Date: Thu, 23 Dec 1999 01:49:04 +0900 From: Robert Hugh Force II <tiberius@yta.attmil.ne.jp> To: David De Silva <david@desilva.co.uk> Cc: "Ronald G. Minnich" <rminnich@lanl.gov>, freebsd-cluster@freebsd.org Subject: Re: Web resources Message-ID: <38610100.2D3330D7@yta.attmil.ne.jp> References: <Pine.SGI.4.10.9912220740530.277238-100000@acl.lanl.gov> <009701bf4c8d$00b89620$174c13d4@imperium.tele2.net.uk>
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David,
Beowulf, in my opinion, refers to a class or type of computer (in this case a clustered
computer). Ronald's extract from the Beowulf mailing list tends to support that view point.
A Beowulf class cluster computer could be named anything and still be a Beowulf class cluster
computer. A well chosen name to distinguish a Beowulf running FreeBSD from other Beowulf
computers would be, I think, a good thing to have.
Beowulf is the title character and hero of an anonymous, alliterative Old English epic
poem about the Danish people and the founding of the Danish House. I have not read or heard
of why the original Beowulf was given that name. Does anyone know?
The University of Spain at Barcelona (http://www.maia.ub.es/dsg/hidra/index.html) has a
Beowulf class computer they call Hidra. I am not sure why it is spelled with an I instead of
a Y, but a good picture of the mythical Hydra beast is on their web page.
Greek mythology tells us the HYDRA was a serpent with nine heads, one of which was
immortal. This would seem to be an excellent example of 'clustering', even if it is
mythological. Another definition of hydra is a many-sided problem that persists or grows
worse even after part of it is solved. This would seem to fit a Beowulf class cluster
computer. The many-sided problem of maintaining and using a Beowulf would tend to persist
for a long time after solving any parts of the puzzle. A third definition of Hydra is a
constellation of the southern sky that is the largest of all. We would want the FreeBSD
based Beowulf to be the largest and best known of all, wouldn't we?
I like the idea of using HYDRA to denote a Beowulf class cluster computer.
By the way, I am not familiar with the details of the "Hitch Hikers Guide to the
Universe". Why would Zaphod imply it is restricted to two nodes?
Bob "Use the" Force
fMFG
David De Silva wrote:
> > besides, I don't even LIKE beowulf as a name. Can't we do better?
>
> I'd suggest Zaphod but it might imply it's restricted to 2 nodes :-)
>
> Hydra's good. Or Borg?
>
> > beowulf + freebsd is a misnomer, since beowulf is pretty specifically
> > linux (just ask don becker -- I did).
>
> Extract from the Beowulf mailing list FAQ at http://www.dnaco.net/~kragen/beowulf-faq.txt
>
> 1. What's a Beowulf? [1999-05-13]
>
> It's a kind of high-performance massively parallel computer built
> primarily out of commodity hardware components, running a free-software
> operating system like Linux or FreeBSD, interconnected by a private
> high-speed network.
>
> /David
>
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