[Beowulf] Win64 Clusters!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tom Mitchell]

On Sun, Apr 01, 2007 at 02:02:53PM +0500, amjad ali wrote:
> Date: Sun, 1 Apr 2007 14:02:53 +0500
> From: "amjad ali" <amjad11 at gmail.com>
> To: beowulf at beowulf.org
> Subject: [Beowulf] Win64 Clusters!!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Hi All,
> 
> Would any of you please like to share usage-experience/views/comments
> about Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 based Beowulf Clusters?
> 
> What in your opinion is the future of such clusters?
> 
> How you compare these with the LINUX CLUSTERS?

With full consideration to "fat, soft pretzels with
cheezy-mustard sauce or rolled in asiago parmesan and garlic."

MS pulled a version of mpich/mvapich/MPI and ported it to windows.
They also developed some library code to gateway some *inx library/system
calls to windows.  The root sources of MPI are public and not GPL so they can.

It might be worth looking at the MS announcement -- but why
bother.  If you look you might think that common MPI codes
would just compile and run...  I have no idea I expect some will
and there begins silly porting for the next...

Once a set of boxes are interconnected and you have library
support for MPI or another way to share data (PVM... whatever)
you are off and running in the clustering world.   Sadly MS
has a MS specific library that abuses "standard MPI" and could
quickly cause source code to surface that runs correctly or on a
MS cluster but not on another OS based cluster (Linux, Solaris,
Irix, AIX).   I see this all the time with java script, and c,
c++, and other codes where little 'features' hook you in.

Some will be fooled into thinking that this is something to look at
or worse something to spend money on.

SUMMARY:
Since you posted this on 1 Apr 2007 all I can do is giggle
and wonder why I replied.

Regards,
mitch

PS: Ask in a year but not on April fools/joke day.

-- 
	T o m  M i t c h e l l 
	Found me a new place to hang my hat :-)
	Now it got bought.