Linux PC Cluster I - Oberon
Oberon, the TCB Group's first foray into Linux cluster computing, consisted of 16 dual-processor 400 MHz Pentium II CPU's with 256MB of memory.
System Specifications
- Dual 400 MHz Intel Pentium II CPU's
- 256 MB 100MHz SDRAM
- 2.2 GB SCSI hard drive (9 GB on master node)
- CD-ROM and floppy drives
- Fast ethernet interface (second interface on master node, unused)
- RedHat Linux
- Custom built by VA Research
Each of these machines was connected, via switchbox, to a single shared monitor and keyboard. They were connected to the building network via a Bay Networks BayStack 350T 16-port fast ethernet switch, which connected to the building backbone.
The Oberon Cluster was retired in February 2001. Its nodes were given additional memory and modern graphics boards (specifically the GeForce2 GTS), and moved to researcher desktops. Each node was thus used as a 3-D capable workstation, until they were finally retired in January 2003. The nodes were later given to the Astronomy department.
