1. Introduction
This document describes step by step instructions on building a
Beowulf cluster. After seeing all of the documentation that was available,
I felt there were enough gaps and omissions that my own document, which I
believe accurately describes how to build a Beowulf cluster, would be
beneficial.
I first saw Thomas Sterling's article in Scientific American, and
immediately got the book, because its title was "How to Build a Beowulf".
No doubt, it was a valuable reference, but it does not walk you through
instructions on exactly what to do.
What follows is a description of what I got to work. It is only one
example - my example. You may choose a different message passing
interface; you may choose a different Linux distribution. You may also
spend as much time as I did researching and experimenting, and learn on
your own.
1.1. Copyright and License
This document, The Beowulf HOWTO, is
copyrighted (c) 2004 by Kurt Swendson. Permission
is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document under the
terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or any later
version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no Invariant
Sections, with no Front-Cover Texts, and with no Back-Cover Texts. A
copy of the license is available at
http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
1.2. Disclaimer
No liability for the contents of this document can be accepted.
Use the concepts, examples and information at your own risk. There may
be errors and inaccuracies which could damage to your system. Though
this is highly unlikely, proceed with caution. The author(s) do not
accept responsibility for your actions.
All copyrights are held by their by their respective owners,
unless specifically noted otherwise. Use of a term in this document
should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or
service mark. Naming of particular products or brands should not be seen
as endorsements.
1.3. Credits / Contributors
Thanks to Thomas Johnson for all of his support and encouragement
and, of course, for the hardware without which I would not have been
able to even start.
Thanks to my lovely wife Sharron for her understanding and
patience during my many hours spent with "the wolves".
The original
Beowulf HOWTO by Jacek Radajewski and Douglas Eadline.
Take our 
