| | | | | | thousand processors. But at this time, there is no single source of information covering the wide range of related topics to provide guidance to future Beowulf implementors and users, alike. This book is offered to at least begin to fill that gap. | | | | | | | | | How to Build a Beowulf is an introduction to Beowulf-class computing system implementation and application. Its purpose is simply to provide the basic information required to build, operate, and apply a Beowulf-class PC cluster at performance levels comparable to those of supercomputers of earlier years. The number of ways to do this are enormous and cannot be covered by a single volume. Indeed, every chapter could (and is) represented in the literature by its own book or books. Instead, this book chooses a single complete path from concept to computation, from parts to processing. At the many branch points, alternative paths are highlighted and discussed, but not pursued. You will learn about Linux, but not about the highly capable open source BSD operating systems. You will learn about MPI, but not about PVM which predated it and has many valuable features. You will learn in detail about building networks with Ethernet but only a small amount about the high bandwidth Myrinet network and ATM. Nonetheless, by the end of this book, you will know how to implement and apply Beowulf technology and you will have a clear understanding of alternative approaches you may consider pursuing as well. | | | | | | | | | We have chosen a bottom-up approach to the vertically integrated sequence of topics that make up the realm of a Beowulf. It could have been presented the other way, perhaps even more elegantly. But there is a degree of discomfort working with levels of abstraction and not touching the ground until the very end. It was decided to avoid this and start with feet firmly planted on the ground of tangible hardware. But before we do that, before we focus on the trees, we thought we should give you a sense of the lay of the land and show you the entire forest. Chapter 2 therefore provides a brief glimpse of all aspects of what it takes to make and use a Beowulf. This overview is intended to provide the conceptual framework in which all the layers of abstraction fit and interrelate. Through the overview chapter, you should acquire a sense of where we are headed and how each step will lead to the next. | | | | | | | | | Chapter 3, describing single-node hardware, presents a detailed view of a Beowulf node, i.e., a PC. Although one approach is to just go out and buy a pile of turnkey PCs, this does not release you from the necessity of understanding their internals. First of all, you have to choose the components that go into your PC, even if some- | | | | |
