[Beowulf] microWulf

[Donald Shillady]

Several of the questions I asked before in my message "Quad-core Parallelism" have been answered at the site
 
 http://www.calvin.edu/~adams/research/microwulf/
 
My main question had to do with whether Duo-core or Quad-core CPUs can be addressed individually in a Beowulf system.  Apparently they can as in the microWulf example.  Thanks for several replies regarding options in using MPI type software.  I note in reading over the microWulf text that they report only the LINPAK application.  I am mainly interested in microWulf to set up GAMESS as available from Ames National Laboratory.  Has anyone on this Forum set up an application on a microWulf system and in particular has anyone set up GAMESS on a microWulf system?  Several other questions arise.
 
1. It appears that the microWulf system could be extended to 16 CPU using quad chips.  Would it be simpler to use just two of the faster Intel Core-2 Quad chips to achieve an 8-node system?  Maybe it is much cheaper to use the older technology in the AMD 64-2X chips.
 
2. Has anyone here used a microWulf for an actual application beyond just testing LINPAK?
 
3. The microWulf system uses Ubuntu LINUX which brings up the question as to whether LINSPIRE could be used.  I have both Ubuntu and LINSPIRE software but I like the near-Windows form of LINSPIRE.   
 
My questions may be more sensible if it is understood that I want an inexpensive parallel system to run GAMESS.  Prof. Adams claims he was flooded with e-mail early in 2007 when the microWulf articles appeared and he may/may not have time to answer my questions so it would be of interest to me to hear from someone else who has built or is building a microWulf system.
 
Don Shillady
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry
Virginia Commonwealth university
Ashland VA (working at home)
 
 
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