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Home > IoT & Hardware > Single Board Computers > Building a BeagleBone Black Super Cluster
Building a BeagleBone Black Super Cluster
Building a BeagleBone Black Super Cluster

Building a BeagleBone Black Super Cluster: Build and configure your own parallel computing Beowulf cluster using BeagleBone Black ARM systems

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Profile Icon Andreas J Reichel
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Building a BeagleBone Black Super Cluster

Chapter 2. Building a Beowulf Cluster

A Beowulf cluster is nothing more than a bunch of computers interconnected by Ethernet and running with a Linux or BSD operating system. A key feature is the communication over IP (Internet Protocol) that distributes problems among the boards. The entity of the boards or computers is called a cluster and each board or computer is called a node.

In this chapter, we will first see what is really required for each board to run inside a cluster environment. You will see examples of how to build a cheap and scalable cluster housing and how to modify an ATX power supply in order to use it as a power source. I will then explain the network interconnection of the Beowulf cluster and have a look at its network topology. The chapter concludes with an introduction to the microSD card usage for installation images and additional swap space as well as external network storage.

The following topics will be covered:

  • Describing the minimally required equipment...

Minimal configuration and optional equipment

BBB is a single-board computer that has all the components needed to run Linux distributions that support ARMhf platforms. Due to the very powerful network utilities that come with Linux operating systems, it is not necessary to install a mouse or keyboard. Even a monitor is not required in order to install and configure a new BBB. First, we will have a look at the minimal configuration required to use a single board over a network.

Minimal configuration

A very powerful interface of Linux operating systems is its standard support for SSH. SSH is the abbreviation of Secure Shell, and it enables users to establish an authenticated and encrypted network connection to a remote PC that provides a Shell. Its command line can then be utilized to make use of the PC without any local monitor or keyboard. SSH is the secure replacement for the telnet service. The following diagram shows you the typical configuration of a local area network using SSH for...

Building a scalable board-mounting system

The following image shows you the finished board housing with its key components as well as some installed BBBs. Here, a indicates the threaded rod with the straw as the spacer, b indicates BeagleBone Black, c indicates the Ethernet cable, d indicates 3.5" hard disc cooling fans, e indicates the 5 V power cable, and f indicates the plate with drilled holes.

Building a scalable board-mounting system

The finished casing with installed BBBs

One of the most important things that you have to consider before building a super computer is the space you require. It is not only important to provide stable and practical housing for some BBB boards, but also to keep in mind that you might want to upgrade the system to more boards in the future. This means that you require a scalable system that is easy to upgrade. Also, you need to keep in mind that every single board requires its own power and has to be accessible by hand (reset, boot-selection, and the power button as well as the memory card,...

Using a low-cost power source

I have seen a picture on the Web where somebody powered a dozen older Beagle Boards with a lot of single DC adapters and built everything into a portable case. The result was a huge mess of cables. You should always try to keep your cables well organized in order to save space and improve the cooling performance. Using an ATX power supply with a cable tree can save you a lot of money compared to buying several standalone power supplies. They are stable and can also provide some protection for hardware, which cheap DC adapters don't always do. In the following section, I will explain the power requirements and how to modify an ATX power supply to fit our needs.

Power requirements

If you do not use an additional keyboard and mouse and only onboard flash memory, one board needs around 500 mA at 5 V voltage, which gives you a total power of 2.5 Watts for one board. Depending on the installed memory card or other additional hardware, you might need more.

Note

Please...

Setting up the network backbone

To interconnect BBB boards via Ethernet, we need a switch or a hub. There is a difference in the functionality between a switch and a hub:

  • With hubs, computers can communicate with each other. Every computer is connected to the hub with a separate Ethernet cable. The hub is nothing more than a multiport repeater. This means that it just repeats all the information it receives for all other ports, and every connected PC has to decide whether the data is for it or not. This produces a lot of network traffic and can slow down the speed.
  • Switches in comparison can control the flow of network traffic based on the address information in each packet. It learns which traffic packets are received by which PC and then forwards them only to the proper port. This allows simultaneous communication across the switch and improves the bandwidth. This is the reason why switches are the preferred choice of network interconnection for our BBB Beowulf cluster.

The following table...

The network topology

The typical network topology is a star configuration. This means that every BBB board has its own connection to the switch, and the switch itself is connected to the local area network (LAN). On most Beowulf clusters, there is one special board called the master node. This master node is used to provide the bridge between the cluster and the rest of the LAN. All users (if there are more persons that use the cluster) log in to the master node, and it is only responsible for user management and starting the correct programs on specified nodes. It usually doesn't contribute to any calculation tasks.

