Hello,
I have done a re-master of the Knoppix Linux distribution that allows one to
create a working LAM/MPI enabled cluster in about 5-10 minutes, once the CD
is burnt. It does not affect the hard disks of the computers in any way, so
it can be used to get a cluster going on machines that are not specifically
dedicated to clustering. It doesn't matter what operating system they have
installed, but they must be of the x86 architecture. My own use of this is to
be able to quickly set up a Linux cluster at night in our university's
computer rooms on machines for students' use that have only Windows
installed.
It is set up to work with from 2 to 50 nodes. At a minimum, you need 2
computers and a crossover cable. More desirable would be a set of networked
machines with PXE-enabled network cards.
To use the CD with your own applications, you just copy them into
the /mnt/working directory, which is NFS shared by all nodes. Thus, this
provides an easy way to demonstrate your applications away from your own
cluster.
Right now, the CD is at the beta stage. It works fine, at least for the few
configurations I have tried. The only example included is the hello.c program
from the LAM/MPI documentation.
It is no more dangerous than the regular Knoppix CD, but please note that
(just as with regular Knoppix) booting this gives you root powers on any of
the machines in the cluster. So though the hard disks are not touched unless
you ask to do so, you do have that ability, so please be careful, especially
if you haven't ever used Knoppix.
I am a LAM/MPI beginner, so I'm not going to be writing my own applications
soon. But I would like to include a few working examples on the CD once it's
out of the beta stage.
You are invitated to contribute example applications that are somewhat "cool",
and that are understandable enough for people outside of your own discipline
to be able to get an idea of what is going on. Hopefully the examples would
illustrate the potential benefits of LAM/MPI clusters in a clear way that a
general audience can appreciate. If your application requires some package
that is not on the CD, I'll be happy to add it as long as it is in Debian
testing/unstable.
To avoid license headaches, any contributed examples should be licensed GNU
GPL or similar. In particular, I will only include examples that provide
source code and allow redistribution and modification.
The homepage is at http://pareto.uab.es/mcreel/Cluppix
I'd appreciate feedback if you have problems or suggestions.
Regards, Michael Creel
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