RWC SCore Easy Installation Tool (EIT) Guide

Table of Contents

  1. Overview of Installation
  2. Installation Module Extraction
  3. Configuration Specification
  4. Compute Hosts Installation
  5. SCore System Configuration
  6. Server Host combined with Compute Host
  7. Additional Compute Hosts after Setting
  8. Known Problems
  1. Overview of Installation

    We assume the following configuration in this document:

    The installation procedures contain mainly the following three steps:
    1. SCore Module extraction
    2. Compute Hosts Installation
    3. SCore Server Configuration

    To install the compute hosts, new EIT uses a DHCP server so that a temporal IP address is used in a compute host during the installation. An installation boot floppy generated by EIT does not include any compute host local settings.

    EIT will set up a DHCP server on your server, whose port number is 1641 instead of the standard DHCP server port number, 67.

    Thus, in addition to compute host IP addresses, you need DHCP IP addresses. Those IP addresses should have host names registered in NIS or DNS.

  2. SCore Installation Module Extraction

    Extract files from the score-4.0-redhat6.2.i386.tar.
    1. If you obtained the score-4.0-redhat.i386.tar.gz file via the internet, please untar it first under the /opt/score directory. The following assumes that the tar.gz file is located in the root home directory. 
      	# mkdir -p /opt/score/
	# cd /opt/score
	# tar xzf /root/score-4.0-redhat.i386.tar.gz
	# tar xpf score-4.0-redhat6.2.i386.tar
        # make install
    2. If you have the SCore CDROM, please insert the CDROM and then: 
      	# mount /mnt/cdrom
	# mkdir -p /opt/score
	# cd /opt/score
	# tar xpf /mnt/cdrom/score-4.0-redhat.i386.tar.gz
	# tar xpf score-4.0-redhat6.2.i386.tar
        # make install

  3. Configuration Specification

    The following command must be invoked under the X Windows System: 
    	# /opt/score/bin/eit
    You will see this window:

    [Easy Installation Tool Main Window]

    Figure 1: Easy Installation Tool Main Window

    1. DHCPD
      First of all, you must set up the DHCP server for EIT which differs the standard DHCP server. When the "Setup DHCPD" button is clicked, the following dialog will be displayed:

      [DHCPD]
      Figure 2: DHCP Server Setting

      Please specify DHCP IP addresses. Those addresses are used temporarily during the compute host installation. You have to make sure that those addresses are registered in NIS or DNS: 
        In case of NIS
	# ypcat hosts | grep <DHCP IP address>
  In case of DNS
	# nslookup <DHCP IP address>
      Since those IP addresses are used during the installation, you can set up compute hosts simultaneously up to the number of DHCP IP addresses. For example, if you assigned four IP addresses, you can set up four compute hosts simultaneously.
    2. Network Configuration
      Basically, you do not need to modify the network configuration. If the Red Hat 6.2 system CD-ROM image is stored in a hard disk, the "Mount Point" must be changed.
      • Server Name
        The server name is the same as the import host name. You do not need to change it.
      • Domain Name
        The domain name is the same name as the import host.
      • Netmask
        If your server host netmask is different from the default netmask, please modify this value.
      • Gateway
        If the gateway of your server host is different from the default gateway, please modify this value.
      • NIS
        If the NIS domain name is different from the default name, please modify this value.
      • Mount Point
        The directory of the Red Hat 6.2 CD-ROM image must be specified in this field.
      • SCore Mount Point
        The directory of the SCore distribution package must be specified here.
      • Display
        The display host to show the installation process should be specified.
    3. Keyboard Selection
      Choose the keyboard type in this sub-window.
    4. Machine Type
      EIT help you to install not only SCore cluster but also standard Linux workstation and laptop. If you want to install such a configuration, please click a button.
    5. Disk Partition
      To configure the disk partition on compute hosts, please click the "Configure" button of the Disk Partition sub-window. You will see the window shown in Figure 3:

      [Disk Partition Plan]
      Figure 3: Disk Partition Plan

      1. Choose the size of the host disk. Note, the filesystem partition sizes change automatically to pre-defined values for the size of disk.
      2. If necessary, enter values for in the boxes for custom filesystem sizes
      3. Select OK

