[Bioclusters] Debian cluster

[Nox]

Yes, the FAI pulls the images from a central server,
which is a mirror of other sources,
when we upgrade, or new updates occur, we doenload to the central box, 
then the nodes pull the update from this server


Thx
On Fri, 2003-09-19 at 01:28, Matthew Laird wrote:
> The one comment I would like to offer is out of courtesy to the Debian 
> community I hope you will have a local mirror or the package archive or 
> subset you are using.
> 
> On my personal machines I'm a Debian boy all the way just for the apt-get 
> reason.  But if you're planning to build a 50+ machine cluster using 
> Debian then run an apt-get upgrade on all of them when a patch comes 
> out... that could add noticable strain to the mirrors over time as well as 
> your institution's connection.
> 
> I know on campus we have a Redhat mirror just for on campus use.  I also 
> have scripts to keep the subset I use on our cluster current and the 
> machines patched.
> 
> This is definitely an avenue you might want to investgate for the courtesy 
> reason plus it's just faster to install from a local mirror.
> 
> Another advantage I've learned about having a local mirror, especially 
> with Debian, is you can freeze the packages at any point you want so you 
> can always recreate the exact same configuration with no risk of package 
> upgrades conflicting with something.  That is one beef I had with Debian a 
> few years ago, mysterious package upgrades that sometimes broke other 
> packages, but I guess that's what you get when using the unstable release. 
> :)
> 
> Anyhow, just wanted to pass along those lessons I've learned.  Good luck, 
> and let me know how Debian works out as the basis for a cluster.  I might 
> rebuild mine from RH9 to Debian if you have great successes. :)
> 
> On Fri, 19 Sep 2003, Nox wrote:
> 
> > We have begun to investigate FAI and Debian for our clustering 
> > solutions.
> > 
> > I have always been partial to Debian, its my OS of choice,
> > has been for yrs.
> > 
> > So when I discovered the clustering tools, I was excited.
> > (FAI, Fully Automated Install)
> > 
> > Does anyone have experience with this?
> > Pitfalls, things to watch for,
> > success stories etc.
> > 
> > from my perspective:
> > 
> > Debian offers ease of use
> > Updates are a snap (apt-get) --Including security
> > Ability to be a very minimalist system
> > Quick access to Biotech tools (bioperl as an example)
> > 
> > We currently use debian as our Halted Firewall as well.
> > 
> > Thanks in advance
> > 
> > Nox
> > GenMicro Systems
> > 
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