[StarCluster] StarCluster Digest, Vol 42, Issue 24

[Lyn Gerner]

Hi Chris,

Re  DEFAULT_TEMPLATE=smallcluster: Assuming you've generated the
.starcluster/config file using the procedure defined in the online docs,
then [cluster smallcluster] will be a stanza in that file, whose details
you'll edit for your application or use case.

NODE_INSTANCE_TYPE is one of the variables you can set within each cluster
definition, as the default value for that particular cluster type, to
whatever EC2 instance type works for your app.  If you use the "extends =
smallcluster" within a mediumcluster definition, you could set a new node
instance type for that kind of cluster.  So, something like:

[cluster smallcluster]
NODE_INSTANCE_TYPE=m1.small
CLUSTER_SIZE=8
< ... lots more details for smallcluster defaults>

[cluster mediumcluster]
extends = smallcluster
NODE_INSTANCE_TYPE=m1.medium
CLUSTER_SIZE=16

Then if you start a smallcluster and initiate load balancing against it,
it'll add m1.small nodes by default, whereas load balancing a cluster
that's based on mediumcluster would add m1.medium nodes.

For load balancing, the value of max nodes, -m, would be set less than or
equal to the CLUSTER_SIZE limit you have set up in your cluster definition
(assuming you didn't override that value on the command line when you
launched that particular cluster).

Cheers,
Lyn

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <starcluster-request at mit.edu>
Date: Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 9:51 AM
Subject: StarCluster Digest, Vol 42, Issue 24
To: starcluster at mit.edu


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Today's Topics:

   1. Cluster size (Butson, Christopher)


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Butson, Christopher" <cbutson at mcw.edu>
To: "starcluster at mit.edu" <starcluster at mit.edu>
Cc:
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 16:27:25 +0000
Subject: [StarCluster] Cluster size
I'm looking at StarCluster for use in simulations using PBS or SGE. This
seems like a great tool that could save a lot of development time! The goal
is to setup a cluster that can allocate hundreds of nodes (I think these
are elastic compute units (ECU) in the Amazon nomenclature), up to a
maximum of around 1000. I've read the documentation and have successfully
run a small test cluster but I'm still having trouble understanding the
relationship between the following:

  1.  NODE_INSTANCE_TYPE: I understand that this is the Amazon instance
type, but I don't see how this interacts with load balancing or the default
template.
  2.  DEFAULT_TEMPLATE=smallcluster: Where is this template defined? I note
that another is largecluster, but I'm not sure the difference between the
two.

  3.  Elastic load balancing: This feature makes sense, but is the maximum
number of nodes a function of selections I make for the default template or
instance type?

Thanks for any insights on how to configure the cluster,
Chris

Christopher R. Butson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Biotechnology & Bioengineering Center
Departments of Neurology & Neurosurgery
Medical College of Wisconsin
(414) 955-2678
cbutson at mcw.edu




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