iCluster - Build an imac Cluster

What better thing could you do with 4 imacs than turn them into a cluster?

A cluster, for anyone wondering, in general terms, is a group of connected computers that work together to complete a task. 

Step 1 Materials

The list is surprisingly short and contains extremely common parts.

4 Apple computers. I used G5 Intel imacs but you can use any Apple computer.
4 Category 5 Ethernet cables
1 10/100Mbps Ethernet switch (minimum 4 ports)
1 key board and mouse
1 USB

In my case, I got all of the imac because they had broken/missing screens. All you need then is a monitor, VGA cable, and VGA adapter depending on the type of port on your Apple.

Comments

[RogueOne]

You should check out Xgrid, which is part of the Server version of OS X now. It allows you to "easily" spread processor intensive tasks across multiple Macs.

[Hammock Boy]

Have you worked with it before? It would be neat to get an actual cluster going with 8-10 imacs.

[Hammock Boy]

If anyone has any ideas on how to improve this I would love to hear them.

[provocativetimbre]

Sorry, but doesn't it seem a bit silly to use imacs to get something like this done? wouldn't it be better just to use a few towers, just because all the imacs are self contained and a tad unruly.

[Hammock Boy]

I wouldn't mind having a few towers but I only had the iMacs at my disposal. I'm a little confused as to what is wrong with the iMacs bieng self contained since I did have to physically change anything about them. Please explain.

[rch]

Very interesting. I tried to experiment around with a cluster using Linux powered PC's many years ago with something called Beowulf.

Any idea on how long the version of Pooch will run before it expires?

Nice job scoring 4 iMacs, even without monitors, a very nice platform for experimenting with. Where did tou get them, and for how much?

[Hammock Boy]

I believe that Pooch runs for 10 days and then it expires, although, you can immediately download a new copy. I'm not sure then why there even is an expiration date?

The imacs were all free - from a dumpster - my school threw them out because of the bad screens and it was deemed cost effective to just buy new computers. That is also where I got the Ethernet cables. It turned out that the only thing that I had to buy for this project was the network switch. Everything else I already had.

Did you get the Beowulf to work?