Beowulf - Single Board Computers? -- Progressing off topic

[Capt Bohn, Christopher A.]

> I never could figure out hot to get the
> processors airborn, the little fins from the movie never really worked out
> in practice.

The other problem here (and with the movie) is that it's really hard to get
in front of a tornado when you really want to.  And to do it without getting
yourself killed in the process.  As far as the movie's concerned, I always
thought it would've been smarter to mount the telemeters on katyusha rockets
and fire them from a safe distance (and you could be in front of, to the
side of, or behind the tornado).

Take care,
cb
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Capt Christopher A. Bohn
Graduate Student, Electrical (digital) Engineering
Air Force Institute of Technology     Phone (937)255-3636 (DSN 785)
AFIT/EN638                              Lab x4606   Voicemail x6638
2950 P St, Box 4638                         email cbohn@afit.af.mil
Wright-Patterson AFB OH 45433-7765                 EngrBohn@aol.com
               http://members.aol.com/EngrBohn/
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*



-----Original Message-----
From: owner-beowulf@beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov
[mailto:owner-beowulf@beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov]On Behalf Of Walter B. Ligon
III
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 1998 5:27 PM
To: Huntress, Gary B.
Cc: 'beowulf@beowulf.gsfc.nasa.gov'
Subject: Re: Beowulf - Single Board Computers?


--------
At one time the GSFC guys and I were planning to build a beowulf from
laptops - the code name was "lap-dog."  I decided we could use a wireless
network adapter, put the nodes in a large box and put the box in front of
a tornado - we would have the first tornado-born parallel computer.  It
could
process data on the structure of the tornado real-time.  There are many
interesting problems - for example the topology is always changing, and
nodes are always going offline.  I never could figure out hot to get the
processors airborn, the little fins from the movie never really worked out
in practice.  Its alway's something.

Anyway, we didn't build lap-dog, instead we built grendel (our first
beowulf machine).  I still think one could build a rather compact machine
from laptops with the display removed (or laptop motherboards).  I have
seen such a thing at a conference, but they were trying to bill it as
"portable."  Its not - the network cards suck more juice than your average
battery wants to supply for a long time.

Walt

--
Dr. Walter B. Ligon III
Associate Professor
ECE Department
Clemson University