However, as BBB only has one network connector, it is not possible to use it as a bridge, because a bridge requires two network ports:

  • One connected to the LAN.
  • The other connected to the switch of the cluster.

Because of this, we only define one node as the master node, providing some special software features but also contributing to the calculations of the cluster. This...

Minimal configuration and optional equipment

BBB is a single-board computer that has all the components needed to run Linux distributions that support ARMhf platforms. Due to the very powerful network utilities that come with Linux operating systems, it is not necessary to install a mouse or keyboard. Even a monitor is not required in order to install and configure a new BBB. First, we will have a look at the minimal configuration required to use a single board over a network.

Minimal configuration

A very powerful interface of Linux operating systems is its standard support for SSH. SSH is the abbreviation of Secure Shell, and it enables users to establish an authenticated and encrypted network connection to a remote PC that provides a Shell. Its command line can then be utilized to make use of the PC without any local monitor or keyboard. SSH is the secure replacement for the telnet service. The following diagram shows you the typical configuration of a local area network using SSH for the...

Building a scalable board-mounting system

The following image shows you the finished board housing with its key components as well as some installed BBBs. Here, a indicates the threaded rod with the straw as the spacer, b indicates BeagleBone Black, c indicates the Ethernet cable, d indicates 3.5" hard disc cooling fans, e indicates the 5 V power cable, and f indicates the plate with drilled holes.

The finished casing with installed BBBs

One of the most important things that you have to consider before building a super computer is the space you require. It is not only important to provide stable and practical housing for some BBB boards, but also to keep in mind that you might want to upgrade the system to more boards in the future. This means that you require a scalable system that is easy to upgrade. Also, you need to keep in mind that every single board requires its own power and has to be accessible by hand (reset, boot-selection, and the power button as well as the memory card, and so...

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Description

If you are a programmer, scientist, or someone interested in modern computer technology that goes beyond the typical PC, then this book will show you the outstanding possibilities of cluster computing with modern embedded systems based on ARM architecture. Whether you need a high-speed or low-cost scalable cluster for simulations or want to try something new, this book is the right guide for you.

What you will learn

  • Use the minimal configuration necessary to control your BeagleBone via a network
  • Build your own scalable server rack and lowcost power supply
  • Set up the network backbone and configure the boards for cluster interconnection
  • Use FTP, Samba, or SCP for simple file transfers
  • Configure the OpenMPI Message Passing Interface for cluster communication and ScaLAPACK for distributed calculation of mathematical problems
  • Develop your own simulation software and visualize your data using a highly sophisticated physics simulation package

Product Details

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Publication date, Length, Edition, Language, ISBN-13
Publication date : Nov 19, 2014
Length: 156 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783989454
Category :
IoT & Hardware
Concepts :
Single Board Computers
Tools :
BeagleBone

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Product Details

Publication date : Nov 19, 2014
Length: 156 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781783989454
Category :
IoT & Hardware
Concepts :
Single Board Computers
Tools :
BeagleBone

