Tech Hammer

Although Ning Wei felt that March did have a bit of a venomous tongue, he probably didn't expect that venomous tongue could be a major characteristic. Several editors immediately recognized March, and even made March's reputation begin to spread. The mainstream Western academic circle is rapidly fermenting, and some people even hope that March can replace Ning Wei and become a new benchmark. After all, they are both from China. The only difference is that Ning Wei became famous a little earlier.

If Ning Wei knew this, he would most likely be grateful to the editors of these top journals. No matter what, it is a good thing to let March become famous first. To put it bluntly, it is one thing for a father to hope that his daughter will succeed. If possible, Ning Wei wouldn't even mind giving half of his achievements to March.

So when he received a call from Zhang Yusheng as soon as he arrived at the institute the next day, Ning Wei felt extremely comfortable.

"Gong Zhang, have you returned to the capital?"

"Yes, after I reported your needs to Mr. Yan yesterday, Mr. Yan arranged for someone to go directly to the airport to pick up the documents we sent. By the way, he helped us book the tickets to return to the capital that night, so we returned last night Beijing, by the way, I have made an appointment for you to go to a supercomputing asset that the other party is also interested in selling today. If you have time, I will drive to pick you up now."

"Okay, then I'll wait for you at the institute."

After hanging up the phone, Ning Wei just felt that he had chosen the right partner. If nothing else, the work efficiency and speed were amazing. Within ten minutes, Zhang Yusheng called again, and the car had already arrived outside the institute.

"Gong Zhang, thank you for your hard work. This matter has been settled. I'll treat you to dinner today." Ning Wei said after getting in the car.

"Haha, Mr. Ning is too polite. Our Mr. Yan has said that I can put other things aside recently and fully assist you in getting this matter done. So I recommend a suitable supercomputing center to you, which is what the company arranged for me. Don’t dare to take credit for your work tasks.” Zhang Yusheng said with a smile.

No matter what, hearing these words makes people feel comfortable.

Ning Wei smiled, put the matter aside for the time being, and asked, "Gong Zhang, where is this supercomputing center? Is it far from the school?"

"I'm about to introduce it to you. This supercomputing center is not far from here. It's in the Big Data Software Park in Huaguan Village. It's about six or seven kilometers away from Yanbei University. It's not that far. It's It belongs to Beijing Jiakai Big Data Information Services Co., Ltd., which is a private enterprise. The boss’s surname is Xue. He came from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and contacted a few friends to establish the company.”

“When I started this company, I was firstly responding to the call of the state to get some subsidies, and secondly, I was looking at the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises would indeed have long-term needs for supercomputing and data storage in the future, and I thought that several shareholders would have some resources, so I could get some subsidies. In order to attract business, the center was planned to be built. The idea was good, but it was actually in early 2020 when several major domestic cloud computing platforms began to compete and seize the market. The price was directly knocked down and there was no way to do it. "

"The business volume and charging standards brought by some relationships can probably only maintain the operation of the center, and profits are far away, so several shareholders unanimously decided to sell this supercomputing center. Because they happened to consult us at the time, I happened to know This news." Zhang Yusheng introduced roughly.

"Oh! Do you know the specific structure of this supercomputing center?" Ning Wei asked.

"Because this supercomputing center originally purchased our network equipment, it was contracted and constructed by a third-party company that signed a contract with Huawei. I was the on-site construction guide at the time, so I am relatively clear about this aspect. You can be sure of the quality in all aspects. Rest assured, for example, the integrated wiring system of the center strictly complies with the requirements of wiring level R3, and the links adopt redundant methods to ensure that the security of the computer room wiring reaches the fault-tolerant level, and no single point failure will affect the business."

"The network design follows the two-layer flat design principle and is divided into core layer, aggregation layer, and access layer. The access layer has the capability of 10 Gigabit uplink and high-density Gigabit access, supports two-way access control, and is designed for access The incoming data flow is marked, and the QoS control strategy for the traffic is implemented step by step during the transmission process. By the way, we also upgraded the turbulence algorithm protection strategy for this data center some time ago."

