AI in South West England
```mediawiki
- redirect AI in South West England
AI in South West England: A Server Configuration Overview
This article details the server configuration supporting the "AI in South West England" project. This project aims to provide a centralised resource for information regarding Artificial Intelligence research, development, and application within the South West region of England. This guide is intended for new administrators and technicians contributing to the MediaWiki infrastructure supporting this project. It covers hardware, software, and networking considerations. It assumes a basic understanding of MediaWiki administration and Linux server administration.
Project Goals
The primary goal of this infrastructure is to host a comprehensive wiki, allowing for collaborative documentation of AI initiatives across the South West. This includes research institutions like the University of Bristol, University of Exeter, and University of Plymouth, as well as local businesses and startups. The system must be scalable to accommodate growing content and user traffic. Furthermore, it needs to support potential future integration with AI-powered search and content recommendation systems, as discussed in the Future Development section.
Hardware Specifications
The core server infrastructure is built around a cluster of three dedicated servers. Here's a breakdown of the hardware specifications:
| Server Role | CPU | RAM | Storage | Network Interface |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Web Server (Wiki Frontend) | Intel Xeon Silver 4310 (12 Cores) | 64GB DDR4 ECC | 2 x 1TB NVMe SSD (RAID 1) | 10Gbps Ethernet |
| Database Server (MySQL/MariaDB) | Intel Xeon Gold 6338 (32 Cores) | 128GB DDR4 ECC | 4 x 2TB SAS 10K RPM (RAID 10) | 10Gbps Ethernet |
| Caching/Search Server (Redis/Elasticsearch) | AMD EPYC 7543P (32 Cores) | 64GB DDR4 ECC | 1 x 2TB NVMe SSD | 10Gbps Ethernet |
These servers are housed in a dedicated rack within a secure data centre with redundant power and cooling systems. Regular hardware monitoring is performed using Nagios and Zabbix.
Software Stack
The following software components are critical to the operation of the "AI in South West England" wiki. All software is kept up-to-date with the latest security patches.
| Component | Version | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS | Provides the base operating environment |
| Web Server | Apache 2.4 | Serves the MediaWiki application |
| Database Server | MariaDB 10.11 | Stores wiki content and metadata |
| PHP | 8.2 | Executes MediaWiki code |
| MediaWiki | 1.40 | The wiki engine itself |
| Redis | 7.0 | Caching layer for improved performance |
| Elasticsearch | 8.10 | Full-text search engine |
Configuration management is handled using Ansible, ensuring consistency across all servers. Backups are performed daily using Bacula and stored offsite. SSL/TLS encryption is enforced using Let's Encrypt certificates. Firewall rules are configured using `iptables`.
Network Configuration
The servers are connected to the data centre's internal network via 10Gbps Ethernet connections. A dedicated VLAN is used to isolate the wiki infrastructure from other services.
| Parameter | Value |
|---|---|
| VLAN ID | 100 |
| Subnet | 192.168.100.0/24 |
| Gateway | 192.168.100.1 |
| DNS Servers | 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4 |
| Public IP Address (Load Balanced) | 203.0.113.10 |
A load balancer (HAProxy) distributes traffic between the web servers, ensuring high availability and responsiveness. The load balancer is configured to perform health checks on the web servers and automatically remove any failing instances from the rotation. Access to the database server is restricted to the web servers and caching/search server. Regular network monitoring is performed using Wireshark and tcpdump.
Security Considerations
Security is paramount. The following measures are in place:
- Regular security audits are conducted.
- Intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) are deployed.
- Access control lists (ACLs) are used to restrict access to sensitive resources.
- The wiki software is kept up-to-date with the latest security patches.
- Strong passwords are enforced for all user accounts.
- Two-factor authentication is encouraged.
- Web Application Firewall (WAF) is implemented to protect against common web attacks.
Future Development
Future plans include integrating AI-powered features, such as:
- Semantic search and knowledge graph construction using Wikibase.
- Automatic categorization of articles using machine learning.
- Content recommendation based on user interests.
- Chatbot integration for user support.
These enhancements will require additional server resources and potentially the adoption of new technologies. Docker and Kubernetes are being evaluated for containerization and orchestration of these new services. Prometheus will be used for monitoring containerized applications. Further information on MediaWiki extensions can be found on the official MediaWiki website. Special:Search can be used to find existing content.
```
Intel-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Core i7-6700K/7700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 512 GB | CPU Benchmark: 8046 |
| Core i7-8700 Server | 64 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2x1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 13124 |
| Core i9-9900K Server | 128 GB DDR4, NVMe SSD 2 x 1 TB | CPU Benchmark: 49969 |
| Core i9-13900 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i9-13900 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (64GB) | 64 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Server (128GB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x500 GB NVMe SSD | |
| Core i5-13500 Workstation | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2 NVMe SSD, NVIDIA RTX 4000 |
AMD-Based Server Configurations
| Configuration | Specifications | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|
| Ryzen 5 3600 Server | 64 GB RAM, 2x480 GB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 17849 |
| Ryzen 7 7700 Server | 64 GB DDR5 RAM, 2x1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 35224 |
| Ryzen 9 5950X Server | 128 GB RAM, 2x4 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 46045 |
| Ryzen 9 7950X Server | 128 GB DDR5 ECC, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 63561 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/1TB) | 128 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/2TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (128GB/4TB) | 128 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/1TB) | 256 GB RAM, 1 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 7502P Server (256GB/4TB) | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe | CPU Benchmark: 48021 |
| EPYC 9454P Server | 256 GB RAM, 2x2 TB NVMe |
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⚠️ *Note: All benchmark scores are approximate and may vary based on configuration. Server availability subject to stock.* ⚠️