Re:The wind is changing

	Lab and departmental parallel processors will, of course,
 	continue to get more powerful, but remember that economics have
 	favored the small local solution since the pdp-11 went up
 	against the mainframes.  The economics are changing and high
 	speed reliable networks are proliferating.  Why should a
 	department bother with the hassles of administering a local
 	server if cost competitive performance is easily accessible on
 	the net?
 	Supercomputer centers have survived to date in the face of
 	grossly unfavorable economics.  With the costs of serving
 	cycles shifting in their favor, the big guys are likely to be
 	around for quite awhile.
 	David States National Center for Biotechnology Information /
 	National Library of Medicine
 Hear! Hear!
 We are in a debate about our next computational chemistry workstation.
 I (with a computer, not a chemistry, background) am arguing for that last
 year(s) it was Vaxen/E&S, this year it was SGI, next year(s) it's ...
 what?
 And I say doing the computation on a compute server, and display on a
 display server is the way to go.  It's just not conventional wisdom.
 But your arguements about multiple CPUs, economics, and administrative
 headaches are potent.
 Let me ask some pointed questions:
 	1) Am I to upgrade my modeling systems every year?  All of
 	them?  Just to get the latest "supported" combination of hot
 	hardware, whizzy graphics, and software compatibility?
 	2)  Am I to buy a software license for every package for every
 	workstation in my network?
 	3)  Am I to successfully configure each workstation's password,
 	printer, network, mount files, etc., for each package?
 	4)  Am I to clone, or NFS mount, all databases on all
 	workstations?
 	5)  Am I to drop all licenses and expertise on Package A and
 	reestablish them on Package B, when Scientist X of Company
 	Alpha goes to Company Beta and works on Package B?
 In the Perfect World of Vaporware, with unlimited Time and Money, all
 is possible.  The answers to the above questions are obvious and easy.
 In my world, I gnash my teeth mightly and rend my chest and hope for
 sanity and compassion from my vendors.
 /Steve Sidner
 Eppley Institute, UNMC, Omaha