenamed Kittyhawk (detailed in a white paper by IBM) created quite the stir in internet technology community.
While the software details descend quickly into the realm of the cerebral, one number that jumps off the page is the estimate for the number of cores and memory for the finished proposed system -- 67.1 million cores with 32PB of memory.
The system is based on IBM's Blue Gene/P architecture, which takes millions of cores and arranges them in a hierarchal architecture. At the lowest level four 850 MHz Power PC cores run on a single chip, with built in memory controllers and interconnects.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailytech.com ...
Self ping for later. I think the definition of “computer” might be getting a bit blurred in this article.
SKYNET goes online when??
Dear Santa,
excellent idea! increasing centralization works very well in society. it ought to work just as well in informations systems. /major heaving projectile sarcasm.
Why create a system where a single point failure takes it out.
Seems dumb to me.
Nice terrorist target too. Take out one computer and knock out the entire Internet.
Exactly...it defeats the Internet’s greatest strenght, indeed its entire reason for existence.
you're obviously not a megalomanic, then.
I think that's the point. Easier to bring it down.
some interesting ideas emanate from this great state.
It.....already.....has.
[cue dramatic crescendo and unplug all your appliances...NOW]
One computer to rule them all....
Some ideologies refuse to ever die, like someone always has to embark on there can only be one idea.
I am about to buy a new PC, it will have XP, it will go into storage with a few essential items like extra memory and extra software, nothing fancy or expensive, its going to be wrapped with materials to hopefully protect it from any EMP emissions and going belowground for any emergency and for a backup, plus several other electronic sensitive devices like a cellphone plus various type of radios, camcorder etc.
SKYNET, that’s the sales catalog in the seat pouch on every commercial jet right?!!! ;-)
Just run the entire Internet on a Windows Vista computer, for perfect reliability and performance!!!!!!
Just run the entire Internet on a Windows Vista computer, for perfect reliability and performance!!!!!!
While these issues and the hiccups of a brand new approach still need to be ironed out, IBM stands to gain some significant customers in the web hosting world with its attractive setup, even if it can't accomplish its Herculean goal of the Kittyhawk.
A long time ago my wife was in systems operations for the largest utility on the West Coast here. She and her supervisor were running new cables under the computer room floor tiles, some of them were 100 foot runs. A bundle of cables snagged on something. Her supervisor said just yank on it, it'll free up. She said I don't think so. He comes over and tugs on it.
All of a sudden an alarm starts sounding, he says crap and starts running to a control panel. Didn't make it in time, and all the network devices and mainframes start shutting down. Ended up taking down networks for the utility in several cities. Despite the many planned backup systems and failsafes he managed to defeat them. He never got over the humiliation of it all. I've seen numerous similar situations in my long experience as a network manager.
All it takes is one idiot!
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