UniCluster

UniCluster is an open source cluster computing platform for Linux championed by Univa UD, who offers commercial support for the product as well as offers commercially available Pro Packs, which extend the functionality of the core cluster architecture. The core open source platform can be downloaded from Grid.org (where community-based support can also be found); and the commercial support and enhancements can be purchased through the vendor's Web site.

UniCluster is deployed on top of Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, or Oracle Enterprise Linux. Specifically, an Installer Node is first created on a machine running one of these operating systems, using yum-based package installation techniques. The Installer Node is itself connected both to the node grid and to the network that will access the grid, and serves as the main management/control point for the nodes within the grid. Once the Installer Node is created and operational, it reocognizes PXE-based boot-ups of bare-metal nodes within the grid, and can automatically deploy the kernel and initrd to the new node for subsequent reboot and operation, simultaneously adding the new node into the cluster DB. Tools such as the Node Group Editor (ngedit) and Network Editor (netedit) enable the template-based definition of node groups (used for single-case management of groups of nodes; i.e., changes such as application configurations or patch updates can be defined once for the group and automatically implemented across all group nodes) as well as define the specific network settings that each node group will communicate with.

On top of this core computing node platform can be loaded multiple cluster-ready Application Kits, which are yum-integrated packages that can be leveraged to install and configure software for the entire cluster. Packaged kits include free tools for monitoring and management of the cluster as well as implementation tools; including utilities such as Nagios, Cacti, MPI Libraries, the Sun Grid Engine, and more.

Additional Application Kits are available commercially from the vendor. Known as Pro Packs, these kits include:

- Intel Cluster Checker: Compare the cluster deployment to Intel standards for cluster certification

- UniPortal: A Web-based application submission interface

- UniSight: A cluster utilization reporting and analytics package

- Grid MP: For the deployment of large scale grids including nodes that are not themselves dedicated to grid processing (Grid MP can be purchased both as an individual product or as a UniCluster Pro Pack)

- DataCatalyst: Policy-based data tracking, delivery (taking into account the location of the data and replicas, the type of data requested, etc.), and synchronization (replication) with incremental data update support

- UniCloud: The latest Pro Pack entry; a virtualization component that enables organizations to automatically trigger the creation and management of virtual compute nodes in Amazon EC2 based on defined workload policies.

The core UniCluster platform is available now as a free open source download. Commercial support licenses from Univa UD start at $199 per node/per year.

Visit the Univa UD and Grid.org Web sites for further information.