Speaker: Stephen L. Scott , Oak Ridge National Laboratory
High Performance Computing and Scalable Systems Software
Abstract: Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been a leader in High Performance Computing since the late 80's. One current research emphasis is that of scalable systems software for combining 10's of thousands of machines in a cluster-computing environment. This work is taking place under the multi-lab SciDAC Scalable Systems Software project. This talk will discuss some of the currently deployed software that is in part a result of the SciDAC SSS effort. Included will be the Open Source Cluster Application Resources (OSCAR) cluster software stack that provides a complete cluster-computing infrastructure. First released in April 2000, OSCAR is a self-installing compilation of the "best practices" for high-performance Beowulf cluster computing. Included with the OSCAR distribution are the Cluster Command ~~talkAbstract~~ Control (C3) cluster power tools. This tool suite is designed for efficient and secure performance of tasks such as cluster and multi-cluster remote execution, file gather/scatter operations, as well as a number of other user and administrator necessary operations. OSCAR with C3 tools has over 85,000 downloads to date. The C3 tools are available for Linux, Unix, and a prototype Windows version is in development.
Short Bio: Stephen L. Scott is a research scientist in the Network and Cluster Computing Group of the Computer Science and Mathematics Division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory - USA. Stephen's responsibilities include research and development efforts in high performance scalable cluster computing. Primary research interest is in experimental systems with a focus on high performance, scalable, distributed, heterogeneous, and parallel computing. Stephen is a founding member and on the steering committee of The Open Cluster Group (OCG), a consortium of research and industry dedicated to making cluster computing practical for high performance computing. He is also a founding member, version 2 release manager, and past working group chair of the OCG's primary working group, Open Source Cluster Application Resources (OSCAR). This working group is dedicated to bringing current "best practices" in cluster computing to all users via a self-installing software suite. He is also a contributor to the Parallel Virtual Machine (PVM) and Heterogeneous Adaptable Reconfigurable NEtworked SystemS (HARNESS) research efforts at ORNL. Stephen has a Ph.D. and M.S. in computer science from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio - USA and is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer, and the IEEE Task Force on Cluster Computing.
Host: Frank Mueller, Computer Science, NCSU