Primer


Overview

This book could have been called The GNU/Linux Enterprise Cluster. Here is what Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU Project, has to say on this topic:

Mostly, when people speak of "Linux clusters" they mean one in which the GNU/Linux system is running. They think the whole system is Linux, so they call it a "Linux cluster." However, the right term for this would be "GNU/Linux cluster."

The accurate meaning for "Linux cluster" would be one in which the kernel is Linux. The identity of the kernel is relevant for some technical development and system administration issues. However, what users and user programs see is not the kernel, but rather the rest of the system. The only reason that Linux clusters are similar from the user's point of view is that they are really all GNU/Linux clusters.

A "free software cluster" (I think that term is clearer than "free cluster") would be one on which only free software is running. A GNU/Linux cluster can be a free software cluster, but isn't necessarily one.

The basic GNU/Linux system is free software; we launched the development of the GNU system in 1984 specifically to have a free software operating system. However, most of the distributions of GNU/Linux add some non-free software to the system. (This software usually is not open-source either.) The distributors describe these programs as a sort of bonus, and since most of the users have never encountered any other way to look at the matter, they usually go along with that view. As a result, many of the machines that run GNU/ Linux (whether clusters or not) have non-free software installed as well. Thus, we fail to achieve our goal of giving computer users freedom.

Before I describe how to build a GNU/Linux Enterprise Cluster, let me define a few basic terms that I'll use throughout the book to describe one.



The Linux Enterprise Cluster. Build a Highly Available Cluster with Commodity Hardware and Free Software
Linux Enterprise Cluster: Build a Highly Available Cluster with Commodity Hardware and Free Software
ISBN: 1593270364
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 219
Authors: Karl Kopper

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