*iCluster_ – The I.S.I.O.L.O. HyperComputer project finally commissioned

Big is big

It all started as an Idea.

A ‘what if’. An ‘I wish someone is reading this and can buy into the dream’ kind of a whimper. An ‘If ONLY I had the funding’ tyre-kick. A gut feeling that a group of Kenyans can actually do this.

A need to show that we never have to depend on the American or the savior from Europe to do this for us.

A pain arising from the hunger for an African success story. The quest to showcase that in Kenya, we are not just USERS of technologies. We are creators and pioneers.

The Journey has been long and tiresome. Eric Hersman told me to do a proposal. I did it. Bob of Google asked me to refine it further. I did. I was asked some technical questions about clusters. I answered them as if asked what my name was. [And still, I cannot get a job, for kicks ofcourse, because I do not have a University degree].

Finally, the funding has been release. USD 50, 000 allocated for the *iCluster_. Codenamed the ISIOLO HyperComputer Project. The initial project will be designed by a core team of 2-3 people.

My experience in servers, SysAdminery and security means I will have the honor to do the setup and Configs. Kernel hacks, optimization, installation of the Parallel programming environment. Setup of tools like pyCuda and Cula. @AfroWave will do the Networks, the power and cabling, the rack specs, the monitoring system and the cooling. We still need 2 people.

One person to do the documentation of the whole setup. Videos, photographic and technical. We might need to create a documentary for this. You need to have your own camera and be available to come to the iHub at least 3 times a week.

Secondly, also, we might need an individual or panel of thinkers. We have over 7 uses for the iCluster that will be published as we go on, if not yet listed in my last blog posts, but we will welcome ideas and challenges.

The project is FUNDED by google, and happily IMPLEMENTED by local hard-core talents from Kenya, based at the iHub. And that’s whats up.

Now, this is the ZeroDay on how we are going to play it:

•  We will be welcoming applications from 2 types of people.
• Techies who want to learn how to create the cluster. With them, we will dismantle and delete EVERYTHING from a learning replica of the cluster, and then do it from scratch. This will be done with 5 people every 30 days. So, 5 people per month will get to learn something new and cool. Nice huh?
• Business-minds who want to know how the blazing speeds of the cluster can be harnessed for their organization. It is really a no-brainer. Ogopa and HomeBoyz. Universities. NSE. NSSF. Kenya Police. CID. NSIS. Telcos. KNEC. Kenya Army. Tens of uses for the cluster for each.

More on this will be on the *iCluster_ blog that we will open soon dedicated to the cluster. Videos, Daily updates etc.

Let us celebrate Kenyan. Let us celebrate technology. Real solution to real problems, using technology.

Back to code.

Wazi.