B. WHERE SHOULD LARGE-SCALE CALCULATIONS BE DONE?
At the very outset of planning one should examine very closely the question of the large-scale calculating required in the overall execution of the research program of the laboratory; then, if, as usual, it turns out that a substantial amount of complex calculating is anticipated, one should consider carefully the feasibility of planning to do that part of the work at the most readily accessible computer center in the vicinity, so as to be able to concentrate one's own energies and resources, especially capital investment, on the data-acquisition system. The use of a modern computer center offers enormous advantages, and most computing centers would welcome support. If this course of action is chosen, provisions must be planned from the start for computer-language communication between the computer center and the nuclear research laboratory via a medium such as magnetic tape. (Direct wire transmission will often not prove feasible.)
Some key questions are:
1. How much large-scale computing is anticipated?
2. How much waiting time for results is tolerable?
3. Can the local computing center handle the needs, and at what cost?
4. If the local computing center can handle all the needs, but only after acquiring certain additional support for equipment or manpower, might not the better course of action be to provide that support rather than to set up separate facilities?
5. Can setting up a large system truly be justified? Have all the extra costs and complexities of the large system been taken into account, including those associated with input and output devices, operation, maintenance, programming, management, and space?