24 Apr
2007
24 Apr
'07
6:42 p.m.
It turns out all this SGI gear is coming from Boeing. That means the
Onyx 2 Reality Monster is likely to have a nice multi-head
configuration :-). Woo hoo!
So my question is... why is this Onyx and Challenge pictured in a
double-high cabinet?
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58902>
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58877>
Usually when I see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet that
is half the height of these and that includes space for all the boards
and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space for? More
boards and drives or just more drives?
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
24 Apr
24 Apr
8:23 p.m.
On Tuesday 24 April 2007 13:42, Richard wrote:
It turns out all this SGI gear is coming from Boeing.
That means the
Onyx 2 Reality Monster is likely to have a nice multi-head
configuration :-). Woo hoo!
So my question is... why is this Onyx and Challenge pictured in a
double-high cabinet?
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58902>
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58877>
Usually when I see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet
that is half the height of these and that includes space for all the
boards and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space
for? More boards and drives or just more drives?
It's a different system from the 1/2 height Challenge L and Onyx. (This
is "full height" not "double height".) I gave up two Challenge XLs
about a month ago, and still have a (prototype) Onyx similar to that
one.
Basically, the chassis have more slots than the 1/2 rack version.
Pat
--
Purdue University Research Computing --- http://www.rcac.purdue.edu/
The Computer Refuge --- http://computer-refuge.org
9:26 p.m.
In article <200704241523.43289.pat at computer-refuge.org>,
Patrick Finnegan <pat at computer-refuge.org> writes:
OK, I'd only ever seen the half-height varities then. I wonder if
they have the full height version because they needed more slots for
fancy cards :-).
--
"The Direct3D Graphics Pipeline" -- DirectX 9 draft available for download
<http://www.xmission.com/~legalize/book/download/index.html>
Legalize Adulthood! <http://blogs.xmission.com/legalize/>
Usually when I
see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet
that is half the height of these and that includes space for all the
boards and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space
for? More boards and drives or just more drives?
It's a different system from the 1/2 height Challenge L and Onyx. (This
is "full height" not "double height".) I gave up two Challenge XLs
about a month ago, and still have a (prototype) Onyx similar to that
one.
Basically, the chassis have more slots than the 1/2 rack version. 
10:23 p.m.
On Apr 24, 2007, at 1:42 PM, Richard wrote:
It turns out all this SGI gear is coming from Boeing.
That means the
Onyx 2 Reality Monster is likely to have a nice multi-head
configuration :-). Woo hoo!
So my question is... why is this Onyx and Challenge pictured in a
double-high cabinet?
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58902>
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58877>
Usually when I see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet that
is half the height of these and that includes space for all the boards
and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space for? More
boards and drives or just more drives?
This is the Onyx/Challenge "rack" configuration. If memory
serves, it can hold up to three Ebus/VME card cages, and at least one
19" rackmount disk chassis. In my experience, these have been just
about as common as the deskside chassis, though a real pain to move.
The big plus is that they have very good rollers. They do, sadly,
also suffer from the same old SGI problem of cheap plastic skins that
practically disintegrate if not handled like fine china. If you so
much as look at one of those front door hinges wrong, it will break.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
10:50 p.m.
Richard wrote:
It turns out all this SGI gear is coming from Boeing.
That means the
Onyx 2 Reality Monster is likely to have a nice multi-head
configuration :-). Woo hoo!
So my question is... why is this Onyx and Challenge pictured in a
double-high cabinet?
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58902>
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58877>
Usually when I see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet that
is half the height of these and that includes space for all the boards
and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space for? More
boards and drives or just more drives?
Very nice! I've had 2 Onyx and a Challenge in the past and they are
splendid machines, especially when fully populated with R10K processors
and IR :-)
The top half has card cages at the front and back. Front cage has memory
& power cards, back has CPU, memory, 3 VME slots and IR graphics on the
Onyx machines. Both these card cages share a common back plane.
The bottom half has 2 or 3 power supplies at the front and an optional
card cage at the back which is used for additional IR pipes. In the
middle at the front is the control panel which hinges out and behind
this is a disk cage with space for about 12 drives IIRC.
The back plane in the Challenge doesn't have the slots for IR cards so
is processor, memory and I/O only.
The very top has 2 huge extractor fans under the top grille.
The 3 power supply model is 3 phase only AFAIK.
James
http://www.machineroom.info
11:07 p.m.
On Tuesday 24 April 2007 10:42, Richard wrote:
It turns out all this SGI gear is coming from Boeing.
That means the
Onyx 2 Reality Monster is likely to have a nice multi-head
configuration :-). Woo hoo!
So my question is... why is this Onyx and Challenge pictured in a
double-high cabinet?
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58902>
<http://www.dovebid.com/assets/display.asp?ItemID=cpt58877>
Usually when I see a Challenge or Onyx in a photo I see a cabinet that
is half the height of these and that includes space for all the boards
and drives. So what would you need the extra cabinet space for? More
boards and drives or just more drives?
Most of the Onyx and Challenge systems I see at brokers/scrappers are full
rack - only the deskside systems are half height.
What's in them will vary - I've seen everything from almost nothing (empty
space), drive arrays, supplemental I/O gear (fiber channel, etc.), and
additional CPU's. Onyx systems can have multiple pipes, or as above.
Most of the Challenge systems I've seen over the last couple of years have
been scrapped - as there are no commercial takers for any of their components
- and most hobbiests don't have the space for racks of CPU's and drive arrays
(with 9MB drives ;-) The other issue with Onyx and Challenge systems is that
most, if not all, the drives are HVD (High Voltage Differential) SCSI. It is
possible to convert an Onyx or Challenge to SE (Single Ended) SCSI - but it's
a bit of a chore (I did it for my Onyx IR and RE2 Desksides).
Onyx systems have a bit of demand - as hobbiests and some brokers want the
graphics cards - especially those for Infinite Reality graphics and Sirius
Video (Broadcast quality video). [That's especially true if the Sirius Video
comes with cables and control box (digital serial option being the most
desirable.)]
Cheers,
Lyle
--
Lyle Bickley
Bickley Consulting West Inc.
Mountain View, CA
http://bickleywest.com
"Black holes are where God is dividing by zero"
6483
days inactive
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5 comments
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participants (5)
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james＠machineroom.info -
lbickley＠bickleywest.com -
legalize＠xmission.com -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
pat＠computer-refuge.org