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Creating a Low-Power Cloud With Netbook Chips

Posted by timothy on from the but-what's-the-wattage-equivalent-cfl dept.

Al writes "Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University have created a remarkably low-power server architecture using netbook processors and flash memory cards. The server design, dubbed a 'fast array of wimpy nodes,' or FAWN, is only designed to perform simple tasks, but the CMU team say it could be perfect for large Web companies that have to retrieve large amounts of data from RAM. A set-up including 21 individual nodes draws a maximum of just 85 watts under real-world conditions. The researchers say that a FAWN cluster could offer a low-power replacement for sites that currently rely on Memcached to access data from RAM."

8 of 93 comments (clear)

  1. oblig..... by omar.sahal · · Score: 3, Funny

    imagine a beo..... oh forget it
    I tried but I couldn't resist. I reloaded three times and i was still first post

    1. Re:oblig..... by Samschnooks · · Score: 5, Funny
      Thank you. You saved Slashdot from this:

      I'm thinking of a Fast Array of Gigabyte Systems or "FAGS" as opposed to FAWN.

      Imagine talking to your admin in front of PC type of folks,

      "Hey Lou, you did you get those new FAGS? That last ones broke down and were a real pain in the ass!"

      "No Joe, we still have those old FAGS. The holes in those things were so big, anything could get in."

      "Yeah, I know it. They were pigs too. Some of the fuses went. Things really got blown!"

      "I tell ya! I tell ya! Hey, how are the boys in San Fransisco? I heard the FAGS vendor is really sticking it up their asses."

      "Sort of. They were happy with their shot and reciprocated on the terms."

      "Ah, good."

    2. Re:oblig..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      But will it blend?

  2. Cradle to Grave by lymond01 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When I started this post, I was thinking that the overall power usage of building 21 computers that run at 85 W might supersede the power usage of building one 1000 W computer with 32 GB of memory, if you take the whole process from manufacturing to disposal.

    But I suppose it's the electric bill of the company we're concerned with so I'll just sit in the corner and re-read Bambi.

  3. Next Generation by glitch23 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is the next generation of a Beowulf cluster using the next-generation of hardware which is cooler, cheaper CPUs and solid-state storage and memory. Someone was bound to come up with this idea because it only makes sense. It is good to know that we have a proof of concept now so someone else can take the idea and modify it to come up with something even better. Eventually hardware manufacturers will take notice and release it as COTS hardware. For companies who want cooler and cheaper server hardware this would be a good fit once it has been packaged as a COTS product.

    --
    this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom. -- Lincoln, Gettysburg Address
  4. New buzz words? by LoRdTAW · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So I guess the word cloud has replaced cluster to give old technology a fresh new look. Gotta love marketing.

    And since when did the term netbook come to describe low power computing hardware? There have been mini-ITX boards with low power CPU's long before the term netbook was in use. Just more marketing bullshit, repackage existing tech with a shiny new name and sell it.

  5. Wait, what? by Enry · · Score: 3, Interesting

    256M per node times 21 nodes equals 5GB. 84 watts is nice, but I just built a home server with 4GB of RAM and 2 1TB drives that has a low power AMD chipset in it. At idle, it's about 70 watts, and gets to about 100 watts when under load. Replacing the two 1TB drives with an 80GB SSD would probably be closer to what if represented with FAWN.

    Figuring $100 for the motherboard and parts makes that total system cost $2100. My server was about $500.

    Don't get me wrong, this is an interesting idea. Using an Atom can get you a lot more performance for not much more power use, and you can go up to at least 2GB RAM per node. But there's a limit to how small you can make a single item in a cluster before you're duplicating effort without much benefit.

  6. Re:This may be a little offtopic but... by _Stryker · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why did you have the cat push it off the desk? Were you too lazy to do it yourself?