Re: A proposal for a General Clustering Framework

[Alan Robertson <alanr@unix.sh>]

irbis@orcero.org wrote:
> 
>  Hello, All!
> 
> > I've talked off-list to many of you about the prospects for creating a
> > general clustering framework - usable for many or all HA (and HPC) clusters.
> >
> > I'm currently in the process of writing a paper on these framework ideas.
> 
> IMHO the proponsal of the paper is trying to solve things of the 6th OSI
> level on  the kernel, moving things that  are now being resolved by the
> applications in the kernel.
> 
>  For me, it sounds strange with OSI glases to put the session layer on the
> kernel clustering framework -this is the overview proponsal main idea-.''

Kernel clustering?  The proposal's main thrust isn't actually about XML, but
it is one of several key pieces.

This is only for *control* data.  Not for application-level data at all.

>  I also can not find how to but all this XML stuff on HP clusters. Maybe
> is my lack of understanding, but all the problems that is trying to solve
> the proponsal were already solved by the application libs that are being
> used.

Not at all.

>  Cluster transparency and performance -the two main interests of HP
> clustering- are not improved with this proponsal. And performace can be
> penaltied.

Performance might be slightly penalized.  Probably not much - since the only
part of the paper under discussion at the moment seems to be using XML to
transport control data.

IMHO, Cluster transperency is improved, not made worse by the proposal.

Hopefully, control data doesn't constitute the majority of the work you are
doing.  If it does, then you might suffer a 20-30% slowdown.  If not, it'll
more likely be 1-2%.  And, the tradeoff is that more developers will be
developing more things that will work on your cluster.

And, if you invent components that plug into the framework that make it work
faster for you, then PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do that!

	-- Alan Robertson
	   alanr@unix.sh

Linux-cluster: generic cluster infrastructure for Linux
Archive:       http://mail.nl.linux.org/linux-cluster/