Linux PC Clusters

Umbriel Cluster

Since 1993 the TCB Group has been using cluster technology to perform its molecular dynamics simulations. We have been using Linux PC clusters since 1998. The following describes our existing cluster environment.

Current Configuration

The Ariel cluster, consisting of three 24-node dual-processor Xeon systems, went into production in June 2004. It is installed in our primary cluster room in 3508 BI. The machins are housed in Sun Fire 900 racks; only the head nodes are UPS-backed. The cooling is provided by a pair of 5-ton Liebert air conditioners.

The Umbriel cluster, consisting of three 24-node dual-processor Athlon MP systems, is stored in our secondary cluster room in 3035 BI. The nodes sit on industrial shelving units (five 36"x18"x85" units, and one 48"x18"x85"), and are powered by a Best Power FERRUPS uninterruptible power system. Two Liebert air conditioner units, one 5-ton and one 3-ton, cool the room.

All facilities (power, cooling, space, and building support) are generously provided by the Beckman Institute.

History

  • 1594: Oberon and Titania are king and queen of the fairies in Shakespeare's A Midsummer-Night's Dream.
  • 1787: Titania and Oberon, the largest and second largest of Uranus's known satellites, are discovered by Sir William Herschel.
  • 1851: Umbriel and Ariel, the third and fourth largest of Uranus' known satellites, are discovered by William Lassell.
  • 1948: Miranda, the innermost large moon of Uranus' known satellites, is discovered by Gerard Kuiper.
  • 1986: Puck, and Portia, two of Uranus' smaller moons, are discovered by Voyager 2.
  • December 1993: Group's first cluster, using HP 735 workstations and an ATM interconnect, is installed.
  • September 1997: Caliban is discovered as yet another moon of Uranus by Brett Gladman.
  • July 1998: First eight nodes, switch, etc. installed for Oberon.
  • August 1998: Additional eight nodes of Oberon installed.
  • August 2000: Oberon retirement begins, as its nodes are moved to desktops.
  • January 2001: First eighteen nodes, switch, etc installed for Titania.
  • February 2001: Additional fourteen nodes installed for Titania, bringing total up to 32. puck is installed with 4 nodes. Old Oberon cluster retirement completed.
  • April 2001: First sixteen nodes, switch, etc installed for the second part of the Titania cluster, known as oberon. An additional sixteen nodes have been ordered, and will arrive within a few weeks.
  • May 2001: a third cluster of 32 nodes, known as umbriel, is ordered for the Titania cluster.
  • June 2001: Titania cluster completed with the installation of the second sixteen nodes of oberon and all of umbriel.
  • August 2001: Half of puck is retired as desktops; the resulting space is used for portia.
  • May 2002: titania is split into two clusters of 16, the second of which is named ariel.
  • April 2003: the first 24 nodes of the new Umbriel cluster, made up of dual-processor Athlon systems, is ordered.
  • May 2003: the first 24 nodes of the new Umbriel cluster arrive and are installed as umbriel. Two more rounds of 24 nodes are ordered, to be named miranda and caliban. One of the Titania clusters is de-racked for use as desktops.
  • June 2003: miranda and caliban arrive and are installed, completing Umbriel. The remaining Titania cluster nodes are retired, with the intention of moving some systems to the front machine room when power becomes available.
  • October 2003: 16 nodes of Titania are installed in 3137 as darwin.
  • March-April 2004: additional machine room space is offered by Beckman, and three rounds of 24 dual-processor Xeon systems are ordered to fill it. These will make up the Ariel cluster.
  • June 2004: Ariel cluster configuration is complete.
  • Sep 2005: darwin, made of the remaining nodes of the titania cluster, is retired; its nodes are used to run a series of cluster building workshops.

Tutorials

Tutorials

The TCB Group has given several tutorials on cluster building:

Related Sites

footer