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A 4000-Cray Machine at NSA in 1997?
I just noticed the scheduled delivery/installation/completion of a
7400-Cray equivalents machine in around 1997:
> 2) 196.1 - (APR-1994) [CSS]
> Central Security Service,National Security Agency Headquarters,Fort
> George G Meade,Maryland,US,[email protected]
> 1) TMC CM-5/512 44.8 (2.8 @ 32 cpus)
> 2) Cray C916-1024 35.52 = 2.22 * 16 cpus
> 3) Cray C916-1024 35.52 = 2.22 * 16 cpus
> 4) Cray C916-1024 35.52 = 2.22 * 16 cpus
> 5) Cray Y-MP/8E-256 8 = 1 * 8 cpus
> 6) Cray Y-MP/8E-256 8 = 1 * 8 cpus
> 7) Cray Y-MP/8E-256 8 = 1 * 8 cpus
> 8) Cray Y-MP/8E-256 8 = 1 * 8 cpus
> 9) Cray M98-4096 ~ 7.01
> 10) Cray 3/2-64 [-4Q96] 5.73?
> 11) NSA SMPP-2/2M [+4Q96] 7407.05?
^^^ ^^^^ ^^^^
Note also that poor Seymour Cray's Cray-3 (from Cray Computer, *not*
Cray Research, as you all must surely know) is not very competitive
with the various hypercubes and other parallel machines (like Intel's
Paragon and Thinking Machine's CM-5, both closely matched at around
90-100 Cray equivalents). I think this means the end of mostly
uniprocessor machines, even if made out of GaAs.
But the "NSA SMPP-2/2M" is intriguing. Speculatively (_very_), I
wonder if this is the "million processor" (or 2 million, if that's
what the "2M" means) machine researchers have talked about. (Danny
Hillis said at Hackers '90 that he hoped to see this built.)
I wonder who the contractor is?
Food for thought.
(And just what will the NSA SMPP-2/2M use for its food?)
--Tim May
--
..........................................................................
Timothy C. May | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
[email protected] | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
408-688-5409 | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
W.A.S.T.E.: Aptos, CA | black markets, collapse of governments.
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"National borders are just speed bumps on the information superhighway."