Subject: CCL:Linux Cluster

From: Gregory Shamov <gas5x*at*bancorp.ru>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 09:49:24 +0300

Hello Kenneth,

Thursday, October 30, 2003, 11:41:41 AM, you wrote:

KG> A number of companies build clusters (e.g., the one I work for),
KG> and you can buy cluster distributions like MandrakeSoft's
KG> Clustering product. Finally, you can build a cluster by hand (ok
KG> if the number of nodes is less than 6).

And what happens if the number of nodes becomes 7 ? Or even 8 ?

-- 
Best regards,
 Gregory Shamov                         mailto:gas5x*at*bancorp.ru

---

From: Kenneth Geisshirt <kneth$at$silex.dk>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 10:04:11 +0100

> And what happens if the number of nodes becomes 7 ? Or even 8 ?

My point is that building a cluster by hand does not scale well. If you 
plan a large cluster (32+ nodes) you will need some kind of automated 
tool. If you build a 4-node cluster and add a new node (different 
hardware e.g., an old office pc) you can do it by hand.

Kneth

-- 
Kenneth Geisshirt <kneth$at$silex.dk> - Principal Scientist
Silex Science ApS, Trekronergade 126F, 4. sal, DK-2500 Valby, Denmark
Phone: +45 4058 2178 - Fax: +45 3644 3539 - Web: www.silex.dk

---

From: "Jim Kress" <ccl-.at.-kressworks.com>
Date: Fri, 31 Oct 2003 11:34:18 -0500

> And what happens if the number of nodes becomes 7 ? Or even 8 ?

Or even better, what happens if you want to upgrade from (for example) Red
Hat 7.3 to 8 or even (horrors)  9?

> From my recent experience (i.e. the refusal of the company (from whom I
purchased a cluster) to provide upgrade support from Red Hat 7.3 to 8), one
must be very careful in their selection of companies to build a cluster.
While they may claim they will provide 'unlimited support for the life of
the cluster' (as did the company from whom I purchased my cluster) that
'support' is usually (silently) qualified to be limited to 'systems with
experienced and dedicated Linux administrators'.

If you don't have one, the definition of 'support' degrades radically,
unless, of course, you are willing to spend additional thousands of dollars
to send your cluster back to the company for them to upgrade at their site.
Note, these requirements were never specified in any quotations,
correspondence, or any company literature.

Jim

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gregory Shamov" <gas5x-.at.-bancorp.ru>
To: "Kenneth Geisshirt" <kneth-.at.-silex.dk>
Cc: <chemistry-.at.-ccl.net>
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 1:49 AM
Subject: CCL:Linux Cluster

>  Gregory Shamov                         mailto:gas5x-.at.-bancorp.ru
>
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