ComputeMode:On-demand HPC cluster manager

Revision as of 13:03, 1 April 2008

Deploying lightweight clustering framework on intranets

ComputeMode is an software infrastructure that allows to extends or create an HPC grid through the aggregation of unused computing resources. For instance, a virtual cluster can be built using people's PCs while they are not being used. Most PCs in large companies or university campus are idle at night, on weekends, and during vacations, training periods or business trips.

The main benefits of ComputeMode are the following

• Easy deployment: the integration into an existing infrastructure is very easy: no modification is required on your PCs. ComputeMode comes as a software-only solution. The integration with major batch manager systems such as Sun Grid Engine, Platform LSF and Portable Batch System (PBS) can also be achieved.
• Seamless integration for the scientist: he/she submits unmodified computational jobs through his/her usual interface (batch submission engine), just like with any Beowulf type cluster.
• Seamless integration for the PC owner/user: ComputeMode runs when his/her PC is idle (night, weekends, ...) so annoyance is minimal if existant

Basically the PC may be split into 2 modes of operation

1. a user mode, where the company's installation of Microsoft Windows or Linux remains
2. a computation mode (hence the product name): uses a diskless Linux boot and offers the PC's CPU power, RAM and connectivity to the Grid.

Base on the personal computers standard mechanisms

PXE Wake-On-Lan Diskless systems and the integration of famous Open-Source software HPA's PXElinux and TFTP server ISC DHCP and DNS servers Debian / Linux

ComputeMode provides the quickest and nicest way to build ad-hoc HPC cluster by gathering unused computing resources of a intranet, thanks its powerful configuration scheme provided by its adminitration interface

link to ComputeMode former website, by Icatis