Basic Costs + Hardware Platform Outline
In my test environment, I bought the following equipment. Note that although RedHat Advanced Server seems to be required, I worked with the development team to get it working without that distribution, and included RPMs. If you want to get a copy, get the developer release. I listed that as well, though I didn’t use it.
- 2x emachines T2460 $650 each link
- 2x Inland Firewire PCI card $25ea from Fry’s (includes 6pin to 4pin cables) link
- 1 Pyro 1394 Firewire cabinet $150 (includes 2 + 1 6pin to 6pin cable) ** link
- 1 Maxtor 7200RPM 60GB ADA/EIDE harddisk $80 link
- 1 2meter 6pin to 6pin 1394 cable ($10)
- 1 copy of RedHat AS 2.1 Developer Edition $60 link
- 1 firewire hub (only for 3+ nodes) $40-$80
You can use just about any EIDE HD which is compatible with the cabinet you get, and these are just the ones I got, so there is some flexibility in cost. Also, I got this stuff from a Fry’s store when I was in California. They have an online store at Fry’s. I would also recommend checking Sparco online as they have pretty good prices, and I’ve had a lot of luck with them here.
** Arup Nanda notes that you must use a firewire enclosure which has a chipset that supports multi-user. I would suggest
checking Tom’s Hardware Guide for details.
Part 2 – Basic Costs + Hardware Platform Outline
Part 3 – Software Requirements, Versions, etc
Part 5 – Firewire + OCFS Setup
Part 6 – Cluster Manager Setup
Part 7 – Cluster Database Setup
Part 8 – Review of Clustered Features + Architecture