How to Build a Super Computer

A super computer is a cluster of two or more computers connected via a networking protocol. The cluster is used to distribute task workload between computers and to provide a fail-safe system to keep a high level of system availability. Familiarity with building computers and installing and customizing operating systems, networks and software is required before building a super computer.

Instructions

1. Install the same operating system on the computers to be used for the super computer. Windows NT and Windows 2000 are stable operating systems to use for a Windows-based cluster.

2. Connect the computers for the super computer to a local area network (LAN) hub or switch.

3. Install a cluster management service and communication software on the computer that will serve as the master computer in the cluster. The Message Passing Interface (MPI) is a stable and easy-to-use software for this task. MPICH is a free version of MPI and can be found at the MPICH home page.

4. Extract the software package to a new folder on the main hard drive of your master computer. Copy the ".dll" files from the new folder to the Windows system 32 folder on the main hard drive.

5. Run the ".bat" file for the software to install the cluster management service and communication software.

6. Repeat Step 4 on all other computers in the cluster.

7. Execute the "shell" program found in the new folder on the master computer to detect all other computers in the cluster. Assign each computer a unique address. The super computer is ready to test and use.

Resources

• MPICH home page