A Rasp Pi HAT for clustering Pi Zeros
More than Zero
© Lead Image © lightwise, 123RF.com
Inexpensive, small, portable, low-power clusters are fantastic for many HPC applications. One of the coolest small clusters is the ClusterHAT for Raspberry Pi.
When I started in high-performance computing (HPC), the systems were huge, hulking beasts that were shared by everyone. The advent of clusters allowed the construction of larger systems accessible to more users. I always wanted my own cluster, but with limited funds, that was difficult. I could build small clusters from old, used systems, but the large cases took up a great deal of room. The advent of small systems, especially single-board computers (SBCs), allowed the construction of small, low-power, inexpensive, but very scalable systems.
Arguably, the monarch of the SBC movement is the Raspberry Pi [1]. It is now the third best selling computer of all time [2], overtaking the Commodore 64 and behind the PC and the Mac, and has sparked a whole industry around small, inexpensive, low-power but expandable computers that can be used for anything from sensors in the field, to desktops, to retro game consoles, and even to experiments on the International Space Station. The top-end Raspberry Pi, the Raspberry Pi 3 (RPi3), is about $35, and the introduction of the Raspberry Pi Zero (Pi Zero) in 2015, set the low-end price of $5.
People have been building clusters from Raspberry Pi units, starting with the original Raspberry Pi Model A, ranging from two to more than 250 nodes [3]. That early 32-bit system had a single core running at 700MHz with 256MB of memory. You can build a cluster of five RPi3 nodes [4] with 20 cores connected by a Gigabit Ethernet switch for about $300, including a case and case fan.
[...]
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
US / Canada
UK / Australia
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
There's a New Linux AI Assistant in Town
Newelle is a Linux AI assistant that can work with different LLMs and includes document parsing and profiles.
-
Linux Kernel 6.16 Released with Minor Fixes
The latest Linux kernel doesn't really include any big-ticket features, just a lot of lines of code.
-
EU Sovereign Tech Fund Gains Traction
OpenForum Europe recently released a report regarding a sovereign tech fund with backing from several significant entities.
-
FreeBSD Promises a Full Desktop Installer
FreeBSD has lacked an option to include a full desktop environment during installation.
-
Linux Hits an Important Milestone
If you pay attention to the news in the Linux-sphere, you've probably heard that the open source operating system recently crashed through a ceiling no one thought possible.
-
Plasma Bigscreen Returns
A developer discovered that the Plasma Bigscreen feature had been sitting untouched, so he decided to do something about it.
-
CachyOS Now Lets Users Choose Their Shell
Imagine getting the opportunity to select which shell you want during the installation of your favorite Linux distribution. That's now a thing.
-
Wayland 1.24 Released with Fixes and New Features
Wayland continues to move forward, while X11 slowly vanishes into the shadows, and the latest release includes plenty of improvements.
-
Bugs Found in sudo
Two critical flaws allow users to gain access to root privileges.
-
Fedora Continues 32-Bit Support
In a move that should come as a relief to some portions of the Linux community, Fedora will continue supporting 32-bit architecture.