High performance computing systems are very popular for some time. The problems of Hign Avalibility computer systems are common in the same way. The question is how a package management system as rpm5 can address the problems of such environments. I have not found any reference to such issues, in general systems package management system, as rpm5. Overall this system are starting from the a simple assumption : a single system and a single db metadata (dpkg have not a real db however). But this assumption is wrong on a system of HPC: in general, the applications are installed in the absence of a true package but are installed manuallu on a file or network distributed systems: NFS, GFS2, Luster for example. The problem, from my point of view, is that applications are not installed using a package system like rpm5 but installed manually: anyone thinks at this point it is sufficient to create a virtual package with only "requires" for issue like update conflict or the like and it is difficult to prove the opposite: Why should I install the same package separately on multiple nodes where the package is the same and it is installed on the same place (on a distributed or network filesystem). I have the opinion that a distributed system requires a rpm5 metadata distributed database and the fact that rpm5 includes a relational (or a sort of it in the latest incarnation of berkeley db) database system like the model is certainly an advantage - this what Iof a advocate of the relational model as Chris Date tell about this issue, last time i have checked. On the pragmatic view, specifically, assuming the same (as patch version) 100 nodes should be possible to extend / var / lib / rpm / Packages with a shared rpm5 Packages (extending _db_path for example ) on which should be able to act as a fragment of Packages (an Union of Packages if you like ) and if this it is unavailable, well no problem. The preceding are only a personal opinion. There are other opinions? I have perhaps missing something ?
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