In the next two weeks, my group at the University of Minnesota will be conducting a series of experiments in distributed computing. We hope to include a student lab of G5 systems running 10.4.x and Xgrid in this trial.

Specifically, we are looking for documentation and tools for running BLAST, preferably in a high-throughput capacity, on an Xgrid of 30 dual-processor G5 2GB/RAM systems in a local student lab. We will have cycle-stealing access during the day and dedicated access during the night.

I am familiar with the demo tools in the preview version of Xgrid, but they have vanished in the current incarnation. When we worked with them in the past we found them to be difficult to use and impossible for our users.

Optional queuing systems for this project include Sun’s GridEngine. We currently use SGE on three production clusters, but since this is a shared resource (a student access lab) the people who manage that resource are concerned about adding service software to these platforms.Xgrid side-steps this issue since it is already installed and requires configuration. (BLAST and associated targets of interest have yet to be installed.)

(update, 2006/08/16)

Xgrid is now enabled on our iNquiry cluster and I am meeting on Friday to enable systems in Walter Library. I hope to have some demo scripts in place before the roll-out. More about this when I have something to see.