Newsletter - September 2005

Optimizing your Compute Resources

  1. MOAB ACCESS PORTAL^® SOURCE CODE AVAILABLE 

  2. TORQUE* 1.2.0p6 RELEASE 

  3. SCl05 PLANNING AND ACTIVITIES 

  4. DID YOU KNOW: CONFIGURING MOAB AS A SERVICE

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MOAB ACCESS PORTAL^® SOURCE CODE AVAILABLE

To improve Moab's ease-of-use and expand administrator control, Cluster Resources released Moab Access Portal source code to its customers and partners. This new benefit lets organizations configure the Access Portal to accommodate unique site-specific needs. For example, organizations using Moab can now create automated batch submission on the Access Portal so end users don't have to learn batch codes, which decreases training requirements for administrators.
 
With available source code, organizations can also integrate Moab Access Portal with their existing Web portals. End users can use the Web portal they are already familiar with and organizations can consolidate programs to simplify management.

Moab Access Portal source code is a value add of Moab Cluster Suite^®, Moab Grid Suite^® or a Cluster Resources' support contract. Please contact Cluster Resources at (801) 873-3400 to learn more about downloading Access Portal source code.

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TORQUE* 1.2.0p6 RELEASE

Cluster Resources, in collaboration with the TORQUE* user community, recently released version 1.2.0p6 of TORQUE Resource Manager. The newest TORQUE version enables expanded MOM configuration and management.

TORQUE 1.2.0p6 enables MOM configuration with features contributed by USC and OSC. New features include:
-Improved rapid start-up
-Direct support for external scheduler extensions
-New 'shell-us-arg' patch (OSC)
-File recovery failure messages (USC)

TORQUE 1.2.0p6 also includes a re-worked MOM-server state management system. The improved management system lets TORQUE perform tasks such as:
-Consolidate node state changes
-Force a health check script when an update state is forced
-Improve pbsnodes 'offline' management

Cluster Resources wishes to thank all those who continue their efforts in contributing to TORQUE Resource Manager. Thanks to these contributions, TORQUE has become increasingly stable, providing a reliable open source resource manager. Those who wish to contribute may join the TORQUE user list at www.clusterresources.com/mailing.shtml.

TORQUE 1.2.0p6 is now available for download at www.clusterresources.com/products/torque/. For professional support information, visit www.clusterresources.com/techsupport.shtml.

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SCl05 PLANNING AND ACTIVITIES

EXHIBITOR FORUM

Cluster Resources will present at the SC|05 Exhibitor Forum, demonstrating how holistic HPC management will save money, increase hardware ROI and ensure 90-99 percent utilization of compute resources for clusters, grids and hosting centers. 

Chief Technology Officer Dave Jackson, and VP of Business Development Michael Jackson will present the forum entitled "Holistic Cluster, Grid and Hosting Center Management with Moab(r) Technologies from Cluster Resources, Inc."  The forum will show how to improve cluster management, increasing organizations' return on thier hardware and software investments.

The forum will also demonstrate how peer-to-peer grids let organizations unify their HPC resources in a way that doesn't take away from the autonomy and security of their individual clusters. This lets organizations save time on capacity planning and administrative tasks, streamline user policies and job submission methods, and report and chart on all resources collectively and individually.

Cluster Resources will also exhibit how hosted resources can seamlessly and instantly be added to a cluster. This can offset surges in computational needs, guarantee service levels, provide access to unique but rarely used resources, and host excess capacity, software and services to share costs or increase profits. The forum, scheduled for November 17, 2:30-3:00 p.m. will also be broadcast over the Internet. To see the Exhibitor Forum program, visit sc05.supercomputing.org/schedule/schedule.php. Guests to the SC|05 exhibitor forum may also discuss these and other topics with Cluster Resources' staff at booth 2036.

EXHIBIT FLOOR GUEST PASSES

Cluster Resources has a large number of SC|05 exhibitor floor guest passes to distribute. These passes are valid from Monday, November 14 to Thursday, November 17. Exhibitor floor passes to the show normally cost $160-$240 and are good for access to the exhibitor floor for the duration of the show.

If you are interested in reserving one of these free passes or in finding out more information, please e-mail awebb@clusterresources.com with your full name as you want it to appear on the pass and we will send you more information. We will distribute these passes on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please respond quickly.

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DID YOU KNOW: CONFIGURING MOAB^® AS A SERVICE

Reboots or power failures can be annoyances to organizations, as they must restart programs on computers once the nodes are turned back on.  Moab can be configured to conveniently start services immediately after a reboot or power failure to save administrators the time it takes to restart Moab. This feature saves organizations time and frustration by ensuring that Moab is configured to start back up when the system is cycled.

To learn how to configure Moab as a service, visit www.clusterresources.com/moabdocs423/a.jmoabservice.shtml.

* This product includes software developed by NASA Ames Research Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Veridian Information Solutions, Inc. Visit www.OpenPBS.org for OpenPBS software support, products, and information. TORQUE is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with Altair Grid Solutions, Inc.