[Plug] Beowulf and Multi-Processor systems

[Tim Peeler <kpeeler@erols.com>]

I submitted this to /. a few weeks back but I got no response, so I decided
that I should share this with everyone on the plug list and see if I could get
someone with enough talent to help me out.

I've been thinking about creating an add-in multi-processor "beowulf" pci card,
unfortunately I don't have the hardware know-how to even get started.  There's
probably already something like this for high-end computers and the idea is
somewhat taken from a rack computer and a cray, but with a twist.

I know there's lots of people (myself included) that would like to play around
with a beowulf linux system.  One of the problems I see with beowulf systems
for us average geeks (read: broke bastards) is the power requirements.  You
really couldn't run it all the time w/o breaking the bank to pay peco (not to
mention the heat generated!).  So I've been thinking, you should be able to
put a minimal 4 processor motherboard onto a pci card, provided that you've
got all the required chipsets.  So far I realize that you'd need the following:

1.) A large clean breadboard w/ a pci connector.
2.) 4 cheap x86's (preferably 5 or 6 (pro, not II/III))
3.) 4 zif socets 
4.) 2 dram sockets
5.) 2 128M dram dimms
6.) Specialized I/O chipset
7.) Power regulators & power supply (plugin from the main power supply from
     your pc.
8.) Kernel drivers
9.) Ramdisk linux image
10.) 512 - 1024 ROM for kernel

Like I said I don't have the hardware knowledge to make this fly or even get
started.  But what I 'envision' is a pci based multiprocessor mini-motherboard,
to create a plug-in beowulf system (assuming you have a free slot or 4 ;-)
The biggest problem would be the I/O chipset, I don't think anyone here has
their own rom burners and chip fab plants ;-)

Once you've gotten the board the rest is easy, the board waits in an infinite
NOP loop until the kernel booting your main MB has a chance to load a driver
for the board, at which point it tells the board to begin it's boot sequence.
(Loading the kernel, requesting and loading the ramdisk image into it's 128M
dimm, setting up communication stuff, etc)

I know I for one would like to have something like this that I could plug-in to
my pc (if only to claim I have a beowulf system ;-)

Tim

Ps. If there's no way in hell to get this to work, or if there's something
already out there that i've not seen, please don't flame me too badly :-P


--
I still maintain the point that designing a monolithic kernel in 1991 is a
fundamental error.  Be thankful you are not my student.  You would not get a
high grade for such a design :-)
(Andrew Tanenbaum to Linus Torvalds)

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