How does a supercomputer work and can we make a mini Super Computer
This Article got me thinking... http://www.apple.com/science/profiles/colsa/
How do they get 1,556 dual G5 pc working together? Is it as simple and linking 2 iMac's together and loading up XServe to get me a mini supercomputer model?
Seriously, is Xserve that cool that they just daisy chain all those together and XServe makes it run nice?
Also, why stop at 1,566 duel G5's? Why not go an even 2,000?
Eric
How do they get 1,556 dual G5 pc working together? Is it as simple and linking 2 iMac's together and loading up XServe to get me a mini supercomputer model?
Seriously, is Xserve that cool that they just daisy chain all those together and XServe makes it run nice?
Also, why stop at 1,566 duel G5's? Why not go an even 2,000?
Eric
Comments
Originally posted by aplnub
This Article got me thinking... http://www.apple.com/science/profiles/colsa/
How do they get 1,556 dual G5 pc working together? Is it as simple and linking 2 iMac's together and loading up XServe to get me a mini supercomputer model?
Seriously, is Xserve that cool that they just daisy chain all those together and XServe makes it run nice?
Also, why stop at 1,566 duel G5's? Why not go an even 2,000?
Eric
well if your gonna make a mini cluster, just buy xserves. a cluster of minis completely defeats the purpose. not only will it take up a lot of space, you could buy half as many xserves and get tons more power.
So, could I buy two xserves and link to my iMac.
Eric
Originally posted by aplnub
So, could I buy two xserves and link to my iMac.
Eric
*sigh*, to do what?
It's not what you think it is.
Eric
Originally posted by aplnub
Just to do it. Would it help playing games, video apps, etc.?
Eric
No.
Clusters != more speed.
Stringing computers together just lets you get more (concurrent) work/computations done over time.
You've seen jugglers spin plates on sticks? You can get one going fine. Then another. But after 6 or 7 of them, suddenly you are spending so much energy managing the spinning of the old plates and you have no time to add new ones.
Same with clustering. Sure, you can take a huge computation, divide out the workload to two nodes to either do the same amount of work in roughly half the time or do twice the amount of work in the same time, but the more nodes you add the more time is spent managing the tasks. Smaller tasks such as trivial UI stuff have nothing to gain from this and in fact would suffer from lag times.
The thing being parceled out needs to be something that would take longer than the whole process of dividing the data and transmitting it to the nodes and processing it and the return trip and the recombining the data. That round trip is not worth it for things like paultry UI demands or simple filters or whatever.
Fast HD, fast CPU (and efficient such as G4/5) and fast GPU are all you and I need.
Clustering simply does not "make things faster" like you think it does.
Ignore xsan. Ignore Xserve. It has nothing to do with you or me.
However, can I purchase a few xserves and then ?plug? them up to my iMac have a minisupercomputer?
Eric
Originally posted by aplnub
Great, that clears that point up.
However, can I purchase a few xserves and then ?plug? them up to my iMac have a minisupercomputer?
Eric
Not at this point. I think people are hoping that Apple will develop software that will let you utilize more than one machine - but i think that would be for situations like rendering - I don't think it's possible to use a cluster of computers to make photoshop or games run faster. Plus there is additional gear, like * high speed switches, fibre channel cables, and all that good stuff.
* = no fucking idea what I'm talking about.
Originally posted by the cool gut
Not at this point. I think people are hoping that Apple will develop software that will let you utilize more than one machine - but i think that would be for situations like rendering - I don't think it's possible to use a cluster of computers to make photoshop or games run faster. Plus there is additional gear, like * high speed switches, fibre channel cables, and all that good stuff.
* = no fucking idea what I'm talking about.
Yes i hope
Originally posted by aplnub
Great, that clears that point up.
However, can I purchase a few xserves and then ?plug? them up to my iMac have a minisupercomputer?
Eric
Soon.
XGrid. Said to Shipping in Tiger.
You can buy clustering software now (Search here or Google for "Wolf or Pooch")
Xgrid turns a group of Macs into a supercomputer, so they can work on problems greater than each individually could solve. You can let Xgrid operate in screensaver mode, so whenever you aren?t working, your Mac can crunch away at some data set. Or if you have a group of Macs dedicated to the task, Xgrid makes it easy to set up a cluster that works around the clock, every day of the year.
Seriously, that is awesome. Surely rendering video would be speed up a lot using two or three mac's.
Eric
Think of it this way. Say you have 1,000 calculations to make, and your single CPU can do them in 1sec. You also have access to a 1,000 node cluster, so you'd think it could do them all in 1/1000sec, right?
Except that one computer needs to:
1) Split up the job into 1000 pieces
2) Send each of the 1000 computers the command *and the data*
3) Wait for them all to be done
4) Collect all the results
5) Combine the results
If it takes 1/1000sec to do all that for each of the clients, including sending the data across the network (which would be extremely fast), then you're going to take LONGER to do the same calculation.
Slapping a bunch of computers together does not a supercomputer make, any more than slapping together a bunch of toothpicks makes a skyscraper.
Originally posted by iPoster
But think of the Folding@Home/SETI@Home units you could complete!
Now there's a GREAT IDEA!!
ERic
No gain.
Originally posted by Kickaha
Which would be accomplished just as fast by the same number of computers NOT hooked together or using Xgrid.
No gain.
Good point. Ok, I give. No mini super computer for me.
Eric
Wouldn't it be great if you could pool all the processing power of say, six Macs in a small office, so that everyone could benefit from the combined processing power. That way when you replace an old G4 with a G5 everyone in the office would benefit.
It doesn't sound as though it works that way though!
Originally posted by Kickaha
Of course, since *my* research fits the criteria *perfectly*, I am seriously thinking about getting 3 or 4 of them and making my own little Xgrid cluster, since it *will* speed *my* stuff up tremendously...
Just spend the money on doubling the bandwidth of your internet connection. You'll be able to download twice as much porn that way!