From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 94 15:49:10 PDT
To: ianf@simple.sydney.sgi.com (Ian Farquhar)
Subject: Re: NSA Spy Machine and DES
In-Reply-To: <9408190809.ZM4528@simple.sydney.sgi.com>
Message-ID: <199408182249.PAA12981@netcom4.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



> Actually, I would be surprised if the "SIMD" processors were not a huge
> array of reprogrammable FPGA's, quite possibly Xilinx's.  The possibilities
> of a large array of these chips, each with local memory, is quite

> BTW, with a purchase of half a million chips, economies of scale would get
> the devices well within budget.
> 
> 						Ian.

The press release for the NSA/Cray Computer machine said the chips
would be fabbed by National Semiconductor.

Related speculations:

* National is the builder (and possibly the contract operator) of the
on-site wafer fab at Fort Meade. This doesn't imply the chips will be
built on-site; in fact, I would doubt it.

* This machine is very probably the large machine reported in Gunter
Ahrendt's list of supercomputers as going into NSA, and then later
shown as going to the nearby Supercomputing center in Bowie, MD. (As
they are partners in this project, not much doubt.)


--Tim May

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