Riding the wind of rebirth

The center's equipment is not yet fully in place, but the first phase of the project alone has cost more than 700 million yuan.

During the entire construction and deployment period, Shanghai's electricity consumption increased by two percent, half of which was caused by this center.

The second basement level is filled with fiber optic server racks covered in black paint and flashing lights, inside which are data storage units.

Because the data storage here uses graph data storage, the entire data architecture is different from ordinary storage methods, the data exchange and centralization methods are also different, and the requirements for communication equipment configuration are higher.

This is why this type of storage method has not yet become mainstream, because such a structure inevitably leads to high costs.

The storage racks are filled with card slots, each containing a memory card. Each rack also has a photoelectric conversion unit that converts the data on the card into optical signals, which are then transmitted via fiber optic cables at the top of the racks to a fiber optic switch shared by the nine racks. The signals then enter the fiber optic network through the switch, enabling data exchange between all storage units on the second basement level and with the computing center upstairs.

Due to the special heat dissipation requirements of electronic components, there is also a "cooling center" that is配套 with the center. This center is somewhat similar to the "cold storage" that is配套 with meat processing plants in every city. It removes heat by flowing low-temperature liquid ammonia and sends in cold air to achieve the purpose of ensuring the safe operation of the equipment.

The same applies to the computing center on the second floor, where countless computing units are connected by a fiber optic network, forming a nonlinear supercomputing center together on both floors.

The computing power here is equivalent to deploying ten Dawning servers, and the investment and maintenance costs are also enormous. Therefore, the only way to sustain this place is through the most profitable tasks.

Fortunately, such a task does exist now, otherwise Zhouzhi would not have been able to undertake such a large-scale construction project in this place.

The advantage of domestically produced equipment is that it is both high-quality and inexpensive. Even though the base is located in Shanghai, where land is so expensive, compared to the wealth that Xiaozhi has seized from financial markets around the world through high-frequency quantitative trading, this investment of several hundred million yuan is simply worthwhile.

The satellites for the Tianxing Diwang project have not yet been launched, so the satellite dish on the rooftop is connected to a general satellite line. This line has multiple functions, one of which is to collect market information from AXA Funds from all over the world.

However, the manipulation of the transactions did not take place here. Instead, the data was sent to Sichuan and Hong Kong via a dedicated domestic line, and then transmitted to a satellite via satellite ground terminals in both locations to carry out the operation.

Although this extra 10 milliseconds adds a delay, it's perfectly acceptable in today's world where everyone is hoarding resources and no one is competing for them.

The reason for this roundabout route is that domestic terrestrial signals cannot be monitored internationally. Even if someone with ulterior motives eventually locates these transactions in Hong Kong, they cannot trace them to Sichuan, let alone the server cluster in Shanghai.

The Hong Kong side was just a smokescreen; the transactions being sent were actually normal. The purpose was simply to boost Li Laosan's reputation and solidify his reputation as the "King of Securities" for his precise operations.

Once the celestial and terrestrial networks are fully deployed, these high-frequency quantitative transactions will become even more difficult to trace.

Although Li Laosan felt that this move was a bit unnecessary, his experience told him that Zhouzi must have his reasons for doing this, and since he couldn't understand it yet, he should just follow along.

“Energy consumption is a major problem.” As the head of a large center, An Chunjia now exudes a more composed demeanor, a stark contrast to the initial anxiety he felt upon arriving in the capital to work with his senior colleagues at Tsinghua University and Zhengzhou University on the Oracle Bone Inscription project.

It can be said that the three members of the Clover trio have made tremendous progress and gained a lot in the process of following the group's projects and dealing with various big shots, which is something that is hard to obtain elsewhere.

The Oracle Bone Fragmentation Project was Clover Group's earliest attempt at non-linear software, crucial for the construction of graph databases and related application software. An Chunjia, who followed the project from beginning to end, has now become the group's second-in-command in non-linear editing, someone who can thoroughly implement Mai Xiaomiao's intentions. The tacit understanding between the two sometimes even makes Zhou Zhi envious. "Just bear with it a little longer," Zhou Zhi patted An Chunjia's shoulder. "Once our satellite is launched, you can go to a place with mild winters and cool summers, a pleasant climate, and an endless supply of electricity."

"There are places like this?" An Chunjia's eyes lit up. "You're really that good?"

“Of course.” Zhou Zhi continued shamelessly, “Not only is it spring-like all year round, but the scenery is also beautiful, and the air quality is comparable to that of the South American rainforest.”

"You promised, so if anything doesn't go as planned, don't blame me for yelling at you in the group chat."

“If you’re going to swear, then swear properly. Don’t always use ‘someone’ to refer to someone. Let’s all blush and sweat a little!”

"You're quick to send those blushing and sweating emojis in chat!"

There aren't many people in the Clover Group who can joke around with Zhou Zhi anymore. Even Hu Tianyu and Hu Lidong have toned it down. The former three little ones have now become three giants. Only An Chunjia has remained in the academic atmosphere for a long time and has not been "contaminated" by the outside world.

Another special case is Yang He and Feng Xueshan. However, Yang He is not fond of joking, so only Feng Xueshan dares to disrespect Zhou Zhi.

The Shanghai Nonlinear Supercomputing Center was a project that Zhou Zhi entrusted to Mai Xiaomiao, with Li Guangnan and Hu Changfeng, who had already established themselves in Shanghai, providing support.

Li Guangnan is the main person in charge of the Shanghai R&D center of Clover Group, and Hu Changfeng's Huahong Group also owns 40% of Clover's shares. Zhou Zhi is very reassured by the way these two do things and their connections in Shanghai.

What Zhou Zhi didn't expect was that the two of them would spoil Mai Xiaomiao to an extreme degree, securing such a large piece of land for her in Zhangjiang and mobilizing various resources to complete the center in just one year. Furthermore, they completed the first phase of planning three months ago and entered a phase of operation and expansion.

Originally, Zhou Zhi envisioned the Clover Group's supercomputing center as a distributed computing and storage system, even scattered across the global internet. However, the current centralized approach in Shanghai is merely a temporary transitional solution.

However, it's also my fault for not explaining things clearly, and since I had plenty of money, things ended up getting this big.

“Energy is indeed a key issue. Currently, Shanghai has the best power supply security,” Zhou Zhi said. “It is difficult to replace it in the short term.”

“Let’s build more welfare housing while the policy allows it now, and choose locations near the two centers in Zhangjiang,” Zhou Zhi said. “I’ll talk to Lao Hu about it. In the future, the ownership of these houses will belong to the group, and employees can rent them at a low price. The rent will be used to maintain the dormitories.”

An Chunjia was overjoyed: "That is indeed the case. There are quite a few people in the center now, and we can't even keep up with the commuter bus schedule. If there were such a policy, our center would be even more attractive to talents."

"Mr. Hu has far more experience in this area than we do. You should learn more from him. Is his granddaughter's name Hu Yu?"

“We should have met, but she’s at the USTC Supercomputing Center right now and too busy.” An Chunjia blushed slightly, a rare occurrence for her. “We’ll have to do it another time.” (End of Chapter)