      4. The dialog box will close, and the new disk size will be reflected in the Disk Partition section of the SCore Easy Installation Tool
    6. Install Component
      If you want to change the default installation components for the SCore server host, click the "Customize" button of the Component sub-window.
    7. Host Information

      screen shot: Compute Host Name
      Figure 4: Host Information

      In the host information section (Figure 4),
      1. Specify the number of compute hosts in the Number of Hosts field. For example, if your cluster will have one server and eight compute hosts, change this value to 8.
      2. Each compute host name will be the string specified in the Name Prefix filed followed by a number whose number system is selected from the buttons, digit, hex and oct. If you select none, then no number is added.
      3. The number is started from the value specified in the Start field.
      4. Figure of the number is specified in the Figure field.
        For example, if you want to have four compute hosts with the postfix having the form 005, 006, 007, and 008, then enter 5 in the Start field and 3 in the Figure part.

      5. If compute hosts are SMPs, the number of processors is set in the Number of Processors field.

      6. Click the Add button

      7. A Hosts Configuration dialog box will be displayed showing all the hostnames that will be used, starting from 0 (Figure 5):

        screen shot: Hosts Configuration
        Figure 5: Hosts Configuration

      8. Select OK to accept this list, or Cancel to start again

    8. In the Cluster Network Configuration, click the New button. The Group Creation window will be displayed (Figure 6).

      screen shot: Group Configuration
      Figure 6: Group Configuration

      1. Enter the name of the group in the text field at the top. Below this, each network type has a toggle button. Select the networks that you wish to use by toggling the buttons. If you also select "Shmem" for SMPs enter the process count in the text field to the right. The process count should not be larger than the number of CPUs in the SMP machine.

      2. On the left-hand side of the window is a box of candidate hosts. If the number of hosts cannot be displayed in the window you can scroll the window with the scroll bar. Select the hosts that you want for the group. The selected hosts will be displayed in the box on the right-hand side.

        Buttons under the candidates and selected windows should be selected if you want to select all of machines, half of machines, or quater machines. For example, if you want to select the first half of machines, click the 1/2 button. If you want to select the last half of machines, click the 2/2 button.

        After entering the information you will see a window similar to the following (Figure 7).

        screen shot: Group Creation
        Figure 7: Group Creation

      3. If you select Myrinet, the Easy Installation Tool automatically creates a Myrinet configuration file. You have to connect PCs for Myrinet according to the Myrinet Configuration page.

      4. Select OK to accept this group, or Cancel to start again.

    Configure Compute Hosts

    Then click the Config Compute Hosts button in order to create boot script files in the server.

    1. A dialog box will be displayed asking you to insert the Redhat Linux 6.2 CDROM into your CD drive (Figure 8):

      screen shot: Insert CDROM
      Figure 8: Insert CDROM

    2. Insert the Redhat Linux 6.2 CDROM and select OK

    3. If your system has a Myrinet network, a Myrinet network configuration dialog box will appear as shown in Figure 9.

      screen shot: Myrinet Configuration
      Figure 9: Myrinet Network Configuration

    Then, EIT proceeds the next stage.

    screen shot: Second Stage
    Figure 10: The Second Stage

  4. Compute Hosts Installation

    1. Select Make Boot Image in the top of the tool

      1. A dialog box will be displayed asking you to make a boot floppy disk (Figure 10):

        screen shot: Insert Boot Floppy Disk
        Figure 11: Do you make a boot floppy ?

      2. If click the "Yes" button, the following dialog box will be displayed asking you to insert a floppy disk into your floppy drive (Figure 12):

        screen shot: Insert Boot Floppy Disk
        Figure 12: Insert Boot Floppy Disk

      3. Insert a blank floppy disk and select OK. The floppy disk must be initialized as the MSDOS format.
      4. After the floppy disk is written, a dialog box will be displayed asking you to remove the floppy disk.
      5. Remove the disk and select OK
      6. The system asks if you want to make a boot floppy disk more. Unlike SCore 3.1 EIT, the boot floppy disks are identical. Thus a boot floppy created in the server may be reused in another compute host installation.

        If you make two boot floppy disks, you can install two compute hosts at the same time. Assume that you made four boot floppy disks to install eight compute hosts.

    2. Now compute hosts are installed as follows:
      1. Insert four floppy disks into four compute hosts and power those computers on.
      2. Few minutes later, you will hear bells from compute hosts. When the floppy disk is ejected, you will hear bells continuously five times. This indicates that the compute host has obtained the compute host number and the official IP address, and started to install SCore/Redhat 6.2. After that, you may proceed to eject a floppy disk on another compute host.

