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Cluster Resources, Inc. announced today a Hybrid Windows/Linux Cluster software solution that uses Moab Cluster Suite to dynamically change a node’s OS on-the-fly in order to meet workload and application needs. HPC has traditionally been dominated by Linux; however, experts predict that Windows clusters will become substantially more prevalent in the space over the next five to ten years. This is due to a variety of factors, including Microsoft’s strong relationship with application vendors, many of whom have already ported their HPC applications to Windows Compute Cluster Server 2003 (CCS), and the increasing demand for workgroup clusters, a market segment composed primarily of Windows users who are new to HPC. As a result, HPC shops that ran strictly Linux in the past are exploring the option of Windows clustering. The Windows/Linux hybrid cluster reduces a Linux shop’s barriers to adopting Windows into their HPC environment. “Hybrid Windows and Linux clusters increase the number of addressable users and improve cluster efficiency,” said Shawn Hansen, Director of HPC marketing at Microsoft. “With Moab, customers can increase their productivity and utilization and broaden their reach by tapping into the larger base of scientists and engineers who use Windows.” The dynamic hybrid cluster hinges on Moab — an intelligence, scheduling and policy engine from Cluster Resources — which optimally determines when the OS should be modified based upon workload and defined policies. When conditions are met, Moab triggers the change via a site’s preferred OS-modification technology, such as diskful and diskless provisioning, dual boot or virtualization (i.e., via Hyper-V within Windows Server 2008, VMware, or Xen). Running Windows on an existing Linux cluster yields maximum hardware utilization and ROI. The alternative is to have one Linux and one Windows cluster, each with different peak usage and idle times. Instead, Moab maximizes workload throughput with a single self-optimizing system that balances the number of nodes running a particular OS against user/group and workload service levels. The hybrid cluster model also consolidates administration and centralizes job submission across both platforms. Administrators can manage both operating systems’ policies and workload from Moab’s unified console. Moab also makes the dual-OS nature of the cluster transparent to end users by applying application and workload information that ensures jobs run on the correct OS without the user needing to specify it. “The day-to-day benefits of using Moab in a hybrid cluster extend beyond just consolidated job submission and automated provisioning,” said David Jackson, CTO of Cluster Resources. “For example, Moab is intelligent enough to take historical usage into account in its scheduling of OS provisioning, so if every morning at 5 AM you run a time-critical Excel report, Moab can always have pre-provisioned Windows nodes waiting. Or in another example, Moab allows you to set up workflows between your Windows and Linux environments to provide full end-to-end product or business processes.” For companies that have standardized on Windows in their data center it makes sense to add Windows to their high performance computing environment. Windows unifies all resources under a single solution, builds on an IT department’s knowledge-base, provides a single source of support, and organizations may benefit from existing or planned Windows site-licenses. “By running Windows on portions of my 2,340 processor Linux machine, I can service my customers’ growing need to run Windows applications without having to purchase a dedicated Windows Cluster,” said Paul Calleja of Cambridge University. “From an administrative standpoint, I’m able to keep my existing infrastructure and policies while still giving customers the OS options they need. I don’t have to micro-manage re-provisioning decisions between OSes. Moab does it all for me and delivers the promised intelligently orchestrated dynamic environment that optimizes my hardware investment and keeps things simple for my users.” About Cluster Resources Cluster Resources, Inc. is a leading provider of workload and resource management software and services for cluster, grid and utility-based computing environments. With over a decade of industry experience, Cluster Resources delivers software products and services that enable organizations to understand, control, and fully optimize their compute resources and related processes.
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