How to Build a Cluster - Intel® Server Board S5000PAL
Introduction
This Intel ESAA recipe describes the steps required to build a High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster based upon the Intel S5000PAL server board; from hardware assembly through performance testing and cluster application development. It includes various options for hardware design, interconnects, management, BIOS and OS provisioning, job schedulers, cluster tools and cluster application development packages and runtime environments.
Note: It is recommended that the entire document is read prior to any installation activity
Overview
As mentioned above, this recipe illustrates the beginning to end setup and implementation of a HPC cluster. The basic outline of the recipe is as follows:
1)Cluster hardware setup – racks, power, cabling, switches, etc.
2)Server management – application options for pre boot and post boot system management
3)Node BIOS provisioning – a PXE environment to boot nodes to DOS for updates
4)Node OS provisioning and Cluster Management with Platform Open Cluster Stack (OCS) – An OS provisioning solution for easily deploying, running and managing cluster operating environments
5)Cluster Application Development and Application Execution Environments – Complete packages for running, developing and optimizing cluster applications, and testing cluster performance.
Each of these sections will include either references to locations of existing documentation or detailed instructions on how to setup specific installation requirements.
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