[vox-tech] beowulf cluster

[Karsten M. Self]

on Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 03:34:44PM +0000, Eric Engelhard (eric_cl@pacbell.net) wrote:
> On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 03:08:25PM -0800, Peter Jay Salzman wrote:
> > begin Ryan Detert <rcdetert@ucdavis.edu> 
> > > 
> > > I am looking for a good howto or a really clear book on setting up
> > > a beowulf cluster.
> > 
> > there's a beowulf howto, but it looks abandoned.  the copy i have
> > was last updated in 1998.   there's a book on beowulf clusters in
> > the lugod library, and it was good at the basics, but not very
> > detailed when it comes to actually setting one up.
> 
> Please avoid the software that came with the O'Reilly Beowulf book.
> Heck, avoid the whole book. Even they want to distance themselves from
> it:
> 
> http://www.oreillynet.com/search/?sp-q=cluster&sp-k=books&search=search

Answering my own question, this LJ review is what the diplomats call
"fair and frank":

    http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4361

    Review: Building Linux Clusters
    December 01 2000 by Glen Otero 

    The editing and proofreading done on this book was nearly
    nonexistent.  Eight of the first eleven figures in the book were
    either missing or out of order. The number of spelling and
    grammatical mistakes is unacceptable. We've all come to expect more
    from O'Reilly, and this sloppy offering came as a shock. Through
    lack of editing, enough stumbling blocks are encountered to quickly
    befuddle the Linux beginner.  Those familiar with Linux and the
    introductory material can probably get by with a few assumptions and
    guesses as to what the author meant. I did just that and moved to
    the installation phase.

    <...>

    There are so many mistakes, including errors in the commands to
    create the boot floppies, configure the DHCP server and perform the
    installation, that my software installation took eight hours. The
    very first command line I needed to enter in order to create the
    first installation boot disk was incorrect. It was to be one of many
    such obstacles. Scripts were also frequently mislabeled and often
    were not where they were supposed to be. The disparity between what
    is written and what is on the CD is appalling.

    <...>

    Apparently, I'm not alone in my suffering and disappointment. While
    writing this article, eight of the nine reader reviews posted at
    oreilly.com conveyed sentiments similar to my own....

    <...>

    I'm dumbfounded at how this work made it out of any publishing
    house, let alone O'Reilly's. To avoid this kind of debacle in the
    future, let me go on the record as stating that I will personally
    review any upcoming revisions/editions of Building Linux Clusters
    and test the software within, for free.

Glen notes that there is useful infomration in the book, largely
concerning history and tools, but the technical how-to content is
abysmal.

Peace.

-- 
Karsten M. Self <kmself@ix.netcom.com>        http://kmself.home.netcom.com/
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