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Table of Contents

8 Chapters
1. BeagleBone Black System Board Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
1. BeagleBone Black System Board
Introducing the hardware
The storage memory partition structure
The boot-selection button
Operating systems
Software programming
Summary
2. Building a Beowulf Cluster Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Building a Beowulf Cluster
Minimal configuration and optional equipment
Building a scalable board-mounting system
Using a low-cost power source
Setting up the network backbone
The network topology
The storage memory
Summary
3. Operating System Setup and Configuration Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Operating System Setup and Configuration
The Linux host environment
Creating the master node's installation image
Installing the operating system on the master node
The external network storage
Installing and configuring the slave nodes
A crash course in developing applications
Transferring files from and to the BeagleBone master node
Summary
4. Parallel Computing with OpenMPI and ScaLAPACK Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Parallel Computing with OpenMPI and ScaLAPACK
MPI – Message Passing Interface
Installing and configuring OpenMPI
Installing and configuring ScaLAPACK
Summary
5. Advanced Solving of General Equation Systems Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Advanced Solving of General Equation Systems
PETSc – a toolkit for scientific computation
SLEPc – a library for Eigenvalue problems
Summary
6. Scientific and Technological Examples of Parallel Computing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Scientific and Technological Examples of Parallel Computing
Calculations on cloud-distributed mesh grids
deal.II – a powerful Physics calculation library
Example programs
Parallel solution of elastic equations
The visualization of calculated data
Summary
A. References Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
A. References
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon 4.5
(4 Ratings)
5 star 50%
4 star 50%
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1 star 0%
Amazon Customer Apr 09, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Building a BeagleBone Super Cluster book is a most have for those individuals who needs to have the latest hardware and loves tinkering with electronics. The author focus mainly on the BeagleBone Black but you can build a super cluster by mixing both beaglebone white and beaglebone black boards. I love how the author covered areas on parallel computing and mathematical computation while dedicating a whole chapter to demonstrate how it is used. The author explains each subject clearly and to the point without overwhelming the reader with unnecessary information. The subject complexity starting with Chapter 4 is not for the inexperienced nor considered light reading. Nonetheless the author approach to those subjects stirs the reader’s curiosity for those daring souls and point out other sources where the subject is explained in more detail. It is a great book to get started with cluster and how to use them. The rest is limited by the reader’s imagination.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
CNC guy Mar 31, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
The quick storyThis short (<150 page) book shows you how to build a cluster of BeagleBone Blacks in order to solve some complicated problems. It is well written with clear and concise directions. Anyone with a basic understanding of Linux should be able to build their own cluster with this book. It also provides some concrete, real-world examples. I recommend it to anyone remotely interested in multi-processing.The slightly longer storyI was asked to review this book by Packt. I was somewhat skeptical about the book initially, but that quickly vanished once I started to read this book. As a disclaimer, I am an author of another book on the BeagleBone Black (Hacking and Penetration Testing with Low Power Devices, Syngress, 2015) and a reformed physicists currently teaching digital forensics and security at a university. I absolutely loved this book, in part because it involved some pretty cool things you can do with the BeagleBone Black to solve physics and engineering problems, but more importantly because the author does a great job of making something complex easy to understand.The book begins with an overview of the BeagleBone Black. The second chapter tells you how to build the hardware for your cluster. The third and fourth chapters tell you how to install the operating system and also how to setup the multiprocessing software with clear and detailed instructions. The final two chapters walk you through several examples that are best solved with parallel computing.Recommended audienceAnyone interested in parallel computingFans of the BeagleBone family of boardsPeople who like to tinker with hardware (cheaply in this case)Anyone who likes to solve complex math problems
Amazon Verified review Amazon
Norbert Varga Feb 21, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
I’ve got the chance to read this very good quality book from PacktPub. Nice intro to the BeagleBone and cluster computing even for those who are not into Linux and embedded hw & sw. I think they are the target audience. I didn’t know much about open source cluster computing software, know I know the basics, and I’m happy that there are nice and easy solutions for dealing with multiple processes running on multiple machines.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
GrahamH Jan 12, 2015
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
The covers pretty much everything that you need to know to build a Linux "Beowulf" cluster using as many Beaglebone Black computers as you want to use. The limitation will be the size and bandwidth of the Ethernet switch that connects all the boards. The communications and management architecture is discussed and you are pointed to repositories containing the software to run it. Building such a cluster using Beaglebone Blacks is probably more an educational exercise than a practical "Super Computer." The individual Beaglebone Black computers are each approximately the computational power of an old Pentium III CPU. The cluster talks between the boards using 100 Mb Ethernet, which may or may not be a restriction in use, depending upon the problem being solved.The book pretty much answered my questions and curiosity concerning how you would build a Linux computer cluster. I don't think I will actually build one.
Amazon Verified review Amazon

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About the author

Profile icon Andreas J Reichel
Andreas J Reichel
Andreas Josef Reichel was born in 1982 in Munich, Bavaria, to Josef and Ursula. He went to an elementary school from 1989 to 1993 and continued with lower secondary education for 4 years and started with middle school in 1996. In 1999, he finished school as the best graduate of the year. From 2000 to 2001, he went to Fachoberschule and got his subject-linked university entrance qualification, with which he began to study Physical Technology at the University of Applied Sciences in Munich. After two semesters, he got his preliminary diploma and began with general studies of Physics at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 2003. In 2011, he completed Dipl.-Phys. (Univ.) in experimental physics with the THz characterization of thin semiconductor films in photonics and optoelectronics. Now, he is working on his dissertation to Dr. rer. nat. on plasma etching processes for semiconductors at the Walter Schottky Institute of the Technische Universität München in Garching. In his spare time, he has been learning programming languages such as BASIC, Pascal, C/C++, x86 and x64 Assembler, as well as HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and the database system MySQL and has been programming since he was 13 years old. Since 1995, he has been an active hobby musician in different accordion ensembles and orchestras. He also loves to learn about languages and drawing, and he began practicing Chinese martial arts in 2012. He invests most of his free time in hobby electronic projects and family genealogical research. He was the co-author of Charge carrier relaxation and effective masses in silicon probed by terahertz spectroscopy, S. G. Engelbrecht, A. J. Reichel, and R. Kersting, Journal of Applied Physics.
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