Early Vid: IBM System p5 550Q Pt. 2
Added 2024-03-21 14:49:33 +0000 UTCFinally getting a 240v receptacle installed so we can attempt to boot up the p5 550Q...
... it technically runs. Video going up on the channel Friday!
Comments
Perfect, thank you!! My rack is right next to my main panel so I guess I should be able to just cut power to the whole house when I do it haha. And yup my PDU's are both rated to 20 amp so I want them both on separate circuits, one for live power and the other for UPS power. Right now I'm running them off my basement circuit with 3-4 servers running through the UPS. Once I get my supermicro GPU servers and older sunfires and v210/240s going, I'm sure I'll pop the breaker haha
JesseTheStig
2024-03-21 18:53:34 +0000 UTCI'll show it next time I film a short video, it really wasn't too bad and there are lots of videos like this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NL8JhvgJE1I In my case it was (relatively) safe because it was such a short run and I was able to totally cut power to that sub panel with its breaker in the main panel. My breaker I chose was just 240v/20amp so I was able to use that 20amp yellow wire you see, but as the amps go up and if you're using receptacles that leverage the neutral (mine doesn't — just two hots) you have to worry about which wire to use.
clabretro
2024-03-21 18:28:38 +0000 UTCWould you be able to do a quick video of wiring in your 240v breaker and outlet maybe a patreon only quick video tied into the basement remodel or an ebay haul? I have to wire in some bigger breakers on their own circuit for my 2 full rack size PDUs that have the nema twist lock plugs but are still 120 and I'm afraid to mess with anything electrical.
JesseTheStig
2024-03-21 18:14:29 +0000 UTCDefinitely, this got me curious. It's not a perfect match: https://web.archive.org/web/20060314123459/http://www-03.ibm.com/systems/p/hardware/entry/550q/browse.html But an 8-core 550Q would set you back $37,000 list price in 2006 haha.
clabretro
2024-03-21 16:39:07 +0000 UTCThank you! It's always fascinating how cheap the top-notch enterprise IT hardware gets once old.
Tobias Christiansen
2024-03-21 15:48:24 +0000 UTCOh yeah definitely. The smaller p5 520 was by far the best deal, I got that in a craigslist lot locally for $250 along with a Compaq Proliant Gen 1, Mac G4, IBM LTO2 tape drive, two of those Dell monitors you see in the background of the videos, and a bunch of cables. The other stuff is from eBay, prices all include shipping. That disk array was $50, the 550Q was $280, and the new VXR routers were all between $60 and $90. Now... the eBay prices aren't really what this stuff is "worth." Sellers always over-charge and the majority of the cost for this stuff is definitely in shipping, all of these things are super heavy.
clabretro
2024-03-21 15:34:16 +0000 UTCWould you be comfortable to share with us (maybe patreon only) how much you spent on all your machines? I'd be interested to know!
Tobias Christiansen
2024-03-21 15:10:13 +0000 UTC
