[OT] rgb - XML Admin & Heterogenous Clusters [Was: Re: RH7.1 question.]

[Carlos O'Donell Jr.]

rgb,


<clap/> <clap/>

Excellent rant.

I'm part of a student group at the University of Western Ontario,
and we are in the process of building a 48 Node PA-RISC cluster
(one of the latest and greatest linux ports, enabling us to use 
aging hardware for a higher moral purpose!).

Lately, any tool that I develop has some type of well documented 
XML interface. And if performance/size is ever an issue, we rely 
on changing the IO stubs and writing binary XML (another open standard).

In a beowulf-ian utopia, heterogeneous systems will have to
interoperate on a level that we can't yet imagine.

My utility will require a few bobs of information from your utility. 
What format do we impose? XML.

Can my utility validate the output of your utility? Sure. Use and XSD
for that document.

How many lines of code does it take to validate your own configuration
files? About 3. Instansiate the schema, load the document, check it.

Most of us have homogeneous clusters to administer.
Imagine if you had a large 200 node hetergenous cluster?

It might be possible that not all your nodes run Linux :)
Administration nightmare? I think most people would need effexor or
naxin atleast to battle the migraines and depression from such a 
cluster ;)

I await the day, like a patient disciple, when everything will
speak, read and understand an open communication format ... XML.

When browsers will enforece, and refuse to view malformed pages.

When all is quiet on the western front.

(and possibly when mozilla runs as fast lynx, but with all of 
 it's creature comforts!)


Peace,
Carlos.

-------------------------
Baldric Project
University of W. Ontario
http://www.baldric.uwo.ca
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