When people think of supercomputers, they usually visualize a big iron Cray or perhaps a CM5--fans of "Jurassic Park" might recall the big black computer with all the red lights--something that takes up 2000 square feet and needs 2000 more for cooling, with a price tag in the millions. But the big thing in supercomputing today might occupy a server rack and cost a few thousand dollars. I'm talking about Beowulf clusters of PCs running on Linux. For a fistful of Franklins, you can set up a supercomputer that could shoot down those big old iron jobs.

But Beowulf is not just for hobbyists. According to Top500.org--the organization that ranks supercomputers by speed--several of the top 500 supercomputers in the world are clusters of off-the-shelf PCs running Linux and tied together with Beowulf. The University of Kentucky, for example, has a cluster of AMD Athlon-based machines that ranks among the top 200 supercomputers in the world and costs only $650 per gigaflop.

Granted, this topic is by no means new. The first Beowulf cluster was developed in 1994. We covered it in our pages in June. But it's relevant now because of our culture's growing understanding of the complexity of things. For example, we realize that weather is based on several complex interrelationships and, as meteorologists bring better supercomputing tools to bear on nature's complexities, most of us have noticed improved forecasting as a result.

Other applications of Beowulf include so-called genetic programming, which sends streams of algorithms through a simulated natural selection process to determine the most efficient program. Even small businesses can get into the act here. With an eight-node cluster, a company can test variations of server-side scripts to find the one that will most enhance performance in the real world. Given the bang for the buck and the variety of applications of Beowulf clusters, Linux types would do well to learn this technology. It could be a great feather in their caps.

Editorial Links:

All about Beowulf clusters

The University of Kentucky's KLAT2 supercomputer

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