WareWulf
Encyclopedia
Warewulf is a computer cluster implementation
toolkit
that facilitates the process of installing
a cluster and long term administration
. It does this by changing the administration paradigm to make all of the slave node
file system
s manageable from one point, and automate the distribution of the node file system during node boot. It allows a central administration model for all slave nodes and includes the tools needed to build configuration files, monitor, and control the nodes. It is totally customizable and can be adapted to just about any type of cluster. From the software administration perspective it does not make much difference if you are running 2 nodes or 500 nodes. The procedure is still the same, which is why Warewulf is scalable from the admins perspective. Also, because it uses a standard chroot'able file system for every node, it is extremely configurable and lends itself to custom environments very easily.
While Warewulf was designed to be a HPC
system, it is not an HPC system in itself. Warewulf is more along the lines of a distributed Linux
distribution, or more specifically a system for replicating and managing small, lightweight Linux systems from one master. Using Warewulf, HPC packages such as LAM/MPI
/MPICH
, Sun Grid Engine
, PVM
, etc. can be easily deployed throughout the cluster.
Warewulf solves the problem of slave node management rather than being a strict HPC specific system (even though it was designed with HPC in mind). Because of this it is as flexible as a home grown cluster, but administratively scales very well. As a result of this flexibility and ease of customization, Warewulf has been used not only on production HPC implementations, but also development systems like KASY0 (the first system to break the one hundred dollar per GFLOPS barrier), and non HPC systems such as web server
cluster farms, intrusion detection
clusters, and high-availability cluster
s.
Implementation
Implementation is the realization of an application, or execution of a plan, idea, model, design, specification, standard, algorithm, or policy.-Computer Science:...
toolkit
Toolkit
A toolkit is an assembly of tools; set of basic building units for graphical user interfaces.Things called toolkits include:* Abstract Window Toolkit* Accessibility Toolkit* Adventure Game Toolkit* B-Toolkit* Battlefield Mod Development Toolkit...
that facilitates the process of installing
Installation (computer programs)
Installation of a program is the act of putting the program onto a computer system so that it can be executed....
a cluster and long term administration
System administrator
A system administrator, IT systems administrator, systems administrator, or sysadmin is a person employed to maintain and operate a computer system and/or network...
. It does this by changing the administration paradigm to make all of the slave node
Node (networking)
In communication networks, a node is a connection point, either a redistribution point or a communication endpoint . The definition of a node depends on the network and protocol layer referred to...
file system
File system
A file system is a means to organize data expected to be retained after a program terminates by providing procedures to store, retrieve and update data, as well as manage the available space on the device which contain it. A file system organizes data in an efficient manner and is tuned to the...
s manageable from one point, and automate the distribution of the node file system during node boot. It allows a central administration model for all slave nodes and includes the tools needed to build configuration files, monitor, and control the nodes. It is totally customizable and can be adapted to just about any type of cluster. From the software administration perspective it does not make much difference if you are running 2 nodes or 500 nodes. The procedure is still the same, which is why Warewulf is scalable from the admins perspective. Also, because it uses a standard chroot'able file system for every node, it is extremely configurable and lends itself to custom environments very easily.
While Warewulf was designed to be a HPC
High-performance computing
High-performance computing uses supercomputers and computer clusters to solve advanced computation problems. Today, computer systems approaching the teraflops-region are counted as HPC-computers.-Overview:...
system, it is not an HPC system in itself. Warewulf is more along the lines of a distributed Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
distribution, or more specifically a system for replicating and managing small, lightweight Linux systems from one master. Using Warewulf, HPC packages such as LAM/MPI
LAM/MPI
LAM/MPI is one of the predecessors of the Open MPI project. Open MPI represents a community-driven, next generation implementation of a Message Passing Interface fundamentally designed upon a component architecture to make an extremely powerful platform for high-performance computing.LAM is an...
/MPICH
MPICH
MPICH is a freely available, portable implementation of MPI, a standard for message-passing for distributed-memory applications used in parallel computing...
, Sun Grid Engine
Sun Grid Engine
Oracle Grid Engine, previously known as Sun Grid Engine , previously known as CODINE or GRD , is an open source batch-queuing system, developed and supported by Sun Microsystems...
, PVM
Parallel Virtual Machine
The Parallel Virtual Machine is a software tool for parallel networking of computers. It is designed to allow a network of heterogeneous Unix and/or Windows machines to be used as a single distributed parallel processor. Thus large computational problems can be solved more cost effectively by...
, etc. can be easily deployed throughout the cluster.
Warewulf solves the problem of slave node management rather than being a strict HPC specific system (even though it was designed with HPC in mind). Because of this it is as flexible as a home grown cluster, but administratively scales very well. As a result of this flexibility and ease of customization, Warewulf has been used not only on production HPC implementations, but also development systems like KASY0 (the first system to break the one hundred dollar per GFLOPS barrier), and non HPC systems such as web server
Web server
Web server can refer to either the hardware or the software that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet....
cluster farms, intrusion detection
Intrusion detection
In Information Security, intrusion detection is the act of detecting actions that attempt to compromise the confidentiality, integrity or availability of a resource. When Intrusion detection takes a preventive measure without direct human intervention, then it becomes an Intrusion-prevention...
clusters, and high-availability cluster
High-availability cluster
High-availability clusters are groups of computers that support server applications that can be reliably utilized with a minimum of down-time. They operate by harnessing redundant computers in groups or clusters that provide continued service when system components fail...
s.