[Beowulf] is ethernet network proper for a 50-node Beowulf cluster?

[laytonjb at charter.net]

Ruhollah,

I hate to say, but "it depends." It depends upon what you are doing with the cluster
(what kind of applications), how many cores or nodes are used in a single run,
what kind of IO you need, etc.

Now, with that said, I think GigE can be very appropriate for a 50 node cluster
for some applications. If you have multiple connections, you can even use
something like GAMMA (google for GAMMA and MPI). Then you are likely
to squeeze as much performance as you can possibly get out of a GigE network.

Good luck!

Jeff

> Hi all,
> 
>  I want to build a Beowulf cluster with 50 computing nodes.
> 
> >From network point of view, is Ethernet network with gigabit interconnection
> OK?
> 
> (Due to our some problems in using Myrinet and Infiniband , we prefer not to
> use thse two style of network)
> 
> 
> Thank you for any suggestion.
> Best,
> Ruhollah Moussavi Baygi