At 07:55 PM 8/20/02 -0400, Miguel A. Mota wrote: >Hi all, > I recently constructed a 7 Node (+ 1 Masternode/Terminal & 1 Server) >parallel-processing Linux cluster as a high school science project partially >funded with a few grants from Bell Labs/Lucent Technologies. In terms of >hardware, we are a Star topology single-pool heterogeneous 100 Base-T >switched cluster with speeds ranging from 450MHz to 800MHz, utilizing AMD >and Intel processors. We are using standard TCP/IP utilizing DNS, DHCP, >NFS, NIS, FTP, Apache, and Samba. For the operating system, we are using >Red Hat 7.3 Professional. I'm preparing to ease administration by >separating the network into two networks. Instead of buying a router I >wanted to try make one with a spare system, something between 200-400MHz. >And if possible (to show it off) out of an 486 equivalent pc. It would not >have a keyboard, mouse, or video card since I would like to administer it >via vnc. I would also like for it not to have a hard drive and boot off a >super disk or zip disk. I initially was directed to the LRP, but they >directed me to you. Can someone help me and tell me what to do now?
Have you looked at the LEAF Web site (leaf.sourceforge.net)? If not, that's the first thing to do. Read the descriptions and at least skim the FAQ (it will make more sense later in the process, so just skim it for now). Then download a couple of the images -- floppy or CD, depending on your equipment -- and give them a test drive. I myself don't know offhand what CPU some of the newer variants expect, but Dachstein at least will run nicely on a 486 with 32 megs of RAM (maybe less RAM, depending on how much of the functionality you implement), -IF- you are routing at Internet speeds (under 1.5 Mbps) ... so that may not be the best choice for an E-to-E router of the sort you seem to have in mind. Running on something like a P150 is trivially easy, even all-out at 100 Mbps. As to the details ... LEAF systems are usually remote admined via ssh logins or a "weblet" interface. I haven't heard of anyone using VNC, since LEAF systems do not usually (ever?) run X or X apps. Running without a mouse is straightforward, and most hardware will run without a keyboard attached ... but you may have problems (not with LEAF, but with the BIOS) trying to run without a video card. If the system you set up is too large to fit on a floppy, you may find a CD a better boot option than a ZIP or LS120. In all honesty, LEAF might not be the best way for you to go. You probably already know how easy it is to adapt a standard Red Hat host to serve as a router, and you might well prefer its greater capabilities -- the VNC interface in particular comes to mind -- to the leaner style of LEAF. Good luck. After you've looked things over, please do not hesitate to post more specific questions. -- -------------------------------------------"Never tell me the odds!"-------- Ray Olszewski -- Han Solo Palo Alto, California, USA [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------- This sf.net email is sponsored by: OSDN - Tired of that same old cell phone? Get a new here for FREE! https://www.inphonic.com/r.asp?r=sourceforge1&refcode1=vs3390 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ leaf-user mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/leaf-user SR FAQ: http://leaf-project.org/pub/doc/docmanager/docid_1891.html
