on Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 03:34:44PM +0000, Eric Engelhard ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) wrote: > On Mon, Jan 06, 2003 at 03:08:25PM -0800, Peter Jay Salzman wrote: > > begin Ryan Detert <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > > > > I am looking for a good howto or a really clear book on setting up > > > a beowulf cluster. > > > > there's a beowulf howto, but it looks abandoned. the copy i have > > was last updated in 1998. there's a book on beowulf clusters in > > the lugod library, and it was good at the basics, but not very > > detailed when it comes to actually setting one up. > > Please avoid the software that came with the O'Reilly Beowulf book. > Heck, avoid the whole book. Even they want to distance themselves from > it: > > http://www.oreillynet.com/search/?sp-q=cluster&sp-k=books&search=search
Answering my own question, this LJ review is what the diplomats call "fair and frank": http://www.linuxjournal.com/article.php?sid=4361 Review: Building Linux Clusters December 01 2000 by Glen Otero The editing and proofreading done on this book was nearly nonexistent. Eight of the first eleven figures in the book were either missing or out of order. The number of spelling and grammatical mistakes is unacceptable. We've all come to expect more from O'Reilly, and this sloppy offering came as a shock. Through lack of editing, enough stumbling blocks are encountered to quickly befuddle the Linux beginner. Those familiar with Linux and the introductory material can probably get by with a few assumptions and guesses as to what the author meant. I did just that and moved to the installation phase. <...> There are so many mistakes, including errors in the commands to create the boot floppies, configure the DHCP server and perform the installation, that my software installation took eight hours. The very first command line I needed to enter in order to create the first installation boot disk was incorrect. It was to be one of many such obstacles. Scripts were also frequently mislabeled and often were not where they were supposed to be. The disparity between what is written and what is on the CD is appalling. <...> Apparently, I'm not alone in my suffering and disappointment. While writing this article, eight of the nine reader reviews posted at oreilly.com conveyed sentiments similar to my own.... <...> I'm dumbfounded at how this work made it out of any publishing house, let alone O'Reilly's. To avoid this kind of debacle in the future, let me go on the record as stating that I will personally review any upcoming revisions/editions of Building Linux Clusters and test the software within, for free. Glen notes that there is useful infomration in the book, largely concerning history and tools, but the technical how-to content is abysmal. Peace. -- Karsten M. Self <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://kmself.home.netcom.com/ What Part of "Gestalt" don't you understand? The Consumer Broadband and Digital Television Promotion Act: Feinstein's answer to Enron envy. http://www.politechbot.com/docs/cbdtpa/hollings.s2048.032102.html _______________________________________________ vox-tech mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.lugod.org/mailman/listinfo/vox-tech