"In addition, the design and construction of the computer room are strictly in accordance with GB 50174-2017 "Electronic Information System Computer Room Design Specification" and ANSI/TIA-942-A-2012 standards. The wiring system uses MPO/MTP pre-terminated optical fiber system. In the future It can be smoothly upgraded to a 40/100Gb/s system at any time. You only need to change the transfer module. If you need it, just say hello to me. As for the backbone link, I dare not say that it will take too long, at least five to six years. There is no need for additional upgrades. All network communication equipment is still within our warranty period. If you have any problems, call me and get them replaced directly.”

"By the way, this data center spent about 3.8 million to customize a complete DeLclima cooling system with a capacity of one megawatt. The conditions are quite good in all aspects. The server chosen is an array made of a high-end server launched by Inspur in 2019. ...Oh, it’s already here.”

…

Although it is not far from the school, it is the first time for Ning Wei to come to this big data park in Huaguan Village.

Zhang Yusheng parked his car in a parking space in the park, and then made a phone call. When the two got out of the car, a middle-aged man in formal attire was already striding towards Zhang Yusheng.

"Haha, Mr. Zhang, long time no see. This must be Mr. Ning, a young talent, a young talent! To be honest, ever since I met Mr. Ning online, I have long wanted to meet Mr. Ning, but I have never had the chance. , I have to thank Mr. Zhang for bringing Mr. Ning to me, haha."

"Mr. Ning, this is Mr. Xue from Jiakai Big Data Information Services Company. He can make the overall decision regarding the sale of the data center." Zhang Yusheng introduced immediately.

"Hello, Mr. Xue."

Ning Wei nodded and said hello, but the other party had already stretched out his hands and held Ning Wei's hand tightly: "Why is Mr. Xue not Mr. Xue? We who are engaged in academics don't like their kind. Call me. My name is Xue Changqing. In this way, how many years have I gained in age? You can just call me Lao Xue. How about I call you Xiao Ning? "

This kind of familiarity made Ning Wei feel quite strange, and he was not even used to it, but after all, he reached out to avoid hitting the smiling man, so he could only nod slightly and said: "Then I will call you Lao Xue."

"Yes, yes, that's good. Come on, Mr. Zhang, Xiaoning, go to the company for a cup of tea first, and let's talk slowly."

…

"Old Xue, let's not go off topic. Why don't you introduce the specific situation of the data center first, and then let's talk about the price. If the price is right, I can buy it in the near future."

After being warmly invited to the office by Xue Changqing, sitting in front of the tea set, Ning Wei said straight to the point.

He felt uncomfortable with the overly warm reception, so he simply spoke straightforwardly.

After hearing this, Xue Changqing glanced at Zhang Yusheng next to Ning Wei, while Zhang Gong smiled and remained silent.

"Xiao Ning is a straight-tempered person, but I guess Zhang Gong has introduced some basic information to Xiao Ning, right?" Xue Changqing asked.

“Mr. At this time, all aspects of the situation are more stringent than other centers, so I specially introduced Mr. Ning to come here. Some basic information must be disclosed to Mr. Ning first. You can’t be a monster." Zhang Yusheng said with a smile.

Xue Changqing nodded and said, "Okay, let's have a cup of tea first, and I'll give you a general introduction to the center's current situation."

With that said, Xue Changqing raised the tea cup.

After the three of them drank a cup of tea, Xue Changqing continued: "Our data center currently consists of 350 CPU rack servers, one hundred KNL servers and one hundred GPU servers. The theoretical peak of the overall computing power is about 3900 trillion times. The CPU server can provide 6,000 cores, 230 trillion calculations per second, and a total storage capacity of 6PB; the GPU node has a total computing power of 3PFLOPS, the KNL node has a computing power of 430TFLOPS, and the total storage capacity is 3PB."

"The computing network adopts the omni-path architecture, and compilers such as Intel and GCC are installed. The job management uses the Slurm scheduling system, and the file system uses the Luster distributed file system for management. These have been debugged for a long time and will definitely ensure trouble-free operation. . The network uses three-line access from China Telecom, China Unicom and Cernet, and also opens a special channel for big data users."

"Our original cost calculation for building this supercomputing center was about 230 million. The center has been officially in operation for about two years. To be honest, it is probably only enough to cover the monthly operating costs. After all, electricity bills, network fees, and maintenance fees , depreciation expenses are very large, I don’t know exactly what Xiaoning wants to do with a supercomputing center, if it is to continue operating it, I personally don’t think it makes much sense.”

