Server rental store

AI in Lancashire

AI in Lancashire: Server Configuration

This article details the server configuration supporting Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiatives within Lancashire County Council. It is aimed at new system administrators and developers contributing to these projects. This document outlines the hardware, software, and network specifics required for optimal performance and scalability.

Overview

Lancashire County Council is increasingly utilizing AI for tasks ranging from predictive policing to resource allocation and citizen services. This requires a robust and scalable server infrastructure. The current setup employs a hybrid approach, utilizing both on-premise servers and cloud resources (primarily AWS) to balance cost, security, and performance. This document focuses on the on-premise components, with a brief overview of cloud integration. Refer to the Cloud Integration Guide for further details on AWS configuration.

Hardware Specifications

The primary AI processing is currently handled by a cluster of dedicated servers located within the Lancashire County Council data centre in Preston. These servers are designed for high-throughput computation and large dataset handling.

Server Role Model CPU RAM Storage Network Interface
AI Processing (Node 1-4) Dell PowerEdge R750 2 x Intel Xeon Gold 6338 (32 cores/64 threads per CPU) 512 GB DDR4 ECC REG 4 x 4TB NVMe SSD (RAID 10) 100 Gbps Ethernet
Data Storage (Node 5-6) HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 2 x Intel Xeon Silver 4310 (12 cores/24 threads per CPU) 256 GB DDR4 ECC REG 8 x 16TB SAS HDD (RAID 6) 25 Gbps Ethernet
Database Server Lenovo ThinkSystem SR630 2 x AMD EPYC 7543P (32 cores/64 threads per CPU) 256 GB DDR4 ECC REG 2 x 1TB NVMe SSD (RAID 1) 25 Gbps Ethernet

These specifications are subject to change as AI workloads evolve. See the Hardware Refresh Policy for details. Network diagrams are available at Network Topology.

Software Stack

The software stack is carefully chosen to support the AI development and deployment pipeline. This includes the operating system, programming languages, AI frameworks, and database management system.

Component Version Purpose
Operating System Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS Server Operating System
Programming Languages Python 3.10, R 4.3.1 Primary languages for AI development
AI Frameworks TensorFlow 2.12, PyTorch 2.0, scikit-learn 1.2.2 Machine learning and deep learning frameworks
Database PostgreSQL 15 Data storage and management
Containerization Docker 24.0.5, Kubernetes 1.27 Application deployment and orchestration

All software is kept up to date according to the Software Update Schedule. Security patching is prioritized and automated where possible. We utilize Ansible for configuration management.

Network Configuration

The AI server cluster resides on a dedicated VLAN within the Lancashire County Council network. This ensures isolation and security.

Parameter Value
VLAN ID 200
Subnet 192.168.200.0/24
Gateway 192.168.200.1
DNS Servers 192.168.1.10, 192.168.1.11
Firewall Rules Allow inbound traffic on ports 22, 80, 443, 5432 from approved IP ranges. All other inbound traffic is blocked.

Access to the servers is restricted to authorized personnel only, utilizing SSH key-based authentication. Detailed firewall rules are documented in the Firewall Configuration Document. Monitoring is handled via Nagios and Prometheus. Consider reviewing the Security Best Practices document before making any network changes.

Cloud Integration

As mentioned previously, a hybrid approach is employed. Cloud resources, hosted on AWS, are used for:

⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️

View full article | Back to Server rental store