Linux - a proficient alternative for computing servers

According to the TOP 500 list (www.top500.org), Linux dominates all the faster 500 supercomputers in the world. Why do supercomputers use Linux as their operating system? The general advantage of Linux is that it is completely free and open source, which means that the cost of this operating system is lower than that of Windows. Let's look at the advantages in detail and how you can use them for your calculations.

Linux has many advantages over other operating systems such as higher performance, higher security, higher stability/reliability, easier maintenance, more community support resources, etc. Beginners may think that Linux is more difficult to use than other operating systems. Using the command line in Linux is the biggest hurdle for new users. For example, writing a job script and executing a submitted job command is required when submitting a job to a third-party job scheduler. The format of the command lines depends on which scheduler you are using and it can take a lot of time to learn the different commands for schedulers. Furthermore, additional software and settings are required to transfer the project between Windows and Linux.

To overcome these challenges, the Moldex3D Computing Manager is an easy-to-use interface that simplifies the workflow for submitting a job and shortens the learning curve for the various commands to the schedulers.

The figure above shows the architecture of the Moldex3D Computing Manager. It supports the transfer of jobs to a third-party scheduler in the Linux system (blue arrow) or to the Moldex3D Job Scheduler in the Windows system (green arrow). The Computing Manager can also be a simple scheduler (Single Node Scheduler) to start the solver on Linux (yellow arrow). Users can submit, download and monitor jobs to the scheduler in the Linux system via a single Computing Manager user interface in Windows. Using the scroll-down menu in Add Server Information, the user can easily select the server type and scheduler to create a job script for the submitted jobs. Advanced users who are familiar with command lines and job scripts can also customize the scripts to meet specific requirements. Furthermore, additional software such as OpenPBS can be used as a job scheduler to gain control and optimize the use of resources for the running jobs.

Moldex3D Computing Manager provides a seamless interface to bridge the communication between the Linux computing resources and the Windows system, so that users can maintain the current workflow to easily submit jobs to the Linux system and save a lot of time.

Please contact us: 0241 565 276-0 or send an email to sales@simpatec.com.