Companies That Do Clustering of Computers

While you might not need the complex features of the popular SETI@home project (search for extra-terrestrial intelligence, with over three million computers), you still have rather advanced needs if you are considering grid computing. To this end, you would do well to consult with companies in your area who are familiar with clustering computers and grid computing.

Grid computing and cluster computing methods are similarly linked. As they both involve linking computers together to solve complex functions and problems, you should be aware of this in your search. You surely don’t want to eliminate “grid computing” from you search, as these companies will be knowledgeable in these interrelated subjects.

Keeping this in mind, you should utilize a powerful search engine directory to find such companies. You may want to try Canada 411, which is a strong directory that will work for cluster computing as well as for your next haircut. Keeping in mind the previous tip, search for companies that work in the grid and cluster computing areas.

Whether you need some advice on how to create such a subject, or have complex needs for such a project to be performed by the company, you should be able to find something suitable. Plenty of companies can handle the many types of grid applications that may need help with your needs.

As this is a complex subject, make sure you use a strong search engine to locate a reputable business.  They will be able to start you off on the right foot for clustering computers.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing

Is Your Computer Safe? Read Ahead For Some Startling Truths

Image of a Western Digital 250Gb SATA Hard Dri...

Image via Wikipedia

Computers safety may have existed before the internet became popular. Today, any and every device connected to the internet is at risk. Does this mean that you can restore computer safety by simply disconnecting it from the internet? Well, this option may have been useful in the past but is no longer of any use today.

Nowadays, it is possible to reverse engineer a chip to understand its security features. Once done, hackers can come up with cracks that will bypass the inherent security of computer chips. Remember, the chip happens to be the heart of your computer. The software application that is installed in your operating system running on your hard disk merely happen to be the exterior façade. If the chip is compromised, you can be rest assured that every bit of data in your computer can be stolen without anybody knowing about it.

This is not as easy as it sounds but is not impossible either. A person who is prepared to invest time and effort in this task can easily crack the safest computer chip. In fact, experts have admitted on the internet that it is almost impossible to create an infallible computer chip. Military agencies often insist on domestic manufacture of chips because they don’t want foreign governments snooping in on their data accessed through the compromised chip.

The point here is that one should never take computer security for granted. All it takes is a single flaw or a single crack for the hacker to gain access to your system. It is advisable to adopt a curative approach even as you try to prevent such problems from occurring.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Security Tagged With: , ,

The Logic And Rationale Behind Cluster Computing Is Hidden Inside Our Body

Talon (#2)

Image by Roger Smith via Flickr

It is not surprising that humans rely on cluster computing to carry out complicated activities on computers without investing a lot of money for excess computing power. The brain is the best example of a cluster computer. How can that be right?

A cluster computer invariably involves multiple devices that are connected together on a high speed network facilitating easy sharing of processing speed. The brain, on the other hand, is a single organic component. Well, the brain controls your limbs, your senses and all other parts of your body. If one were to remove cluster computing from the equation, each and every part of the body would have an independent brain of its own that would focus on utilizing just that part or component.

Now, take all these multiple brains and fuse them together into a single brain and you have the ultimate cluster computer. In any case, different parts of the brain controlling different parts of the body interact with each other at such high speed that we look at it as a single component. Hence, the logic behind cluster computing is not very far to find. Rather, it is present in our own body.

There will come a time when the computers with the most powerful processing speed will be linked together and will be utilized primarily as a single huge processor while all other nodes will be utilized for various other activities. When that happens, we would have a truly succeeded in creating a cluster computer brain that serves as the mother node of information and data processing for all other sub components of the cluster.

 

 

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Open Source Programming is Key to Fast Evolution in Technology

One has to wonder where technology would be today if all computer programming was left to private corporations. The ideas would be restricted by corporate rules, feet dragging and money issues. Everything would have to be produced for making a profit, not advancing computer technology. Fortunately, the computing community is a true community and open source software is widely used. Open source means that the technology is not restricted to one person or one group of people when it comes to development and improvement. The people who participate in open source computing do it because they are passionate about technology and computers, not because they want to make money.

