Transparent Network Connectivity in Dynamic Cluster Environments

Improvements in microprocessor and networking performance have made networks of workstations a very attractive platform for high-end parallel and distributed computing. However, the effective deployment of such environments requires addressing two problems not associated with dedicated parallel machines: heterogeneous resource capabilities and dynamic availability. Achieving good performance requires that application components be able to migrate between cluster resources and efficiently adapt to the underlying resource capabilities. An important component of the required support is maintaining network connectivity, which directly impacts on the transparency of migration to the application and its performance after migration. Unfortunately, existing approaches rely on either extensive operating system modifications or new APIs to maintain network connectivity, both of which limits their wider applicability. This paper presents the design, implementation, and performance of a transpa...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2000
• Where: CANPC
• Authors: Xiaodong Fu, Hua Wang, Vijay Karamcheti
• Keywords: Application Components, CANPC 2000, Communications, Network Connectivity, Network Connectivity Layer