However like most computers, these systems lead a life where they are upgraded and eventually replaced and decommissioned.
One such system that has reached the end of it’s life as a super computer cluster is the FORNAX system at UWA in Perth. Touchpoint were invited to put forward a Purchase Proposal for this super computer. This system had the following specs;
- 14 water cooled racks of SGI compute server nodes including
- 1,326 CPU cores
- 7,944GB RAM
- 1,600TB of storage
- All associated networking equipment.
We physically visited the site in WA and assessed the extraction project from the data centre. Our proposal included a full assessment and valuation of the entire system, down to part number level. We also included the deployment of a specialist team to carefully remove the water cooled equipment, shelf by shelf from the data centre and pack all equipment ready for safe transit back to our Sydney facility for processing. We also had to ensure we laid plans to protect the heritage listed building during the move. All of which needed to be completed in a tight time frame.
Touchpoint were selected as the preferred buyer and we completed the extraction on schedule with minimum involvement or hassle for the UWA team.
The equipment itself was broken down into component parts and sold to a group of buyers from around the world who specialise in these items. Somewhat surprisingly, this resulted in a better outcome for the customer rather than selling the system as a whole.
If you have a single server or a whole super computer and would like a strong offer combined with an end to end, project managed, no hassle extraction proposal from Touchpoint, please call us on 02 8424 3500 or contact us.