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Linux Clustering
An anonymous reader writes "Beowulf clustering turns 10 years old, and, in this interview, creator Donald Becker talks about how Beowulf can handle high-end computing on a par with supercomputers."
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... the amount of replies that will start with the same subject header as mine and not be funny at all?
I sure can!
Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
i dont mean to sound like a troll or anything, but is this really news. over the last year or so, (nearly) all of the articles on /. about fast computers have been clusters.
Happy Anniversary to the most over-used joke on Slashdot. I'll be wearing my tin-foil hat all day to commemorate it. (The 10th anniversary is the aluminum/tin anniversary)
imagine a lone computer sitting by itself not connected to anything...
I'll turn into a supernova and burn up everything. Well I'll turn into a black little hole and you'll turn into string.
Quote from the article: *snip!*
The more complex a problem gets, the more likely you need one supercomputer as opposed to a cluster.
I'm not sure it is that simple. For some problems (e.g. Monte Carlo simulations), a more complex problem means more individual nodes are required, with very little inter-node communication. For other kinds of problem (finite element methods, maybe?), you're probably right.
In other words, the physical structure of the solution depends on the kinds of algorithms that you intend to run: there's not just one `correct' answer.
processing...
To be considered a "supercomputer," it also needs enough CONTIGUOUS MEMORY SPACE to hold the massive amounts of data associated with true "supercomputing." So far, no cluster has met that requirement.
Since I administer a fairly large cluster, I can say that the answer is "It depends" (Of course that is ALWAYS the answer!). It depends on the codes being run, it depends upon the interconnect optimization.(yes myrinet is fast, but the real key is that it has much lower latency and this has to be engineered carefully if using more than one switch) My cluster runs both myrinet and Gig/E, some codes run well on the the ethernet interfaces (take codes like mpiblast for instance) while others (NAMD comes to mind) run faster on the myrinet. However this machine may be fast, but I have some large SMP boxes (IBM P-series) that cycle for cycle SMOKE the performance of the x86 boxes. But you have to remember that the cluster computers cost about $3000 /node while the SMP boxes with a similar config cost about $13,000 apiece, and even more if you want a box that supports more than 8 CPUs (think 1 million and up)
So once again, it comes down to the types of jobs, and how much you are willing to pay to get those jobs done in a hurry! A Cluster is still great, I have just completed some jobs that consumed over 12 years of CPU time, in 1 week of wall-clock time!
*narf!*
Imagine there's no cluster,
It's easy if you try,
No adapter below us,
Above us only loopback,
Imagine all the computers
computing for themselves...
Imagine there's no internet,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to download or upload for,
No porn too,
Imagine all the computers
computing pi in peace...
Imagine no tokens,
I wonder if you can,
No need for ethernet or tcpip,
A brotherhood of computer,
Imagine all the computers
Sharing nothing at all...
You may say I'm a dreamer,
but I'm the only one,
I hope some day you'll leave us,
And the computers will computer alone.
Mid-Eastern Pennsylvania Gaming Convention
- Can you imagine a Beowulf cluster of these?
- How long until the RIAA sues them into oblivion once they find out how may MP3's you can put on one?
- "Can you put Linux on it?" or "Yes, but will it run Linux?"
- "Yeah, but does it run Doom3?" or "And it still won't run Doom3."
- Any comment regarding "Duke Nukem Forever" taking literally 'forever' and being termed 'vaporware'.
- I am not buying one until they support ".ogg".
- I for one welcome our new (insert name of company mentioned in post or story) overlords.
- "George Lucas raped my childhood" or "Greedo shoots first" comments on any story incorporating the Star Wars franchise.
- A comment including these 3 components in any order: Natalie Portman, naked and petrified, hot grits, one's pants.
- Microsoft = Evil, MPAA = Evil, RIAA = Evil; with anything else incorporated to try and fit those equations into the topic at hand
- Some type of reference to the size of one's ProN collection, the amount of ProN that can be stored on the gadget or technology in question, or the ProN industry itself being the first to make good sue of the new technology or gadget in question (ergo: the ProN industry drives technology)
- The posted cliché being self-described as an "obligatory" post in the heading area if that particular cliché had not been addressed yet by previous slashdotters. (e.g. "obligatory Beowulf cluster comment")
- Post revealing the fact that the story's homepage had been slashdotted already, culminating towards another post later on with the homepage story itself being copied & pasted verbatim (often with a subsequent post purporting that this is karma whoring, even though the poster admits it is indeed helpful anyways.)
- Remark on the size of some new storage advancement about how many LOC's (Library of Congresses) can fit on it, or any other remark noting how this can be an actual valid unit of data storage measurement.
- A variation of the Zero Wing video game intro dialogue regarding it's broken English translation: "Someone set up us the base....we have every ZIG, make your time".....blah, blah, blah.
- Very soon lists such as this will be clichés as well.
- Similarly noted and additional clichés may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot_subculture
>>>>>> Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive.