I am looking for info on Linux clusters that will be used for CFD calculations. I am aware that Dell sells this clusters; I am wondering whether there are other companies in the market. We are looking for machines that will have 20 or more cpus.

Check out http://www.pssclabs.com

Not sure if they have exactly what you are looking for, but you can give it a try.

-- Jarmo

Thanks, that is exactly the info that I am seeking!

Glad I could help!

-- Jarmo

There are some more alternatives in the Resources/Hardware/Clusters section here at CFD Online.

Jonas,

Thanks for that info.

BTW, regarding which is the proper version of Linux to use: with RedHat no longer supporting the public version of it RedHat software, should I choose another vendor of Linux?

I would go with either RedHat Fedora (the free unsupported variant) if you are familiar with linux or RedHat Enterprise if you need support. The cost for Enterprise isn't that high anyway and might be worth the cost - the automatic updates via RedHat network works very well and is almost a must if your cluster is exposed to the internet. If it is behind a firewall or on a local network you probably don't need the automatic updates. CFD Online will soon switch to a new server with Fedora on it. I would have prefered Enterprise but my ISP went with all Fedora so I choose to stay with their standard.

Jonas,

Thanks again for your help.

You're welcome. Another important issue in the choice of cluster OS is of course also which OS your CFD code vendor recommends and supports (assuming you run a commercial CFD code). If you are hesitating between RedHat Fedora or RedHat Enterprise you might want to ask your software vendor which they intend to have primary support for.

Jonas,

We will be running an in-house CFD code called WIND which has been running on SGI Irix and various Linux OS.

Okay, then it is probably a good idea to ask the Wind developers at NASA Glenn or AEDC which Linux distribution they prefer and have the best experience from. I looked at their web-site but I couldn't find any OS recommendation. You can send an email to nparc-support@info.arnold.af.mil and ask.

www.hpcline.com

F.K.

Thank you for another website URL!

Jonas,

I will talk to some people at GRC. A couple of Linux clusters have been bought by another branch and I wanted to get a 'second opinion'.