Intel has a secret, as the source calls it, laboratory in Costa Rica, where the processor giant stores its old hardware and software products.
The task of the laboratory is as simple as possible. This is a warehouse of old processors and other Intel products, which is needed to conduct certain tests at some point with the participation of these oldest processors (and other components). Such a need arises, for example, when a vulnerability is detected in processors, and Intel must determine which processors it concerns and which ones it does not.
The laboratory staff said that at one time they simply had to buy some old copies on eBay, since Intel did not have any such warehouse.
Planning for the creation of the warehouse began in mid-2018, and the laboratory was launched in the second half of 2019.
The warehouse stores about 3,000 pieces of hardware and software up to about ten years old. Intel plans to expand the range next year, almost doubling the area, which will accommodate 6,000 pieces of equipment. Intel engineers can request a PC in a specific configuration of their choice. Then it is assembled by a technical specialist and is available through cloud services. The laboratory works 24 hours a day, seven days a week, usually about 25 engineers work each shift.
Interestingly, the laboratory receives about 1,000 requests per month, so it solves tasks that are clearly not only related to new vulnerabilities. The warehouse also receives about 50 new devices every week.
