Alternative Clusters of HighComputing

It was in 1994, that in a laboratory of the NASA several scientists decided to unite sixteenth Intel® machines 486 DX2, using Ethernet communications and controlling these by means of the operating system (UNDER) Linux. This necessity arose because the budget assigned for this project of simulation was insufficient for the acquisition of a conventional supercomputer. In opposition to which it could think, the project was a full successful since with this reduced budget they could satisfy his requirements with advanced calculation. It is possible to indicate that given his characteristics, this denominated project "Beowulf", widely it was imitated around the world.

The success of the concept of Clusters had to that the technology of PC's had a growth accelerated in the middle of the Nineties, asi like the technology of Ethernet communications. The capacity of processing of the Intel® processors at that time reached and even it would escape to the processors of conventional supercomputers;

The success that the Clusters reached is impressive, to the degree that at the present time can affirm that to speak of supercalculation he is equivalent to speak of Clusters.