Currently I have a ethernet network of 4 Unix flavored computers running
separate multi-threaded
programs and some of these programs communicate via IPC and reflective
memory. I need to
convert my ethernet network to a cluster and make the transition as easy as
possible - I want
to minimize the number of software changes I have to make.
I am building a heterogeneous network of Unix flavored PCs (x86), mostly
Linux based,
consisting of 18 nodes. Each node will NOT have the exact same hardware
configuration.
All of the MPI documents I have read mention the same program is run over
all machines
in the cluster. That is not the case in my application. Each node will be
running different
programs, most of which are threaded and a few are not.
In my investigation of HPC I found PVM to fit most of my needs except when
it comes to
messaging. I like PVM in that I have a single node where I can start all the
programs on
each node and monitor their progress.
I like MPI as it looks like a good fit for replacing my IPC mechanism. I
would also
like to modify MPI to use the reflective memory cards I have in my cluster
as this memory
is very fast and has some features I am already using in my architecture.
I am looking for some general advice pertaining to:
1. Is LAM a replacement for PVM?
2. What direction should I be heading?
3. Is there any software available that can do the things I need? This is a
commercial application,
freeware is great but if I have to pay for a solution then I will.
Thanks
Jim
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