[Beowulf] Grants for Beowulf Clusters

[Jim Lux]

I can't claim that I am successful at getting grants for clusters,
however...
If you can make a good case that a cluster will make it possible to solve
some other "important" problem, the odds go up greatly.  Think of a cluster
as a tool, just like a microscope or an ultra centrifuge or a furnace.  How
would you justify getting the budget for a big microscope (like a SEM)?

The key is to have a problem that everyone wants to attack, and the cluster
being the way to attack it.  You said you've been doing proof of concept..
Is that to prove that you can build a cluster, or that you've demonstrated
some useful "work" with the cluster on a problem that someone is interested
in (i.e. for which there is funding available).

Otherwise, you're a solution looking for a problem.

Jim Lux
----- Original Message -----
From: "Timo Mechler" <mechti01 at luther.edu>
To: <beowulf at beowulf.org>
Sent: Friday, March 11, 2005 7:19 PM
Subject: [Beowulf] Grants for Beowulf Clusters


> Hi all,
>
> I'm wondering what kind of success rate people are having with obtaining
> grants for Beowulf type Linux Clusters (for example, from the National
> Science Foundation).  Let me give you a little bit more info as to why I'm
> asking this:  I'm a junior undergraduate at a small liberal arts college
> in Iowa (~2600 students), and have solely been pursuing Beowulf clusters
> for well over a year now.  I believe strongly that even though that my
> school is small, several departments on campus could benefit from the use
> of a beowulf cluster in the research that does go on.  I've been using
> older, slower machines as a proof of concept for now.  Ideally, we would
> want a faster beowulf system eventually that offers significant
> improvements over anything desktop pc's have to offer nowadays.  Being