Sun Modular Datacenter
Encyclopedia
Sun Modular Datacenter (Sun MD, known in the prototype phase as Project Blackbox) is a portable data center
built into a standard 20-foot intermodal container
(shipping container) manufactured and marketed by Sun Microsystems
(which is now owned by Oracle Corporation
). An external chiller and power are required for the operation of a Sun MD. A data center of up to 280 server
s can be rapidly deployed by shipping the container in a regular way to locations that might not be suitable for a building or another structure, and connecting it to the required infrastructure
. Sun Microsystems states that the system can made operational for 1% of the cost of building a traditional data center.
(SLAC) deployed a Sun MD containing 252 Sun Fire
X2200 compute nodes as a compute farm. Other customers include Radboud University.
In 2009, the Internet Archive
migrated its digital archive onto Sun Modular Datacenter.
A Project Blackbox with 1088 AMD Opteron
processors ranked #412 on the June 2007 TOP500
list.
In late 2003, employees of the Internet Archive
wrote a paper proposing "an outdoor petabyte JBOD NAS
box" of sufficient capacity to store the then-current Archive in a 40' shipping container.. The first implementation of the concept have been realized using Sun Microsystems' Modular Datacenters in March 2009.
Google
was reported in November 2005 to be working on their own shipping container datacenter. Although in January 2007 it was reported that the project had been discontinued, Google's patent on the concept was still pushed through the patent system and was successfully issued in October 2007. In 2009 Google announced that their first container based data center has been in production since 2005.
Data center
A data center is a facility used to house computer systems and associated components, such as telecommunications and storage systems...
built into a standard 20-foot intermodal container
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
(shipping container) manufactured and marketed by Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems
Sun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
(which is now owned by Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation
Oracle Corporation is an American multinational computer technology corporation that specializes in developing and marketing hardware systems and enterprise software products – particularly database management systems...
). An external chiller and power are required for the operation of a Sun MD. A data center of up to 280 server
Server (computing)
In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...
s can be rapidly deployed by shipping the container in a regular way to locations that might not be suitable for a building or another structure, and connecting it to the required infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
. Sun Microsystems states that the system can made operational for 1% of the cost of building a traditional data center.
Customers
On 14 July 2007, the Stanford Linear Accelerator CenterStanford Linear Accelerator Center
The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, originally named Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, is a United States Department of Energy National Laboratory operated by Stanford University under the programmatic direction of the U.S...
(SLAC) deployed a Sun MD containing 252 Sun Fire
Sun Fire
The Sun Fire server brand is a series of server computers introduced in 2001 by Sun Microsystems . The Sun Fire branding coincided with the introduction of the UltraSPARC III processor, superseding the UltraSPARC II-based Sun Enterprise series...
X2200 compute nodes as a compute farm. Other customers include Radboud University.
In 2009, the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
migrated its digital archive onto Sun Modular Datacenter.
History
The prototype was first announced as "Project Blackbox" in October 2006; the official product was announced in January 2008.A Project Blackbox with 1088 AMD Opteron
Opteron
Opteron is AMD's x86 server and workstation processor line, and was the first processor which supported the AMD64 instruction set architecture . It was released on April 22, 2003 with the SledgeHammer core and was intended to compete in the server and workstation markets, particularly in the same...
processors ranked #412 on the June 2007 TOP500
TOP500
The TOP500 project ranks and details the 500 most powerful known computer systems in the world. The project was started in 1993 and publishes an updated list of the supercomputers twice a year...
list.
In late 2003, employees of the Internet Archive
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
wrote a paper proposing "an outdoor petabyte JBOD NAS
Nas
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
box" of sufficient capacity to store the then-current Archive in a 40' shipping container.. The first implementation of the concept have been realized using Sun Microsystems' Modular Datacenters in March 2009.
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
was reported in November 2005 to be working on their own shipping container datacenter. Although in January 2007 it was reported that the project had been discontinued, Google's patent on the concept was still pushed through the patent system and was successfully issued in October 2007. In 2009 Google announced that their first container based data center has been in production since 2005.