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Oxide Computer: Docs

docs.oxide.computer

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Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#41

Post by bcantrill »

corysama wrote: post #20

Oxide's "On the Metal" podcast is an incredibly fun deep dive into technical issues no one should have to deal with as told by people who lived them. "Deep" as in: software DRAM drivers, Ring -1 security, bespoke motherboard designs... I only wish there were more episodes. https://oxide.computer/podcasts/on-the-metal I just noticed they have a second podcast. I'll assume it's just as good. https://oxide.computer/podc…

For whatever it's worth, I think the reason the doc site was submitted to HN recently is in fact because of our recent episode on the frontend.[0] We have really enjoyed doing Oxide and Friends, and if you're an On the Metal listener, we think you'll find a lot to like!

[0] https://oxide-and-friends.transistor.fm/episodes/the-fronten...

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#42

Post by faitswulff »

solarkraft wrote: post #29

Finally I actually understand what they're building. Now I must ask: Why? On-prem servers aren't a new invention. The market seems pretty saturated (and shrinking). Virtualization isn't a new invention either. The market seems pretty well served, at least commercially. Can the integration of both be a convincing enough advantage? The management UI certainly looks nice; it's something I'd like to have on my KVM box at…

One benefit is that they're competing in an industry where the time to get a sled up and running for compute can be measured in weeks (they say they've heard up to 90 days) whereas their solution is basically plug and play - Bryan was trying to get Steve to admit set up took "hours" whereas Steve was hedging and saying customers could get started "within a week."

They go into more details on their podcast, and this section in particular covers the bootstrap time: https://youtu.be/5P5Mk_IggE0?t=3381 Pretty fascinating stuff.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#43

Post by [deleted] »

solarkraft wrote: post #29

Finally I actually understand what they're building. Now I must ask: Why? On-prem servers aren't a new invention. The market seems pretty saturated (and shrinking). Virtualization isn't a new invention either. The market seems pretty well served, at least commercially. Can the integration of both be a convincing enough advantage? The management UI certainly looks nice; it's something I'd like to have on my KVM box at…

[deleted]

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#44

Post by soneil »

EvanAnderson wrote: post #10

Everything about Oxide's gear sounds like fun. I imagine it must be a bit like what working with minicomputers in 70s thru the 90s was like. I did a little work in the late 90s with Alpha-based machines. I was impressed at those machines didn't seem like the hack-job crap that PC-based stuff was (with simulated chips from the early 1980's hiding out in dark corners because "compatibility") and still is today. I'm bet…

I really wish they'd do a tour of it, hardware & software. They've gotta be proud as hell of what they've pulled off, it boggles my mind that they're not more eager to show it off.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#45

Post by convolvatron »

paywallasinbeer wrote: post #40

After giving the "Known Behavior and Limitations" a scroll here https://docs.oxide.computer/release-notes/system/1-0-0 It seems a little... half baked? Especially for a company whose specialty is the integrated management platform. Interested to see customer reviews.

this looks like a pretty normal bug list

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#46

Post by EvanAnderson »

tiffanyh wrote: post #27
dist1ll wrote: post #5

As someone who's only dealt with commodity server hardware, these specs make me salivate. And all these boot/management TUIs are just so satisfying to look at. (Sorry to be that guy, but just a friendly suggestion: high contrast dark themes are difficult to read for people with astigmatism. Especially since this is technical documentation, intended to be thoroughly read, you might want to consider a light theme toggl…

> As someone who's only dealt with commodity server hardware, these specs make me salivate Commodity servers have the same specs. Here’s a reseller of SuperMicro servers, where you can buy similar compute on the cheap. https://www.siliconmechanics.com/systems/servers/rackform

I haven't worked with SuperMicro (aside from having it inside "appliance" devices that I've worked adjacent to), but I assume my experience with Dell and HP commodity servers are similar.

