How to Cluster PCs

[eofeapr]

Hi,

Is there anyone out there who can give me some helpfull advice ??

I'd like to know if it's posible to setup 2 or more PCs running XP in a cluster resulting in a multi-processor environment.

And ,, What apps would I need to make this happen?
Can I accomplish this via a router or should the PCs be connected as a peer to peer configuration?

Thnx in advance

 

[Nothinman]

Good luck, Windows isn't known for being very good in compute cluster environments.

 

[Darthkim]

Well, if you refer to a beowulf cluster like for linux, thats a bit hard to do.

But if you are asking if windows can cluster applications (like sql, iis, exchange, etc..) yes it can. But you need at least advanced server version of win2k or win2k3 for this to work

 

[eofeapr]

Originally posted by: Darthkim
Well, if you refer to a beowulf cluster like for linux, thats a bit hard to do. But if you are asking if windows can cluster applications (like sql, iis, exchange, etc..) yes it can. But you need at least advanced server version of win2k or win2k3 for this to work

OK that helps a bit, I sort felt that I would need a server version of windows.
So say I have such a version how is the cluster set up?

 

[kursplat]

have fun...

 

[SaigonK]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
Good luck, Windows isn't known for being very good in compute cluster environments.

Now thats a false statement.
My citrix clustr runs like a champ...been on Advanced Server for over 1.5 years and not one hassle..running a couple of Dell Poweredge 1650's and some EMC Symettrix storage attached to each node (of course).

 

[SaigonK]

Originally posted by: eofeapr
Hi, Is there anyone out there who can give me some helpfull advice ?? I'd like to know if it's posible to setup 2 or more PCs running XP in a cluster resulting in a multi-processor environment. And ,, What apps would I need to make this happen? Can I accomplish this via a router or should the PCs be connected as a peer to peer configuration? Thnx in advance

I need to find it, but there is free software out there for clustering windows systems.

 

[MikeDub83]

I'd like to know if it's posible to setup 2 or more PCs running XP in a cluster resulting in a multi-processor environment.

The example people have given you are more about redundancy and load balancing rather then process clusering.

If I am reading you right, you want to be able to launch an application on one machine and have 2 machines do the processing for that single application. Microsoft doesn't do that, however, Linux Beowulf Clustering does. However, I think you will be quite disapointed with what you can do with clustering. The application usually has to be tailored to work in a clustered enviroment. I suggest you read some books on this before you dive straight in.

 

[Nothinman]

Now thats a false statement.
My citrix clustr runs like a champ...been on Advanced Server for over 1.5 years and not one hassle..running a couple of Dell Poweredge 1650's and some EMC Symettrix storage attached to each node (of course).

Citrix is hardly CPU intensive (unless you count things like winword hanging heh) and it's even farther from being a compute cluster where the job processing is shared across all the nodes like in a beowulf cluster.

 

[eofeapr]

Thank you all for your time, I will keep on studying this to see what I will do...

 

[SaigonK]

Originally posted by: Nothinman

Now thats a false statement. My citrix clustr runs like a champ...been on Advanced Server for over 1.5 years and not one hassle..running a couple of Dell Poweredge 1650's and some EMC Symettrix storage attached to each node (of course).

Citrix is hardly CPU intensive (unless you count things like winword hanging heh) and it's even farther from being a compute cluster where the job processing is shared across all the nodes like in a beowulf cluster.

This isnt my citrix app server its my DC, mt profile and home drive server, as well as my app storage server, and a web server.
Microsoft clustering works just fine...no problems here.

 

[Nothinman]

This isnt my citrix app server its my DC, mt profile and home drive server, as well as my app storage server, and a web server.
Microsoft clustering works just fine...no problems here

But once again those aren't compute clusters.