[Beowulf] building a new cluster

[Alvin Oga]

hi ya

On Wed, 1 Sep 2004, Robert G. Brown wrote:

> Only one comment about the compute platform.  I'd strongly urge you to
> test and compare dual Opterons before settling on the Xeons.  If

yup.. always a good idea .. :-)

> possible, get a loaner box or boxes to run benchmarks (and ideally your
> code itself).  Many vendors out there would be happy to at least loan
> you account access to a test box.

i keep wondering ... how those loaner accts work ...
	- is it the same config as the system being bought and
	is it a comparison ot the other cpu ( all else being the same)

- loading one's own apps on loaner accounts can become tricky ...

- best to get the boxes inhouse .. even if its 2-4 of um for testing
  and you know you loaded your stuff on it .. and can now do a fair
  comparason and benchmark

> A vendor that would be happy to sell you either or both is Penguin.  We

that'd be PenguinComputing :-) ( for the OP's benefit :-) )

> I'd advise at this point that you a) avoid vanilla boxes and get systems
> from a reliable vendor; b) get 3 year no-questions-asked service
> contracts on all the systems you get when you get them.  Penguin has a

3-yr no questions asked servie contracts is tough ... must be good stuff
they're pushing and the buyers know what they're getting

> Your cluster is at the boundary of what one "can" build using shelves
> and towers units.  If you plan to ever expand, or if space is an issue,
> or if you just want a neat look, you might go with rackmount systems, in
> which case the whole cluster would probably fit into a single rack.

always best to use rackmounts ... looks fancier :-)

c ya
alvin