clustering?

xntrik · 28th February 2002, 1:33 PM

I now and then check this forum, was wondering if anyone out there has done some small scale clustering? (Like 5ish computers?)

anyone?

stiffman · 1st March 2002, 12:58 PM

I havn't, but it is something i am interested in trying in the future, when i can get my hands on another couple reasonable PCs

Another thing that has put me off a little is the lack of software for this type of setup. it appears most software is custom written, and doesn't seem to get circulated

are you thinking of giving it a go?
love to hear how you get on if you do,

Stiffman

xntrik · 1st March 2002, 2:32 PM

haha.. i WISH i could so something like this.

:P

mosix.org got me all interested.

But it ain't gonna happen within the next 5-10 years :P

500Nm · 3rd March 2002, 4:33 PM

I head an engineering team (8 engineers), and we need huge amounts of computing power for Solidworks (3D modeling).

At one point, we were actually looking at giving each engineer 2 to 4 non-expensive machines (like single processor P4) and cluster them. Therefore, we'll have 8 clusters, each having 4 P4s.
At that point, Chris recommended MOSIX (Thx, Chris).

Now, we've actually gone 180degs with our strategy. We're thinking of getting a 8-way Xeon 19" Rack system with the works (RAID, UPS, etc) and serve 8 clients. The logic of that is so that we only upgrade 1 machine and not upgrade 8 X 4 machines.

Effectively, we're trying to create an Application Server. Might costs more, but suddenly our IT budget just went through the roof, dunno why ?

But, like Chris said, give Mosix a go. It does not look too user-friendly to me, maybe Chris wil develop a mass-market one for us, hehe. But, it IS a great idea, harnessing the power of all your older, or cheaper PCs.

500Nm · 3rd March 2002, 4:36 PM

Oh yah, if you're wondering why an 8-way to serve 8 clients, and not 1 Xeon box for each engineer, is because we figured not all engineers are 100% all the time, therefore, the spare CPU cylces are used up by the active engineers.
Good in theory, but remains to be seen, especailly for such a graphics-intensive application.

28th February 2002, 1:33 PM	#1
xntrik Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Perth Posts: 161	clustering? I now and then check this forum, was wondering if anyone out there has done some small scale clustering? (Like 5ish computers?) anyone? __________________ Christian "xntrik" pHreakshow xntrik@gmail.com un-excogitate

1st March 2002, 12:58 PM	#2
stiffman Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Canberra Posts: 139	I havn't, but it is something i am interested in trying in the future, when i can get my hands on another couple reasonable PCs Another thing that has put me off a little is the lack of software for this type of setup. it appears most software is custom written, and doesn't seem to get circulated are you thinking of giving it a go? love to hear how you get on if you do, Stiffman __________________ Hero to the stupid people

1st March 2002, 2:32 PM	#3
xntrik Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Perth Posts: 161	haha.. i WISH i could so something like this. :P mosix.org got me all interested. But it ain't gonna happen within the next 5-10 years :P __________________ Christian "xntrik" pHreakshow xntrik@gmail.com un-excogitate

3rd March 2002, 4:33 PM	#4
500Nm Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Melbourne Posts: 209	I head an engineering team (8 engineers), and we need huge amounts of computing power for Solidworks (3D modeling). At one point, we were actually looking at giving each engineer 2 to 4 non-expensive machines (like single processor P4) and cluster them. Therefore, we'll have 8 clusters, each having 4 P4s. At that point, Chris recommended MOSIX (Thx, Chris). Now, we've actually gone 180degs with our strategy. We're thinking of getting a 8-way Xeon 19" Rack system with the works (RAID, UPS, etc) and serve 8 clients. The logic of that is so that we only upgrade 1 machine and not upgrade 8 X 4 machines. Effectively, we're trying to create an Application Server. Might costs more, but suddenly our IT budget just went through the roof, dunno why ? But, like Chris said, give Mosix a go. It does not look too user-friendly to me, maybe Chris wil develop a mass-market one for us, hehe. But, it IS a great idea, harnessing the power of all your older, or cheaper PCs.

3rd March 2002, 4:36 PM	#5
500Nm Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Melbourne Posts: 209	Oh yah, if you're wondering why an 8-way to serve 8 clients, and not 1 Xeon box for each engineer, is because we figured not all engineers are 100% all the time, therefore, the spare CPU cylces are used up by the active engineers. Good in theory, but remains to be seen, especailly for such a graphics-intensive application.