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The hook for this over other ones is that this is designed to have no binary blobs required, completely open and auditable firmware, etc. It's for people that

by wnoise 10y ago

The hook for this over other ones is that this is designed to have no binary blobs required, completely open and auditable firmware, etc. It's for people that care about security and are disgusted by the trash-fire that is the lowest levels of our computing stack. https://secure.raptorengineering.com/TALOS/prerelease.php https://secure.raptorengineering.com/TALOS/prerelease.php

wmf 10y ago
AFAIK all the OpenPower boxes use the same firmware, so why not buy the cheaper Supermicro ones? And on a practical level we know that people who bleat about firmware blobs are not going to spend $6,000 to escape from them.
- tpearson-raptor 10y ago
  Hi, Timothy here from Raptor Engineering. The lesser expensive servers do not use the same firmware as Talos™ or even the more expensive IBM systems. The cheaper machines reduce cost by using proprietary firmware components wherever possible, and by dropping as many features as the market will bear at the lower price point. This is not the market segment that Talos™ is aimed at.
  - seanp2k2 10y ago
    I believe their point is that the segment this is aimed at might not exist. I suppose that's why it's a campaign :) I'd also be interested for $1-2k even, but not at new car prices.
    - tpearson-raptor 10y ago
      Regarding the cost of non-consumer hardware, especially hardware in the $1k range, I encourage you to check out the presentation entitled "Talos™, OpenPOWER™, and the World Beyond x86" at https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-secure-workstation#a-world-beyond-x86 https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-s... That presentation offers several potential explainations for why that particular market segment is locked to proprietary, non-libre offerings only.
- howardbeware 10y ago
  There's plenty of firmware tucked away in places other than the main processor. On other boards, it's proprietary.

by wnoise 10y ago

wmf 10y ago

AFAIK all the OpenPower boxes use the same firmware, so why not buy the cheaper Supermicro ones? And on a practical level we know that people who bleat about firmware blobs are not going to spend $6,000 to escape from them.

tpearson-raptor 10y ago
Hi, Timothy here from Raptor Engineering. The lesser expensive servers do not use the same firmware as Talos™ or even the more expensive IBM systems. The cheaper machines reduce cost by using proprietary firmware components wherever possible, and by dropping as many features as the market will bear at the lower price point. This is not the market segment that Talos™ is aimed at.
- seanp2k2 10y ago
  I believe their point is that the segment this is aimed at might not exist. I suppose that's why it's a campaign :) I'd also be interested for $1-2k even, but not at new car prices.
  - tpearson-raptor 10y ago
    Regarding the cost of non-consumer hardware, especially hardware in the $1k range, I encourage you to check out the presentation entitled "Talos™, OpenPOWER™, and the World Beyond x86" at https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-secure-workstation#a-world-beyond-x86 https://www.crowdsupply.com/raptor-computing-systems/talos-s... That presentation offers several potential explainations for why that particular market segment is locked to proprietary, non-libre offerings only.
howardbeware 10y ago
There's plenty of firmware tucked away in places other than the main processor. On other boards, it's proprietary.