The good news for those of us who rely on the computers is that we are able to access these programs for free. Some great open source products are Open Office, Gimp, Mozilla, and many popular blog sites. Whenever the user downloads any of these free products, they’ll be asked if programmers can retrieve error messages from the computer the product is downloaded to. The reason for this request is that it keeps open source technology active with problem solving and development. You always have the option to say, “no,” but “yes” allows the programmers to evolve technology much quicker, and therefore, many aspects of our daily lives evolve for the better, too.

Technology is needed to advance cures for diseases. It is open source programs that make this happen via cluster grids. We have made huge advances in communication via open source products, and entertainment is much more advanced, too. Sharing is really better than selling.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

A Simple Explanation of Cluster Computing

At first, trying to grasp the concept of cluster computing can be a bit difficult for those new to the idea. If that is your case, it is not your fault, and you are not alone. We all suffer from occassional information overload, and it seems to put a big stop sign right in front of our brains. Maybe this simple explanation of computer clustering will help.

We have a wonderful election system in the United States, but now and then something goes wrong and the elections don’t go as smoothly as hoped. There have been occasional incidences in some cities in which it was learned that the voting machines were faulty. This put quite a hardship on the poll workers because that meant that all of the votes had to be counted by hand.

Now, just imagine if there was only one available poll worker. It would take that worker an undetermined amount of time to count all the votes. It would be unfathomable to hope to get the job done in due time.

The way it was handled was that many workers united to count the votes. This made the process much faster, and the work was eventually completed. It was completed much quicker than if one person did all of the counting alone. That is how cluster computing works.

If it were a computer performing the task, one could have eventually processed all of the data. However, many of them linked together make the job more thorough and much faster. If twenty computers are used, the work can be done at least twenty times faster.

With any luck, that will clear things up a bit for you. You should now put your new knowledge to good use. If your company is set up for cluster computing, when you go back to the office tomorrow, the first thing you should do is tell you coworkers that they can all work faster because you are there.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Computer Tagged With: , ,

Create a Computer Cluster with Older Hardware

Although any operating system can be used for cluster computing, some systems are not as versatile as others. If you’re trying to create a cluster on a budget, then you may want to consider Linux. It can be used to create a computer cluster with older hardware. For the person who doesn’t have a lot of money for upgrades, this can be an economical solution. By being resourceful, you can easily create the kind of operating power and storage space you need without going into debt.

If you don’t have much cash and you need to upgrade to a bigger computer, you might try a couple of things. First, ask your friends if they want to sell their old computers as they upgrade. Also, check with thrift shops and office supply sales. Sometimes when a company upgrades its systems it will sell its old hardware for a good price. If you go with a Linux operating system, you’ll be able to more easily create a cluster that will work for you. If you’re unsure if you want to make the switch from Windows to Linux try it out first. It’s very portable and can be loaded onto a CD or thumb drive. You can then test it without actually loading it onto your machine.

As for speed, a group of older computers clustered together may seem like a major traffic jam in terms of processing and retrieving information. However, the Linux system will be able to run multiple processes much faster than other operating systems. It is also free. Not all tutorials and support will be free, but the product is.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Why Some Prefer Linux OS for Cluster Computing

Microsoft Windows: Making it easier

Image by jasoneppink via Flickr

Think of the internet as a big cluster computer or computing grid. It is a network of PCs that are connected to share information. If your hard drive isn’t big enough to store 100 movies, you can always stream them from another server via the internet. That idea powers much of the processing and information that we need to complete even our personal computing needs. In order to keep cluster computing accessible, up-to-date and affordable, many people prefer a Linux OS for cluster computing.

It is generally thought that the Linux systems are hardier than Microsoft operating systems. Because the Linux system is open source by its very nature, it is always available to any programmer for updates and improvements. Windows, on the other hand, has to be purchased. In a home environment, a consumer would have to buy the Microsoft software every time he added a new computer to his cluster. Via the internet, Linux software is free. It works just as well, and it is compatible with Windows. Therefore, it is cheaper to use the internet as a cluster and Linux programming as your cluster computer.

All operating systems have to be updated periodically. In a cluster situation, this is particularly important because of possible malware infections. Whenever Windows updates, it can really drag down an operating system, thus slowing down the whole cluster. Linux operating systems don’t slow down like that, so efficiency is ultimately better. If there is a problem in the network, and someone identifies it, he doesn’t need to wait for Microsoft to send an update to correct it. As an open source product, the programmer would be able to access the problem himself. It is this kind of open availability that truly makes Linux so hardy. There are many minds working the problem, not just a contained group tied to a company’s rules and protocol.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Cluster Computer Technology Is Older Than You Think

Cairo cluster

Image by btornado via Flickr

For those who know a little about cluster computers, they may think that IBM invented the concept. These groups of computers are networked together to improve performance and information availability that is better than what a single computer can provide. The engineering of this idea was formalized by an IBM employee, but it was customers who invented clusters, and cluster computer technology is older than you think.

