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Quebec Data Center Built In a Silo

Posted by timothy on from the for-next-andomeda-strain-remake dept.

1sockchuck writes "A supercomputing center in Quebec has transformed a huge concrete silo into the CLUMEQ Colossus, a data center filled with HPC clusters. The silo, which is 65 feet high with two-foot thick concrete walls, previously housed a Van de Graaf accelerator dating to the 1960s. It was redesigned to house three floors of server cabinets, arranged so cold air can flow from the outside of the facility through the racks and return via an interior 'hot core.' The construction and operation of the unique facility (PDF) are detailed in a presentation from CLUMEQ."

22 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. And you thought your computer was a tower by davidwr · · Score: 5, Funny

    Size DOES matter.

    --
    Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
    1. Re:And you thought your computer was a tower by perlchild · · Score: 2, Informative

      Well the silo houses just a bit more than half(2700sq.ft) compared to the other location(it's apparently a multi-campus project, the other campus has 5000sq.ft) not sure if that's an academic requirement. As per your comment though, haven't met a computer that didn't fear comparison with an office tower....

  2. SHPEGS by rohar · · Score: 2, Interesting

    You could incorporate this idea into The SHPEGS concept.

    1. Re:SHPEGS by DerekLyons · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Of course knowing that SHPEGS is your concept puts your advocacy in a different light.
       
      I notice in the two years since SHPEGS was featured on Slashdot you don't appear to have much progress.

  3. Sun's future plans are even bigger by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sun spokesperson Dr. C. Forbin announced a second center would be rolling out on the island of Crete after the population has been relocated.

    1. Re:Sun's future plans are even bigger by tomhudson · · Score: 4, Informative

      Dumb mods never heard of The Forbin Project or the super-computer called Colossus

  4. Vertical integration by ewg · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finally, vertically integrated data centers...

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    org.slashdot.post.SignatureNotFoundException: ewg
  5. Should have left the missile by natehoy · · Score: 4, Funny

    They should have left the missile there and built the computers in to it.

    1. Harvest the warhead for nuclear material - onsite power.
    2. Instant, one button off-site backup. OK, not with great integrity control, but...

    --
    "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
    1. Re:Should have left the missile by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Just leave them in there. Nothing of value will be lost. It's not like they were ever going to reproduce anyway.

    2. Re:Should have left the missile by Dahamma · · Score: 5, Funny

      RTFA (or even just the summary!) This is Quebec. They don't have nuclear missiles.

      And we know this for a fact because if they did, they would have already nuked all English-speaking Canadian cities and declared independence years ago.

    3. Re:Should have left the missile by Sponge+Bath · · Score: 2, Funny

      The picture of the "Compute room" was interesting. Both the Teletype terminals and the side burns on the operators look like they could withstand nuclear attack.

    4. Re:Should have left the missile by natehoy · · Score: 4, Funny

      I found that true in Quebec some years ago, but when I went back more recently I ran into a LOT of people who were happy to speak English, even though I speak French (albeit VERY poorly) and tried.

      Me: "Bonjour"
      Waitress: "Hello. Can we speak English?"
      Me: "You got how bad my French was from 'Bonjour'?"
      Waitress: (giggles) "Yes"

      I don't know who was laughing harder at that, me, the waitress, or my wife. But the point is that Quebec seems to have gone through a sea change in the last decade or so, and the residents seem much more accepting of Americans speaking English.

      --
      "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
  6. Re:But, does it run... by natehoy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nothing runs on poutine. Try this: Eat a bunch of it and try running. Guarantee YOU aren't going to run on it, and you're DESIGNED to convert food into fuel.

    Unless, by "run", you mean "collapse and expire due to massive arterial blockage", in which Quebecois is a somewhat more condensed language than I gave it credit for.

    --
    "This post contains words, known to the State of California to cause thought. Wash brain thoroughly after reading."
  7. Re:But, does it run... by Theoboley · · Score: 2, Funny

    "collapse and expire due to massive arterial blockage"

    Isn't that what Poutine translates to from Quebecois to English??

    --
    Stupidity only gets you so far, then you've gotta try
  8. Re:News for nerds... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Because Quebec is a very sensible place to build a data center? The cheap hydroelectric power and cold weather 8 months of the year help reduce costs. It is relatively close to the US east coast and the bulk of the Canadian population.

    Makes a fuck of a lot more sense than Texas in many ways, which is as hot as hell, and has expensive electricity. Not to mention its proximity to Mexico, which is always a worry.

  9. Re:But, does it run... by tomhudson · · Score: 2, Informative

    Nothing runs on poutine. Try this: Eat a bunch of it and try running

    Nonsense - real poutine is made with french fries fried in oil with at least 100,000 km on it - you WILL have the runs after eating enough of it ...

    Seriously, poutine made with fries done in new oil, cooked properly (fry them, take them out, drain, refry so the outside is crip and the inside is cooked), top with curd cheese and poutine sauce is awesome. The only thing better is Italian poutine - poutine with a thick and meaty spaghetti sauce. It does for french fries what a Michigan Hotdog does for "tube steak."

    Spice it up with pepper rings and/or crushed chillies. Eat.

  10. Could have some fun with this by HangingChad · · Score: 5, Funny

    Back in college the city was putting in a new, very large water tower. We started a rumor that it was actually a nuclear power plant disguised as a water tower and if you called the city, they would claim it was only a water tower.

    They got enough calls it made the local paper. And when they tried to explain it was a water tower, "They said you'd say that!" Classic.

    A data center in a silo would be almost as good. Looks like a death ray generator to me. Yeah, Canadian death ray. Pew! Pew! Pew! Eh?

    --
    That's our life, the big wheel of shit. - The Fat Man, Blue Tango Salvage
    1. Re:Could have some fun with this by damien_kane · · Score: 2, Informative

      A data center in a silo would be almost as good. Looks like a death ray generator to me. Yeah, Canadian death ray. Pew! Pew! Pew! Eh?

      That's preposterous... Everyone knows that the Canadian doomsday machine is at the top of the CN Tower.

  11. Marketing: not my thing, but here goes.. by itomato · · Score: 2, Insightful

    - reuse of existing structure (one with nice, thick walls)
    - vertical scale-out (think cup stacking)
    - leverages magic of physics (hot ring, cold ring - inherent strength of tubular structure)
    - shorter-than-typical cable runs (~10m)
    - tubes use less concrete and steel than cubes
    - free-air cooling

    The only impressive re-use of a concrete silo structure I have seen is a retrofit into a rock-climbing gym (http://stoneworksrockgym.com/photogallery.htm).

  12. The original use for the structure... by John+Hasler · · Score: 2, Interesting

    ...was much cooler. "Data center"? Eh.

    --
    Warning: this article may contain humor, sarcasm, parody, and perhaps even irony. Read at your own risk.
  13. Re:proofreading? what's that? by Korbeau · · Score: 3, Informative

    Give the slide author a break. He was probably one of those kids who were forbidden **by LAW** to be taught English in school before the 4th Grade.

    That's bill 101 and the separatist PQ for you.

    Please mod the above down, the first part is entirely false, the rest is simply xenophobic or whatever you wanna call it.

    Yes, there is a law that incites non-english immigrant people to choose a french primary school since Quebec primary language is french.

    Nobody prevents anyone to learn english, and there are of course english courses in primary school.

  14. Re:What a waste of money by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I'll bite, where are all the old missile silos in Canada?