h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

OK, we need gig ethernet for all backbone routers and firewalling, 802.11a wireless for portables, regular 100baseTX for normal stuff and we can play around with standard for research. I nicked some of this stuff from my lab, hope they don't mind. I got an AS5800 for Phil to play with and four PIX 535s for me. There are assorted routers, content delivery switches and enterprise switches also. I thikn that I have a Fornax PIX blade for the 6509 as well. I'll take care of security and basic infrastructure, but I need help setting up the racks, and I do hope that CLI have enough power for this kit.

I propose that we do some research on alternative networking ideas, but to keep that stuff off the production network for now.

I also have dozens of older machines running a variety of OSen for those who want to poke about. Not too much of the bleeding edge though.

Lil, if you have a spare printer hanging about, might we use it?

*enters carrying an Apple catalogue*

I'll help with the lifting, Marv .

Ah, my biases were shown true. I forgot to make a quarentine area for Mac's .

If anyone has a request, let me know. I am negotiating for a PDP10 to play with, to get back to the roots of *nix architecture.

*looks round the door*

This sounds like the conversations between H and No2 son

How about a dedicated games machine with a stonking graphics card?

I would like to request some Sun machines as well as a FDDI backbone.

*walks out and comes back in with a large box of cabling and a crimper*

Courtesy

Will this old Sun Sparc2 do you Courtesy It might be old but it's all I've got in that line of machinery.
Been a while since I played with any remote access stuff so I could do with brushing up my skills there.

A Sparc2 will still run the pants off of most systems out there ..... I'll take it

*brings in an AS400* the company didn't seem to be using it so I decided to adopt it and bring it hear

Courtesy

*starts brining in Code reference books*

Last time I powered it up it was running a version of Debian for sparc.

The graphics machines, the Gates ones, should contain Radeon 9500 video cards. And we'll need several printers -- a laser printer for text output, a couple of inkjets, and now I can splurge and get an FA Giclée Printmaker. Well, let's get a color laser printer. Why not?

http://www.asterlil.com/h2g2/aplanbig.htm

We're in the lower left corner. Marv, what if we have all the infrastructure hardware in the smaller room and then set out the users' machines in the larger one? That spiral stairway next to the lift goes straight to the basement -- there's fairly public warehouse space underneath the suite, so CLI can help you plumb wiring underfloor if you need it.

If push comes to shove, we can remodel this end, truncate the hallway and take over some of the guest rooms.


We will need air conditioning.

*nods in agreement, as that seems to fool them at w*rk and at home that she really knows stuff*

The infrastructure may be too large for that room, but the blinkenlights are pretty to look at. Perhaps we can get locks for teh racks, or colour-code the cabling so no one can mess up the production wiring. The PDP10 is about 8' tall as I recall. I have got teh owner down to three mbougates and the price of moving it ourselves.

I also propose that for graphics, we use some real iron for the workstations. SGi O2 Boxen should do the trick. Not sure any redmondware powered peecees will do the same amount of crunching as a good SGI machine.

Will you have a machine that goes "ping"?

This discussion is too high tech for me. *wanders off to find a novel in the library.*

Marv

is there space for my old 16bit 64K memory machine on your racks?

I believe we should go liquid cooled on all of our machines .... also I would like to request a CRAY II *why you might ask? .... because we can I would answer *

Courtesy

OK, don't put anything up until I get the bots in to rearrange some walls.

And YEAH! I want an Iris to run Gaia!!!!!!!

Hmm A Cray II eh? Those are rather notorious for heating issues. We might need to get a heat pipe installed to vent waste heat somewhere. We can use it to heat the salon in teh winter months...

BB If it will fit in a standard 19 inch rack I spose it will be all good.

*comes back in with printouts*

The software is called Maya, not Gaia. Close, though.

*points* Back there is a bathroom with shower. The Cray will have to have plumbing, won't it? I think the Boys Downstairs have the full setup, and they can pump liquid nitrogen if that's what it will take.

Then this back room was the bedroom, and this larger room was a living/study space. If we give you ALL of this suite for a back room and hardware lab, we could set up computers in what are now the two westernmost guest rooms. And the holodeck should go in the basement, I guess.

Does that sound like a plan?

I believe that will work.

Now I have to design the network..... This will be fun

*strolls by, looks in*

*looks at all the equipment*

Oh my... ...this is all a bit too for me - but it sure looks nice!

*decides to have a look at the other workshop*

I believe we need a smilie for this room

Marv - I think we need to add a REALLY good sound system too.

Courtesy