Contributors:
Abstract: Setting up and operating HPC clusters remains a challenge. Individual
software packages are freely available for most functionality, however
an integrated open-source solution covering all aspects of cluster
management was missing until recently. Qlustar's mission is to fill
this gap: As a mature Cluster OS it includes scalable boot/image
technology coupled with powerful management software to allow
precise configuration of cluster components as well as their efficient
operation. Its ease of use frees valuable human resources making them
available to improve scientific research done with HPC instead.
Since Qlustar was fully open-sourced in 2018 it generated
substantial momentum with more than 200 new installations world-wide.
This shows that the possibility to standardize on a
free but supported hardware-vendor-neutral cluster software stack is an
attractive option for organizations.
The BoF session will start with a short introduction to Qlustar, focussing on
recently introduced new features. This is followed by a presentation
about the progress towards open-source standardization of HPC management
software at the Max-Planck-Institute for Biophysical Chemistry.
The goal of this BoF is to bring together
developers, HPC cluster admins and hardware vendors to identify the
most pressing issues to further enhance Qlustar's suitability as an
open-source full stack HPC management solution. 50% of the time will
be dedicated to Q&A sessions after the three presentations and a
concluding extended survey concerning future requirements for Qlustar
from the sysadmin and/or hardware vendor side based on feedback from
the audience.
