How about creating one node as "master" and write a "cluster network
filesystem" which uses shared memory as its "network layer".
Then boot all other nodes diskless from these cluster network
filesystems.
You can still have shared mmap (which I believe is Larry's toy point)
between the nodes but you avoid all of the filesystem locking issues,
because you're going over (a hopefully superfast) memory network
filesystem.
Or go iSCSI and attach a network device to each of the cluster node. Or
go 802.1q, attach a virtual network device to each cluster node, pull
all of them out over GigE and let some Cisco outside sort these out
again. :-)
What I don't like about the approach is the fact that all nodes should
share the same file system. One (at least IMHO) does not want this for
at least /etc. The "all nodes the same FS" works fine for your number
cruncher clusters where every node runs more or less the same software.
It does not work for cluster boxes like the Starfire or 390. There you
want to boot totally different OS images on the nodes. No sense in
implementing a "threaded file system" that is not used.
Regards
Henning
-- Dipl.-Inf. (Univ.) Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- Geschaeftsfuehrer INTERMETA - Gesellschaft fuer Mehrwertdienste mbH hps@intermeta.deAm Schwabachgrund 22 Fon.: 09131 / 50654-0 info@intermeta.de D-91054 Buckenhof Fax.: 09131 / 50654-20
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