Beowulf Notes

• Beowulf clusters.
• Invokes standard NOW commodity components argument.
• Distribute the kernel, GNU sw, add-ons in one chunk.
• One key focus is device driver development to allow fast backplane communication.
• "In the Beowulf scheme, as is common in NOW clusters, every node is responsible for running its own copy of the kernel and nodes are generally sovereign and autonomous at the kernel level. However, in the interests of presenting a more uniform system image to both users and applications, we have extended the Linux kernel to allow a loose ensemble of nodes to participate in a number of global namespaces. A guiding principle of these extensions is to have little increase in the kernel size or complexity and, most importantly, negligible impact on the individual processor performance."
• BPROC: allows a process ID space to span multiple nodes; provides mechanisms for starting processes on other nodes.
• Site has Cluster mgt tools developed at other sites.
  • Smile CMS (SCMS) is an extensive cluster mgt tool.
    Hard-to-read, xeroxed paper submission: System Mgt Framework and Tools for Beowulf Cluster.
  
  SCMS Installation Guide