The thick layer of hardware contrivances necessary to maintain IBM PC compatibility is unnecessary for the task of bulk hosting of x86/x64 VMs. There's a lot of hardware and software that just doesn't need to be there.

Bare metal out-of-band management ends up being bolted-on to these "legacy" contrivances (scraping video memory for remote consoles, faking being USB peripherals). A serial console or SSH connection to a service processor would be vastly superior. I can't begin to count how many times an iDRAC "lied" to me about issues with a machine, or how many times the solution was "upgrade the iDRAC firmware and reboot it".

I have been mostly unimpressed with the quality of firmware for motherboards, baseboard management controllers, RAID adapters, NICs, HBAs, power supplies, backplanes, front panels, etc. Every new model of system or component ends up being an exercise in fear / anticipation of problems. The integrator has very little power over the firmware quality and I can be assured that if I do have a firmware-induced issue I'm many, many steps away from actually communicating with somebody who can help.

Granted, maybe if I was buying at the scale of Oxide's prospective Customers I'd have some pull with the integrators, but I'm skeptical of that, even.

Oxide is actually building computers. Putting commodity motherboards into boxes with other commodity components won't ever have the level of attention to detail and integration that Oxide can provide.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#47

Post by chamakits »

solarkraft wrote: post #29

Finally I actually understand what they're building. Now I must ask: Why? On-prem servers aren't a new invention. The market seems pretty saturated (and shrinking). Virtualization isn't a new invention either. The market seems pretty well served, at least commercially. Can the integration of both be a convincing enough advantage? The management UI certainly looks nice; it's something I'd like to have on my KVM box at…

I'm not affiliated with them, but I recall this being marketed at some point as giving you the flexibility and customization powers that the Googles and Facebooks of the world have with their on-prem infrastructure without needing to have as deep of a dedicated staff as they do to just this which allowed them to develop all their custom tooling in the first place.

Basically if you are on-prem, and you are dissatisfied with what you are getting out of today's onprem sellers. Things like bad firmware with slow update cycles, issues with rack/power supplies/cabling/interconnecting systems. Closed down systems that don't allow much customization, etc. They are open sourcing a lot of their work along the way

Again, I'm not affiliated with them, and my info may be outdated so take it with a grain of salt. But that's how I've seen them for some time.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#48

Post by EvanAnderson »

soneil wrote: post #44
EvanAnderson wrote: post #10

Everything about Oxide's gear sounds like fun. I imagine it must be a bit like what working with minicomputers in 70s thru the 90s was like. I did a little work in the late 90s with Alpha-based machines. I was impressed at those machines didn't seem like the hack-job crap that PC-based stuff was (with simulated chips from the early 1980's hiding out in dark corners because "compatibility") and still is today. I'm bet…

I really wish they'd do a tour of it, hardware & software. They've gotta be proud as hell of what they've pulled off, it boggles my mind that they're not more eager to show it off.

I'd fly out to their factory on my dime and pay to watch a dog-and-pony show and hear a Q&A. I'm that excited about this stuff. Even if I just end up being a Customer of somebody who hosts my VM on this gear it's plenty exciting. It actually feels like a new computer, as opposed to the same old, same old offerings from the incumbents.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#49

Post by soneil »

javajosh wrote: post #19

I'm particularly impressed with their anti-tamper measures. "For each server sled, shine a light into the cubby to look for any physical tampering or damage." https://docs.oxide.computer/guides/system/rack-installation-...

That's pretty standard? Anything that's going straight into 400V (I assume) deserves a good eyeball before it's energised. I doubt their "root of trust" knows how to protect the system from a dead mouse in the bus bars.

Re: Oxide Computer: Docs

#50

Post by ThinkBeat »

Can you configure your Oxide mainframe for different uses? Like max it out with 90% being GPUs?

I like the idea, though it may be dumb, if you could fill it with different types of processors for what you need.

Sort of like chiplets but at a different scale

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