[AG-TECH] Single PC vs Dual PC Setup

[Jason Bell]

G'day Allan

In my opinion an Access Grid these days can successfully be run on
either a single of multi-node configuration.

The thing I would recommend is to investigate the type of usage you
expect for your Access Grid.  Ie, is your AG going to be used for
relatively small sessions or will it regularly participate is Large
(multiple site) sessions.

The other thing I would seriously think about is future usage, as I
would expect to see the use of High Definition Video incorporated into
the Access Grid some how and this will of course require a lot more
grunt from and computers utilized as part of your AccessGrid. 

I have a number of Access Grids including both small and room based AG's
that the types of computers used varies on it's how it is indented to be
used.  Details of these AG's can be found here:
http://hpc.cqu.edu.au/accessgrid.html

In all honesty, I think how you want to use the Access Grid will decide
on the hardware required.

Thanks,
Jason.


--------------------------------------------

Jason Bell, B.I.T.
B. Info. Tech. (Honours) Student

Network Engineer
Information Technology Division
Central Queensland University

High Performance Computing Support Officer
Central Queensland University

Research Assistant to the Nonlinear Intelligent Systems Research Group
Faculty of Informatics & Communication Central Queensland University

E-mail : j.bell at cqu.edu.au
Phone : 07 4930 9229

--------------------------------------------

Patience is a virtue.

But if I wanted Patience,
I would have become a Doctor.

--------------------------------------------


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-ag-tech at mcs.anl.gov [mailto:owner-ag-tech at mcs.anl.gov] On
Behalf Of aspale1
Sent: Tuesday, 14 June 2005 6:04 AM
To: ag-tech at mcs.anl.gov
Subject: [AG-TECH] Single PC vs Dual PC Setup

Hello,

I was looking to possibly configure either a single or dual PC setup as 
an Access Grid node.  In the past, the people on the ag-tech mailing 
list have recommended using a dual PC setup-- one PC for display and one

PC for audio and video capture.  More recently, it seems that more sites

are choosing a single PC, dual processor configuration.

My question is that if this setup is used as a "full AG node" that will 
drive 2-3 displays besides the node operator's display (total of 3-4 
displays) and has 3-4 video capture cards, what would be the setup that 
provides the best performance.  Also, if a 2 PC setup is used, should 
each PC be configured as dual processor?  What clock speeds and RAM 
amounts should I be looking for?  Somewhat related to this question-- 
can RAT utilize on-board audio or must there be a separate audio card?

Any feedback or past experiences would be appreciated.  Thanks.


Allan

Laboratory for Advanced Computing
National Center for Data Mining
University of Illinois at Chicago