Cluster Computing:

ADOPTION OF LINUX CLUSTERS ON THE RISE

Attendees at a recent cluster computing conference indicated a widespread and rapidly growing interest in the deployment of Linux clusters and revealed critical issues vendors must address in a survey conducted at the show. The survey was conducted by Panasas, Inc., a provider of object-based storage for scalable Linux clusters and Rackable Systems, a manufacturer of rack-mount servers for large-scale data center deployments.

CLUSTER ADOPTION GROWING AND LINUX PREFERRED OS

According to the survey, 69 percent of respondents are currently running a compute cluster, with 66 percent of those respondents running their clusters on Linux. Of those who are currently running a Linux cluster, 63 percent reported that they are achieving better performance from the cluster than the previous system. Of the respondents currently not running a compute cluster, 65 percent have plans to deploy a cluster in the next six months, with 79 percent citing Linux as their number one OS choice. The majority of respondents cited achieving "best price-to-performance" as the main reason for deploying compute clusters in the near future.

STORAGE, SERVERS AND NETWORKING KEY TO OPTIMIZING CLUSTERS

The survey also reveals a critical need for supporting and enabling technologies to help organizations achieve optimal cluster performance. Of the respondents not planning to deploy a cluster in the near future, 67 percent cited the lack of supporting technologies, as the primary reason.

Respondents ranked scalable back-end storage and networking options as the primary barriers for achieving an optimal cluster-computing environment. The respondents deploying or planning to deploy clusters ranked performance as the most important criterion in selecting their storage technology; open, component-based architecture as the most important criterion in selecting their server technology; and support for high bandwidth and price per port as the most important criteria in selecting their network technology.

"These findings reinforce what we hear customers state everyday. Linux clusters are delivering order-of-magnitude benefits to customers looking for exceptional price performance," said Garth Gibson, co-founder and CTO of Panasas. "The results also show the need to continue to educate the market on technologies from companies like Panasas and Rackable Systems that provide solutions necessary for successful Linux cluster deployments."