HPC system management is an emerging trend among organizations that have invested in large-scale compute clusters. These vast and complex clusters require a comprehensive approach for optimal performance and maintenance. The toolsets that support today’s HPC platforms offer few proven options for HSM. For many, the traditional approach of block-based configuration management becomes problematic as the size and number of components increase, as well as the diversity of their characteristics. Supermicro has developed a configuration management solution that addresses many of these issues by enabling the creation of highly flexible and customized HSM profiles. The software is available as a free download from Supermicro’s website.
3 Components Of HPC System Management
1. Assessing Current State
The HPC system management process begins with a self-assessment. Running the Supermicro OS Optimization Assessment Tool (SOS) allows for a comprehensive view of an environment’s current state to be established and provides a detailed listing of areas in which optimization can occur. In addition, the tool generates a report that lists recommendations for improvement. If the tool does not offer a solution, it may be because additional validation steps are required.
2. HPC System Optimization
The next step is consolidating the assessment results and applying changes to improve the environment’s state. Supermicro is a leader in HPC optimization, offering various hardware options for large-scale deployments. Leading the list are server, storage and network components based on 1U and 2U server form factors. It is a popular choice for HPC and cloud deployments due to its small footprint, high density, and open architecture. Supermicro’s hardware lineup includes 1U and 2U server form factors based on Intel Xeon, Intel Xeon Phi, and AMD Opteron processor technologies. Supermicro’s 10 GbE model supports Intel Xeon Phi and Xeon processors and AMD Opteron processors for clusters that require host bus adapters.
3. HPC System Operation
Supermicro’s complete HPC solution includes a comprehensive suite of tools available in various applications, including science, data analytics and HPC. These tools include the OS Optimization Assessment Tool (OSOT), based on the I/O optimization framework that Supermicro developed. As part of Supermicro’s infrastructure management software, OSOT offers an intelligent system monitoring solution that helps identify bottlenecks and optimize application performance. In addition to HSM management, Supermicro’s other software suites include advanced network monitoring and troubleshooting tools that address network issues, particularly iSCSI SAN performance. They also include new tools for monitoring and managing storage and computing.
Knowledge Of HPC System Management
The tools that Supermicro has developed are well-suited to data center environments. Organizations that are beginning with small-scale deployments provide a great starting point. They can also be useful as enterprise-level solutions for HPC and cloud computing environments and smaller data centers. In large environments, the management of thousands of components becomes more challenging. For example, it isn’t economical to have a single tool manage all the components in a cluster; each component brings its own unique set of challenges and challenges related to communication with other components. Supermicro has developed individual tools for each component and how those components interact, offering a unified solution that can scale to large numbers of components (and diverse communication requirements). Many organizations find their needs in the middle ground between large-scale and small-scale environments. These organizations can efficiently manage their systems using a smaller set of tools combined with SysOps’ HSM.
Supermicro’s HPC system management solution provides a comprehensive approach to EVC management, cluster tuning, host monitoring and network management. The tool is available for the most commonly used HPC platforms that run Linux environments and can be downloaded from Supermicro’s website. The Supermicro OS Optimization Assessment Tool (SOS) is an advanced I/O optimization tool that comprehensively views an environment’s current state and generates recommendations to improve it. By utilizing key components such as the OSOT, organizations can achieve a more efficient HPC platform that performs well and uses resources efficiently.
