back to article 'Urika': Cray unveils new 1,500-core big data crunching monster

Big data analytics people are constantly panning for nuggets of gold, and Cray has just the machine for them — its Urika-XA. Said to be a single-platform entity, consolidating a wide range of analytics workloads previously needing separate systems, its design has been optimised for compute- and memory-intensive and latency- …

  1. phil dude
    Trollface

    lights...

    I want to walk into the computer room and see flashing lights...

    Nowadays it looks like an art installation (not that that's a bad thing, but it is a computer room...!)

    P.

    1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: lights...

      But if you have BOTH flashing lights AND and art installation (possibly with someone mishandling a Moog synthesizer in the background)....

      ... it's a Star Trek movie set from the 60s.

    2. Down not across

      Re: lights...

      I want to walk into the computer room and see flashing lights...

      Well, quite. I am particularly partial to Thinking Machines' Connection Machine. IIRC we have Tamiko Thiel and Carl Feynman to thank for the CM-1 design. Later models were no less stunning.

      Having said that, Cray-2's fluorinert waterfall is rather tasty too.

      Nowadays it looks like an art installation (not that that's a bad thing, but it is a computer room...!)

      And a bad one at that. Looks like something fresh out out of some arts or design school (were something decent is a rare occasion).

  2. AndyS

    But....

    Yes yes, very impressive, but does it have an infra-red port? If not, how else am I meant to backup my contacts from my 6310?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Windows

      Re: But....

      Which version of Windows does it come with? I hope it's not 8.. do we get downgrade rights??

      What about WiFi? I'm not having a cable running about the place. And what type of monitor? It best be a widescreen one, with a built-in webcam.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: But....

      Yes yes, very impressive, but does it have an infra-red port? If not, how else am I meant to backup my contacts from my 6310?

      Hah, youth and their newfangled stuff. Luxury!

      Just unplug the VT102 and you can jack in the DLR-3P serial lead. Any other question?

      :)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Yes but can it play...

    ....you know the rest

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Yes but can it play...

      Windows? no! It's not a fucking Cray, you know?

  4. Frankee Llonnygog

    Urika-Xa

    Shouldnd't that be Urika-Ka-Ka-Ka-Ka!!!

    1. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Joke

      Re: Urika-Xa

      Exactly! My first thought - not flashing lights, but Shooting Stars!

  5. Simon Harris
    Coat

    Artist's impression.

    The water cooling system looks a little primitive!

    I'll get my bath-robe ----->

    1. Anonymous Bullard
      Angel

      Re: Artist's impression.

      It's the one on the floor...

      *whip*

  6. larokus

    nice

    Now I can play metro on maximum

  7. Anonymous Bullard
    Joke

    Finally, a computer with enough juice to run two instances of Visual Studio

  8. Slx

    They need to look more "super"

    I want to see more LEDs and maybe clear tubes with circulating CO2

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Don't forget the 'go fast' stripes.

      1. Destroy All Monsters Silver badge

        With more red, it would go three times faster.

  9. Jellied Eel Silver badge

    They call this progress?

    Cray-1 at least came with seating.

    1. Daniel von Asmuth
      Go

      Progress, Oracle, Intel, Digital (call it anything you want)

      If you want performance on Cray scale, you have to buy 1000 of these boxes, and you will get nice designer seats for free.

    2. A J Stiles

      Re: They call this progress?

      That always struck me as a bad advertisement -- the CRAY-1's resemblance to a bench seat implies that the computer is not so fast that you would not have time to sit down while it came up with the answers.

      1. Jellied Eel Silver badge

        Re: They call this progress?

        It's one of those things where I'd love to hear the rationale for the design. Someone made a conscious effort to turn a supercomputer into furniture, as seen here-

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cray-1#mediaviewer/File:Cray-1-UIUC_CAC.jpg

        which spawned lables saying 'Please do not sit on the supercomputer'. Back then, we had upholstery, now we have differentiation by way of designer rack doors. Plus there are still latency advantages from the old-school toroidal designs vs generic 19" rack layouts.

  10. Anonymous IV

    Met Office

    Does anyone know how this compares in power with the "IBM supercomputers" which the Met Office in Exeter boasts of using on their website, without them being any more specific?

    1. ToddR

      Re: Met Office

      At 1500 cores and 8TB RAM, it's not even on the same planet as the MetOffice IBM supers, but it has 8TB of global memory.

      Mind you you can get more cores and much more RAM for a fraction of the cost using NumaScale ccNUMA HBAs.

      1. MadMike

        Re: Met Office

        8TB RAM for 1,500cores? That is chicken sh*t. Oracle has 32 socket SPARC servers with 32TB RAM, Fujitsu has 64-socket 32TB RAM SPARC servers today.

        And next year SPARC M7 32 socket servers will have 64TB RAM.

  11. Gene Cash Silver badge
    IT Angle

    Data-driven journalism

    I take it El Reg isn't starting a Kickstarter for one?

  12. Bladeforce

    Ahhh.

    The minimum specs revealed for windows 10 to run virtual desktops

    1. David Haig

      Re: Ahhh.

      .. No, the minimum specs for Windows 10 to run the Start Menu ..

  13. Tromos
    Joke

    Neglected to state...

    ...battery life, screen resolution. Does it have a decent app store? What are the speakers like? Storage seems OK, but people expect more than just that from a real computer, know what I mean?

  14. Vociferous
    Coat

    They need to name a model "Cray".

    So it'll be the Cray-cray.

    ...Yeah, I think I should get my coat.

  15. Simon Harris

    Founder

    In honour of their founder they should make a version in a completely transparent box...

    So you can See More Cray.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sounds good, but a question springs to mind...

    Can I get it in an UltraBook chassis, with a battery that'll run it for a week on a charge, a 5K panel, at a reasonable cost? =-)p

  17. earl grey
    Coat

    I'll have mine as Eureka

    With a pocketful of Coralians.

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