This page references "BlueBerry", an IBM-internal project I created in 2007. Designed to provide a search interface across multiple databases using commodity hardware, BlueBerry made unique use of over 100 surplus IBM ThinkPads. Consult the links below for more information.
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How it Works - Hardware - BlueBerry. |
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This page contains a description of the various software systems that make up the BlueBerry application. Please consult the Design section for details on rationale behind current hardware and software architecture.
A NetVista Pentium III class machine serves every BlueBerry request. Every query on the web interface, SOAP object access or AJAX call is passed through this one machine, and on to the real power of the system - 80 ThinkPad processing nodes.
Please consult the Design section for insight into some of the specific reasons ThinkPads were selected for this project. Some of the key points are: Space, Power/Heat and Time.
ThinkPads require very little space to store, transport and work on when their components fail. Managing the hardware in a grid of this 'vintage' means dealing with multiple failures and swapping a hard drive in a ThinkPad is much faster than extracting, opening, replacing and re-inserting a comparable commodity desktop hard drive.
Power consumption and heat emissions for a ThinkPad are comparitively lower than a desktop of equal performance. Placing over 100 running computers in the area the dimensions of a medium sized closet can produce serious demands on power availability and heat dissipation. In addition to being able to fit more processors per cubic inch, the overall amp-hour draws and cooling requirements of a ThinkPad cluster are barely noticeable in an average test development lab. Contrast this with the raised-floor. chilling tower, rooms-full of UPS batteries approach of the typical enterprise class cluster and it becomes obvious why thinkpads were really the only choice for a grassroots processing cluster.
Where do you find 80 ThinkPads in weeks, for zero cost? The surplus hardware asset listing. Finding available assets that are fully depreciated and about to be sent to the scrap process is fairly simple. Finding the appropriate power supplies, hard drives, network cables and switching gear can be more difficult, but the largesse of IBM can be leveraged, as many organizations discard 7+ years old equipment that works perfrectly for this project.
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More pictures of the BlueBerry hardware installation:
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Learn about BlueBerry's entry in the Situational Applications Environment contest.
Search BlueBerry data (IBM internal use only):
Home | Search Tips | How it works | About BlueBerry
BlueBerry was created by Nathan Harrington.
