> > We would like to build a cluster of multiple Opteron based > > computers. The usage is for scientific computing (multiple > > scientists running large processes usually at the same time... :-) > > Mainly computing but also some large flat file access, no DB stuff.
> Little bit more about the needs: > - multiple users (around 12+users) > - all running scientific mathematical calculations on software ranging from matlab to self programmed software running with java, python, R, you name it > - programs take from few minutes to days to run, usually at least couple of hours > - users have hard time to find a "free" CPU/memory > So, if we had the calculation servers set up as a cluster, users could find computing resources easily. Or more to > the point, they would not have to do that, they just login to the (cluster) server and let the server worry about > > where it's running their processes. You need a grid cluster more than you need a server/service cluster. A server cluster increases your fault tolerance of your host hardware by moving service from one host to another. A service cluster can be used to pool in more CPU/Memory resources from multiple hosts often by performing some form of connection pooling whereby some client connections use host A and others use host B to balance out the load. At times you can combine these two clusters forms but not necessarily. But what it sounds like you really need is a grid cluster - not a server/service cluster - whereby folks can run some "job" on some available machine and have some form to manage all of this coordination. Check out http://gridengine.sunsource.net/ I use it myself and highly recommend it. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
