[Beowulf] Heat transfer simulation

[Robert G. Brown]

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005, Mark Hahn wrote:

> > (www.umss.edu.bo) of Bolivia (south america),  my career aren't too
> > apply about optimization and simulation as far i know, actually is
> > there a work about "routes", finding the short path between two
> > points.
> 
> I understand this.  my point is that you can't find routes 
> without actually *needing* to travel them.  unless you have real
> (not made up) research problems, I don't believe you can design
> or build a cluster well.  you can build something very nice,
> but I believe it will need to change once a real application appears.
> I suggest iteration to solve this as well as most other problems.
> 
> > simulations are too slow ", but we have to. I want to be a researcher
> > about modeling real problems and using computational resources.
> 
> OK, so what I would suggest doing is to run your models on 
> whatever computers you have available, right now.  don't think 
> too far ahead about what your future cluster will be like - 
> you don't really know what it *should* be like yet.  then run 
> your code in parallel on two machines with a back-to-back cable.
> how does it scale?  what packet sizes does it send?  how frequently?
> are you using MPI collective operations?
> 
> the details of your initial test cluster doesn't matter much - 
> only that you try real codes on it, evaluate its performance, and 
> learn from it.  improvement comes from iteration, not more design.

<unashamed plug>

  This is the topic of my column in CWM one of the next couple of
upcoming months -- what to do with a starter cluster to help you learn.

It echo's Mark's advice -- find something "real" to do in the long run,
but in the short run there are a bunch of things one can do to learn
about parallel programming and some of the simpler aspects of "vanilla"
cluster design.

So consider subscribing to Cluster World Magazine -- it has a LOT of
information for cluster neophytes and quite a bit for old hands as well.

</plug>

   rgb

-- 
Robert G. Brown	                       http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/
Duke University Dept. of Physics, Box 90305
Durham, N.C. 27708-0305
Phone: 1-919-660-2567  Fax: 919-660-2525     email:rgb at phy.duke.edu