[HN Gopher] Barcelona Supercomputing Center
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Barcelona Supercomputing Center
Author : _Microft
Score : 47 points
Date : 2023-11-06 10:08 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (my.matterport.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (my.matterport.com)
| _Microft wrote:
| Make sure to progress into the main hall. The second floor view
| is nice as well. There is a button for choosing the floor in the
| bottom left corner.
| pestatije wrote:
| frozen browser, 100% CPU
| theoutfluencer wrote:
| You might need a supercomputer to view that page.
| _Microft wrote:
| Strange, works fine with absolutely smooth animations while
| moving around. In both Firefox and Safari.
| formerly_proven wrote:
| It's unfortunate how hostile most sites and operators are to
| photos. So much computing history is simply lost due to that (and
| recycling).
| wkat4242 wrote:
| That's not really my experience and I used to walk around in a
| lot of datacenters. Nobody gives a crap about photos because
| there is nothing sensitive to actually see. Most of it is just
| really boring. Rows and rows of computers and other blinkylight
| stuff. In fact it's a lot more fascinating with the lights off.
|
| The hot and cold aisles are super annoying. Either freezing
| your ass off or sweating profusely. So are the double floors
| which people might have left open to become death traps. The
| noise is deafening. The air smells acrid. They're a terrible
| place for people.
|
| What was a lot cooler to visit were the old pulse-dialling
| relay-operated phone exchange buildings. In the dark it was
| like being stuck in a dark forest surrounded by a horde of
| angry killer crickets slowly inching closer to you. Especially
| because that stuff wasn't very heat-sensitive so it was eerily
| silent besides all the clicking. That's the kind of history I
| miss more than the datacenter. It was shit cool, especially
| when you would open the door and be in the middle of a bustling
| city. And nobody knew that magical forest was there.
|
| And the half-floors (intermediate half-height floors to route
| all the thick bundles of copper cables thick as sewer pipes).
| Really mysterious buildings.
| jauntywundrkind wrote:
| It's obviously impressive photo stitching but I can't help but
| think how much more exceptional this experience would be in
| actual 3d. With lidar and photogrammetry ascending, this seems
| decidedly old school.
|
| Disclaimer: nearby org-mates work on 3d space modelling systems.
| _Microft wrote:
| There's a ,,View in VR" button somewhere, iirc.
| ggambetta wrote:
| Is this the church-turned-datacenter featured in Dan Brown's
| Origin?
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Yes it is. It's not owned by an evil billionaire with plans for
| world domination though.
| sliken wrote:
| Yet.
| wumms wrote:
| The "Convex C3480" from 1991 (at the end of the lower hallway):
|
| - 1GB RAM
|
| - 0.8GFlops
|
| - #1 in Spain in 1992
|
| - USD 1M
|
| - huge tape drive!
|
| This source lists it at 0.4 GFlops though (search for C3480):
| https://www.rediris.es/jt/jt2004/archivo/ficheros/Mateo_Vale...
|
| - 16G disk storage
|
| - in service from 10/91-01/98
| mofeing wrote:
| I just showed it today to a friend. It's truly marvelous.
|
| Just next to it there is a Connection Machine 2!
| elnatro wrote:
| Why is this relevant? Is it because of the website?
| sophacles wrote:
| Because it's neat seeing what you can do to make a datacenter
| pretty. It gratifies my intellectual curiousity.
| Aardwolf wrote:
| I like the first person walkthrough through a supercomputer
| airstrike wrote:
| Nice find
|
| A bit disappointed Matterport hasn't turned plugged in AI to turn
| these into "real" 3D scenes that I can walk around video-game
| style
| jonnyreiss wrote:
| I found this on Atlas Obscura before a trip to Barcelona, and I
| was able to set up a free tour with them via email. I love the
| contrast of the computer against the shell of the old church, and
| it immersed me further into my Dan Brown book character LARP.
|
| link: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/barcelona-
| supercomputing...
| wkat4242 wrote:
| Haha they have one of those weighing scale entrance portals.
|
| I always hated those when I still worked in datacenters. Can't
| drink too much coffee and then forget to go to the toilet lol.
|
| And it's such a stupid measure. The most valuable thing you can
| steal there is data. Which doesn't weigh anything.
| puppetmaster wrote:
| While I can imagine such an scenario, and there is a resting
| area with coffee and food in many datacenters... You weight the
| same when you get into the cage with coffee in your belly, and
| when you are getting out because it percolated to your bladder.
| Having said that, I've seen some places where the security
| measures are placed due to a listed requirement, but miss the
| point that they have. Finally, data is definitely THE most
| valuable good, but also confidential hardware, that fits in
| your pocket!
| mofeing wrote:
| PhD student there. Ask me anything if you wish to know more about
| BSC.
|
| Some news: the new Marenostrum 5 no longer fits in the chapel, so
| it has been moved to the contiguous building. But one quantum
| computer from the Quantum Spain project will be installed soon
| (in a couple of months).
|
| Easter Egg: whenever there is an official visit, they put
| Gregorian choirs in the chapel.
| cameron_b wrote:
| The side hallway has a wonderful collection of previous rack
| instances. Cheers for the preservation efforts.
|
| What is your focus at the BSC?
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(page generated 2023-11-07 23:00 UTC)