      3. After ejecting a floppy disk, you will see the following window in your server. Because you are now installing four compute hosts simultaneously, you will see the same four windows. However, since those windows appear the same location, three windows are hidden. To see the hidden windows, please move the front windows.

        The idea, ejecting a floppy disk to proceed the next step, comes from Mr. Tram Hudson of TurboLabs.

        [SCore Cluster System Software Installation Window]
        Figure 13: SCore Cluster System Software Installation Window

      4. When the window changes to the following, click the Next button:

        [Begin Installation]
        Figure 14: Next

      5. The following windows will be displayed during the installation sequence:

        [Installing Packages]\
        Figure 15: Installing Packages

      6. When the installation has completed, you will see the following window. Please click the "Exit" button. The compute host will be rebooted.

        [Congratulation Window]
        Figure 16: Congratulation Window

      Ater installing the first four compute hosts, then boot floppies are inserted to another four compute hosts and repeat the above procedures.

      If all compute hosts have been installed, then proceed the next step. Do not exit the Easy Installation Tool yet.

  5. SCore System Configuration

    After all hosts have been rebooted, click the "Setup Server Host" button to configure the server host.

    Congratulations! You have got your own cluster!!!

    Before testing the cluster, you have to logout and login again so that the shell environment variables, defined under the /etc/profile.d, become effective.

  6. Server Host combined with Compute Host

    If you want to configure that the Server host is also a compute host, the server host is also included in compute host lists.

    For example, let us add the server host to the compute hosts in the example configuration. That is, assume the eight compute hosts have been registered and the server host name is server.score.rwcp.or.jp.

    Assume that you have not configured the SCore system, i.e., not yet clicked Config Compute Hosts and not proceeded the second stage. If you have configured compute hosts already, See the Additional Compute Hosts after Setting section.

    1. In the host information section as shown in Figure 17,
      1. Specify 1 in the Number of Hosts field,
      2. Fill the letter server in the Name Prefix field,
      3. Select the none button
      And then the Add button is clicked.

      Figure 17: Host Information

      Then, you will see the following window. Click the OK button.

      Figure 18: Hosts Configuration

    2. Click the "New" button in the Cluster Network Configuration section and then specify the network.

      Figure 19: Group Creation

    3. Then click the Config Compute Hosts button. The rest of procedure is the same as in the regular EIT installation. See the Configure Compute Hosts section.

    If you will add more compute hosts in your cluster in the future, it is better that a server host is the compute host number 0 instead of the last number. If you want to set up this, the server host name is firstly registered in the host information section, and then other compute host names are registered.

  7. Additional Compute Hosts after Setting

    If you want to add more compute hosts after configured, please do the following:

    1. Invoking /opt/score/bin/eit
    2. Click the Load button so that the configuration information is loaded.
    3. Click the Setup DHCPD button so that the DHCP server for EIT is invoked because the server was stopped when EIT exited.
    4. Specify the new additional compute hosts in the Host Information. A new compute host can be the server host. You may specify the server host name in the Host Information.
    5. Modify the existing network group or Create a new network group in the Cluster Network Configuration section.
    6. Click the Config Compute Hosts button. You will see the following dialog. Please click the No button because existing compute hosts do not need to be reconfigured.

      Figure 20: Reconfiguration Confirmation

    7. If you still keep boot floppies, use them to set up the new compute hosts. If you do not have them, create boot floppies by selecting the Make Boot Image button.
    8. After setting up the new compute hosts, select the Setup Server Host button.
    9. If the new compute hosts include the server host, the server host must be rebooted.

  8. Known Problems

    1. Anaconda Errors
      • When the anaconda is invoked, error messages related to Gtk are shown in the compute host console. You may ignore the messages.
      • When the anaconda displays the exit window, error messages are seen in the compute host console. You may ignore the messages.
      • Before displaying the exit window after installing everything, the anaconda sometimes hangs. In that case, you have to reset the compute host.
      • After exiting anaconda, the compute host is not rebooted sometimes. In this case, you have to reset the compute host.
    2. During the linux kernel booting, the network cannot be initialized sometimes. In this case, you have to reboot it again.
Parallel and Distributed System Software Laboratory
Real World Computing Partnership
score-info@rwcp.or.jp
CREDIT
This document is a part of the SCore cluster system software developed at Real World Computing Partnership, Japan. Copyright (c) 2000, 1999 Real World Computing Partnership.