Encouraging the unexpected: Cluster management for OS and systems research

Abstract

A framework for cluster management is proposed that enables a cluster to be more efficiently utilized within a research environment. It does so by removing cluster management to a management node, leaving the compute nodes as essentially bare machinery. Users may schedule access to one or more of the compute nodes via the management node. At the scheduled time, a previously-saved image of their research environment is loaded, and the session begun. At the end of the session the user may save a new image of the environment on the management node, to be reloaded at another time. Thus the user may work with a customized environment, which may even be a fledgling operating system, without fear of interference to other researchers. This enables the capital investment of a systems research cluster to be amortized over a greater number of researchers.