A "Supercomputing" Cluster

I first learned about clusters on December 17th, 2003, when I saw an interesting segment on "The Screensavers", a program on TechTV, discussing the benefits of distributed computing environments. It was not until a few months later (approximately early May, 2004) that I began plans for developing a cluster of my own. One of the points mentioned in the show was how older computers can be used to work in parallel, increasing productivity.

After researching many types of clustering software, I decided to try (the now obsolete) openMosix cluster tools for automatic process migration. The slave computers ran Slackware and the master ran RedHat 9.

I am quite fortunate to live near a "computer flea market," an event that runs several Sundays out of the year sponsored by local colleges and ham radio clubs. One table was occupied by a group that refurbishes old computers and sells them for very cheap prices ($30 - $40). I bought 3 of their computers (it was all I could carry) and an excellent ViewSonic Professional Series monitor from another person. I later received a Dell Dimension to use as a master node.

After letting things sit for about a year, I began to build the cluster in the summer of 2005. I put together a desk, file cabinet and wire rack shelves. After connecting all the wiring, networking, and such, I began the installation of the software onto the slave nodes and the master. openMosix seemed to have no problem migrating the tasks from one computer to the next. I used the cluster to compile software.

Currently, the cluster is in disarray. I use the master node for testing other operating systems and I think that the CPU is gone on one of the nodes. My hope is to rebuild the cluster, adding more nodes and doing a better job of balancing the hardware capabilities of each node. I have started to think of some algorithms that would work very nicely in a distributed environment

Master - Dell Dimension - Pentium IV 1.8GHz - 256MB RAM - 40GB HD - RedHat 9

Node 1 - Acer Aspire - AMD K6 360MHz - 64MB RAM - 4GB HD - Slackware

Node 2 - Acer Aspire - AMD K6 360MHz - 32MB RAM - 4GB HD - Slackware

Node 3 - PC Warehouse - Pentium II OC'ed to 320MHz - 32MB RAM - 3GB HD - Slackware