Probably as early as the 1950s or 1960s, people were creating networks that would improve the power of their computing needs. Basically, when one computer was filled up, and people needed more space, they would create a backup out of one computer and add a new one. Therefore multi processes were happening outside of the a single computer. These separate machines were referred to as commodity computers. As a parallel work source, IBM began to develop a protocol for parallel processing. This was done in 1967.

This seems surprisng considering that the world wide web didn’t become publically popular until the early 1990s. Before that time, only a few households even owned a computer, and the ones they did have were fairly slow and clunky. However, once the personal computer became a common household item, cluster computing became fairly common among those looking to push the power of computing. Clusters weren’t just used by the Defense Department, large laboratories or NASA. The average user could create the same kind of environment on a smaller scale. This was definitely different than what was being done by customers in the 1960s, but the technology enabled anyone to enjoy big, fast computer processes. Today, open access programming continues to improve cluster computing and its availability via the internet and open source software. What started as business and government necessity has become a world wide collaboration to share knowledge.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Technology Tagged With: , ,

Gamers Use PC Clusters

Gamers are always wanting faster and more powerful computers. Their games use a huge amount of memory and pure operating muscle, so a single computer can become obsolete pretty fast as the games become bigger and better. For the serious gamer, this situation can burn up a budget pretty fast. The solution is to hang onto those old towers because gamers use PC clusters to create the optimum game situation.  If a gamer is a fan of Microsoft, he may continue to buy computers off the shelf, as the more powerful operating systems are introduced, but he’s going to hang onto his old computer.

The old computer will likely have an operating system that is compatible with the new computer, so the gamer can begin to cluster his older machines with the new machine. Maybe an older machine will be used for storage. Sometimes, the machine itself will no longer be operable, so the gamer will simply salvage the hard drive and use it as an external drive with a newer computer. As long as machines are compatible, the cluster can work. Some gamers are even experimenting with using a WiFi device to create clusters. If it works, it can be more space efficient. However, this kind of network may take more patience and troubleshooting.

Cluster computers are weaker computers that are networked to create a super computer, so gamers can be good testing sources for new ideas and trials in cluster computintg. Many find the challenge of creating a small cluster to be as fun as the games themselves. If you are replacing your PC, instead of recycling it, you might advertise it on a message board or Craigslist as a good computer for a gamer’s cluster.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Computer Tagged With: , ,

The Internet is a Cluster Computer

A cluster computer is a network of computers that are attached to make smaller, less powerful operating systems and hard drives work together to create a powerful supercomputer environment. That’s a simple definition. Most people have no idea what a cluster computer is, and they use their imagination to define a super computer. If you’ve ever walked into that cluttered little room in the IT department and seen a cluster of computers all wired together, then you’ve seen a computer cluster. Now think about the internet. Conceptually and realistically, it is one huge cluster computer. Via a world wide web and internet addresses, we call all connect and create one big computing brain.

It’s probably more accurate to call the internet a cluster grid because much like the electric power grid, the computers are not in the same house. They are sharing an external infrastructure to achieve the same result. In the cluster computer arena, this result would be information. The internet certainly doesn’t help speed up your operating system or personal network the way a true cluster computer configuration does, but it does allow you to access information from someone else’s server very fast.

One of the most important components of a successful cluster grid or computer is that each machine has to be free of malicious software. If one machine is infected, then every machine in that cluster can be infected. The internet is the same way. Every time a virus is introduced, via a computer in the cluster, every other computer that accesses the information distributed by the infected machine is at risk. Needless to say, security is very important for your machine. Always keep your anti-virus up-to-date, and allow software updates whenever they are available. Sometimes those updates are trying to improve the overall cluster. If you use open source software, like Open Office, always allow the programmers access to your machine so that they can identify and correct any problems that you are experiencing. Your problem could be something that affects everyone on your grid.

Filed Under: Cluster Computing, Internet Tagged With: , ,
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