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Home > Data Center News > A Linux cluster primer, part one |
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In part one of this two-part conversation, Quinn identifies applications that easily adapt to clusters, the ones that need tweaking and the physical data center barriers to clustering. In part two, he offers cluster management tips and describes Linux cluster projects that delivered significant performance and scalability increases. This story originally appeared on SearchEnterpriseLinux.com. What are your tips for evaluating the feasibility of using a Linux cluster? Tom Quinn: Figure out why you want a Linux cluster. Does your current system run slowly and you need faster results? Is your current system at end-of-life and no longer supported by the manufacturer? Does your current "big iron" box simply cost too much money to operate and you need a way out from under its exorbitant maintenance fees? A thorough self-examination is needed to ensure a cluster is a right fit for your organization. In what business application situations is a Linux cluster not a good fit? Quinn: A Linux cluster is not a cure-all for every company's computing woes. Some applications are not appropriate for this computing platform. If applications require an extraordinary amount of inter-process communication and shared memory, a cluster is probably not the best solution, as clusters are bound by the communication limits of the communication networks between nodes. In particular, if you need to run many small processes that work together tightly, referred to as 'tightly coupled,' you should carefully weigh the resultant performance of running on a cluster. However, most applications, if well designed, are structured to minimize inter-process communications and try to use local memory as much as possible, which run very well on Linux clusters. Can you describe business applications that fit well for high-performance clusters? Quinn: Linux clusters are reaching far beyond the early adopters in universities and labs. In fact, many Fortune 1000 businesses are deploying Linux cluster systems for accelerating new pharmaceutical development, designing the latest automobiles and airplanes, discovering new sources of oil and gas and creating visual effects for the latest Hollywood blockbusters. How much modification of applications is needed to put them on a cluster? Quinn: In order to realize the exceptional cost/performance that clusters can deliver, HPC applications have to be structured to take advantage of the cluster's distributed memory architecture and the characteristics of the underlying interconnect. Some applications are inherently parallel in the way they function. Others can be made to work in parallel very simply with minimal intrusion or algorithmic development. In almost all cases, if not already written using a distributed memory model, getting an application to run on a cluster will require some sort of modification and/or re-compiling. The good news is that many commercial and free parallel cluster applications can be run 'out of the box' without modification. For custom or in-house designs, professional services provided by some cluster vendors, as well as application providers, are available to help modify source code to get the maximum efficiency out of the cluster for your application. What's the mistake made most often during cluster evaluations? Quinn: One of the most common mistakes made by first-time cluster buyers is to not take the physical demands of the cluster into account prior to procurement. The following factors need to be considered before bringing a cluster into your environment:
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