Ning Wei nodded. The last sentence was quite sincere. He glanced at Zhang Yusheng and saw the Huawei engineer Wei Kecha nodded. He probably knew that Mr. Xue had nothing to hide. After pondering for a moment, he said: "Then Mr. Xue, how much do you want to spend on this supercomputing center?"

"Oh? Xiaoning, are you sure you want to buy it?" Xue Changqing poured another cup of tea for the three of them and asked.

Ning Wei said with a smile: "Of course, I can't bother Mr. Zhang and Lao Xue to waste your time drinking tea, but I have no intention of continuing to operate it externally after buying it, so if the transaction is confirmed, I hope you can transfer it as soon as possible." The problems of customers who purchased the service have been solved, the data will be transferred as soon as possible, and I may do some sorting out of the platform system."

Xue Changqing nodded and said: "It's not a big problem with the customers. I won't hide it from you two. Most of the current customers are acquaintances who take care of the business and won't embarrass us too much. But when it comes to price, I don't understand it. Favors, I have to quote a high price, mainly because there are several shareholders of this data center who are also good friends. We all pooled money together to do this project. I can't help them make money. I'm sorry to let them lose. It’s too much, so my psychological price is to sell it for at least 190 million.”

The price of 190 million really did not exceed Ning Wei's budget. He glanced at Zhang Yusheng. Zhang Gong coughed twice and said: "Mr. Xue, you are a little unreasonable. I remember you said that the data center When we settled in the industrial park, we had a three-year preferential contract, including preferential policies on rent, electricity bills, and tax rebates. I remember that there were also some interest-free policies. I believe that the first two years of operation were only enough to cover the costs, but depreciation The expense is a big one, and with various preferential policies, we should still be able to make a profit every year. Is this quote of 190 million a bit exaggerated?"

"Haha, Mr. Zhang, I also said it. I'm embarrassed to let a few friends lose too much. Otherwise, I can't be a good person! But one thing is that at this price, I can say that I didn't make a penny from this project. You have to pay for two years of accumulated capital costs. Isn't this a lie?" Xue Changqing spread his hands and said.

The conversation between the two probably gave Ning Wei an idea. To put it bluntly, for Xue Changqing, if the data center continues to operate and cannot enjoy various discounts, it will really make no money, and naturally he will not be in the mood to continue operating it.

For him, the biggest expense is probably the electricity bill. In the future, we only need to change the supercomputing center into a large-scale computer laboratory and have Yu Xingwei manage it. The operating costs will be greatly reduced and it will not be too expensive.

"Xiao Ning, what exactly do you want to buy this supercomputing center for? Can you tell me about it?" Xue Changqing looked at Ning Wei and asked.

"I want to change it into a large data laboratory to verify some of my mathematical theories." Ning Wei replied.

"This is a good thing! In that case, I can't lower the price anymore, but if you are renovating the laboratory, I can help you contact the park management committee to get some support funds, electricity bills and rent. Discounts like this can be extended. How about that?" Xue Changqing looked at Ning Wei and asked.

"Support funds are not necessary. It would be good if the electricity bill and rent can be discounted. Having said all that, why not take me to see the inside of the data center on site. If there is no problem, let's just pay this price. By the way, if We signed the contract today, when will the handover be completed?" Ning Wei said simply.

This sentence stunned both Xue Changqing and Zhang Yusheng.

Is a 190 million contract so straightforward?

Of course, Ning Wei thought very simply. With his current relationship with Huawei, it was impossible for Zhang Yusheng to directly introduce Xue Changqing to him without doing a good job of investigation. After all, offending him would not do any good to Huawei.

On the other hand, negotiating a price of 10 to 20 million means little to him. Instead of engaging in a tug-of-war, it would be better to make arrangements for Yu Xingwei and March as soon as possible.

"If this is the case, give us half a month, and I guarantee to complete the data migration and refund work for all customers in half a month. However, after signing the contract, I need you, Xiaoning, to pay a deposit of no less than 50 million in advance, or to purchase the The money from the data center is deposited into the third-party supervision account to ensure that we can receive the payment immediately after fulfilling the contract. If a bank loan is needed, the time will be calculated from the time when the bank decides to lend." Xue Changqing replied after pondering.

"It's okay. We can calculate it today. I don't need a loan." Ning Wei replied.