Difference: BigClusterProject20060411 (12 vs. 13)

Revision 132006-03-24 - DuckySherwood

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META TOPICPARENT	name="DuckyHomework"

Big Cluster Project 11 April 2006

(Note: this page is under construction and hasn't been announced yet, so is in massive flux.)

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Making a bootable CD

There are a number of different distributions of MPI/LAM, but we will use BCCD

. It is specifically designed for educational use, and has a PPC version so that Mac users can play too.

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Windows/x86 users, use http://bccd.cs.uni.edu/BCCD-Images/bccd-2.2.1c.iso

. PPC users, use http://bccd.cs.uni.edu/BCCD-Images/BCCD-2.2-BETA-IMAGES/bccd-ppc-2006-02-21T04-0500.iso

It is important to burn the CD in "raw" format. (A raw image contains special error detection and correction codes that the CDR software will generate as it is writing the ISO image to the CD. You cannot simply add the image file to the CD layout as you would when recording normal files off your hard drive.) You can't just use the standard method of burning a file onto disk like you would an MP3.

Linux

Making a bootable CD on Linux is nowhere near as easy as it ought to be. It's probably not something that you do all the time, so you might have challenges with media, drivers, kernels, applications, or all of the above.

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If you have trouble burning from Linux, you can is burn a CD from Windows and then boot that from Linux. Note that if everything is working, you should not need to burn anything except an iso file (Windows) or an iso.img file (Linux) to your CD.

Note that if everything is working, you should be able to stick the CD in your drive and restart; you should not need to hold down magic key combinations.

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If you do have trouble, you might need to change the boot device order in your BIOS.

If you have trouble, see also the note in the Mac section below about "raw" mode.
Ducky successfully burned BCCD from Windows and booted on Linux (Kannotix distro, 2.6.11 kernel) using just what Windows offered (::RecordNow, which appears to be distributed with IBM Thinkpads).
Ducky found that she had trouble booting from the CD when she had previously booted into Linux from her hard drive -- she had to boot into Windows, then reboot with the CD in the tray.

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Windows

Windows should be easy. Just burn http://bccd.cs.uni.edu/BCCD-Images/bccd-2.2.1c.iso

(in raw format) and reboot. You might need to change the boot device order in your BIOS.

Mac

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< When burning a CD on the Mac, it is important to burn it in "raw" format. (A raw image contains special error detection and correction codes that the CDR software will generate as it is writing the ISO image to the CD. You cannot simply add the image file to the CD layout as you would when recording normal files off your hard drive.) You can't just use the standard method of burning a file onto disk like you would an MP3.

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> Burn http://bccd.cs.uni.edu/BCCD-Images/BCCD-2.2-BETA-IMAGES/bccd-ppc-2006-02-21T04-0500.iso to disk in raw format.

Here are instructions from mkLinux

on how to burn a raw image:

Download a BCCD image

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Instructions on what everyone needs to bring -- Ducky
Instructions for what to do on the day of -- Ducky
Locate switches -- Alan

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Locate CAT5 cables
Reserve a room with an adequate amount of tables and space -- ?

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~~Locate CAT5 cables -- Ducky~~
~~Reserve a room with an adequate amount of tables and space~~

- Estimate head/node count, adjust room if needed

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Post information to class -- Ducky w/input from Alan
Post information more widely -- Ducky w/input from Alan
Figure out what code to run -- class

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~~Post information to class -- Ducky w/input from Alan~~
~~Post information more widely -- Ducky w/input from Alan~~
Figure out what code to run -- class, Brett

Make sure code compiles on Macs and Linux both with near-forehead install (meaning two directories) -- Ducky

On the day of:

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DHCP server boot
Put code in ~bccd/cs521
Tags for computers and cables to indicate ownership

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Duct tape (?) to tape cables down onto the floor

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~~Duct tape (?) to tape cables down onto the floor~~ avoid if at all possible

Power strips

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People Ducky believes are coming:

Ducky (1 x86, 1 PPC)
Alan Wagner (1 x86?)
Brett (PPC)
Andrew C (x86)
Nels (x86)
Allan R (way old x86)
KP (PPC)
Ivan (x86)
Ying (x86)

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