Date: Wed, 1 Dec 2004 14:45:23 +0100 (CET) From: Koza Zbigniew <zkoza@ift.uni.wroc.pl> To: <freebsd-cluster@freebsd.org> Subject: clustering: how to start? Message-ID: <Pine.GSO.4.33.0412011410060.9610-100000@rose.ift.uni.wroc.pl>
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We have just bought 4 dual-processor Xeon boxes for a physics department and want to turn it into a computing cluster. This means we want that the users will communicate with it via ssh/sftp and see all processors as if they were part of a one virtual UNIX machine with 8 processors on board. A typical job we want to run is (a bunch of) numerical simulation programs that run for 2 weeks or so. Thus, the cluster will serve only as a numerical workstation. We have experimented with Debian and OpenMosix. The first outcome of our tests is that Intels' so much advertised Hyperthreading technology is a disaster. Then, OpenMosix seems to have a bug that can bring the whole system to halt if one tries to run simultanieously several memory-consuming processes. We have also problems with compiling custom Linux kernel so that it could see all the swap space and memory it should see. Then I recalled that several years ago I experimented with FreeBSD and I liked it. Now I hear that FreeBSD supports SMP "natively", so no kernel recompilation will be necessary. I thought - maybe we could try and use FreeBSD instead of Debian? Now my question is: where should I start? Which docs should I read? Which program(s) should I use to cluster our 4 FreeBSD boxes? regards, Z. Koza
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