Subject: Re: Building an alternate backing store.
To: gabriel rosenkoetter <gr@eclipsed.net>
From: Dave Huang <khym@bga.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 07/15/2000 01:24:30
On Sat, 15 Jul 2000, gabriel rosenkoetter wrote:
> There are a few problems in relying to heavily on anything out of
> Beowulf:
> 
> 1) Beowulf is Linux-specific.
> 
> 2) Beowulf is i386-specific.
> 
> 3) Beowulf presumes each node has identical hardware, and load
> balances blindly based on that assumption.

I don't know a whole lot about Beowulf clusters, but from what I've
heard, none of those are the case. Except for possibly #3, depending on
what you mean by it. According to the Beowulf FAQ at
<http://www.dnaco.net/~kragen/beowulf-faq.txt>:

     17. Can I make a Beowulf out of different kinds of machines --
     single-processor, dual-processor, 200MHz, 400MHz, etc.?
     [1999-05-13]

     Sure.  Splitting up your application optimally gets a little harder
     but it's not infeasible.

So it sounds like it _can_ be done, but it might be too much work to be
worth it.
-- 
Name: Dave Huang     |   Mammal, mammal / their names are called /
INet: khym@bga.com   |   they raise a paw / the bat, the cat /
FurryMUCK: Dahan     |   dolphin and dog / koala bear and hog -- TMBG
Dahan: Hani G Y+C 24 Y++ L+++ W- C++ T++ A+ E+ S++ V++ F- Q+++ P+ B+ PA+ PL++