Installation

Installing Bright Cluster Manager is easy and requires little Linux or HPC expertise. It is also very flexible: many options are offered and almost any setting configured during the installation can be modified after the installation, so a re-installation is rarely required.

Multiple installation methods are available to suit your needs. For those who want extra peace of mind, installation services are also available from Bright Computing and from our authorized resellers.

Installation on Bare Metal

Bright Cluster Manager installs on bare metal, spreading over the cluster without any additional software or operating system required. Software compatibility is therefore guaranteed.

The Bright Cluster Manager Installer will install everything you need on your cluster, including your chosen Linux distribution and workload manager. Installation on top of an existing Linux installation in possible in certain circumstances. Contact us if you need this.

Multiple Installation Methods

The welcome screen of the Bright Cluster Manager Installer.

The welcome screen of the Bright Cluster Manager Installer.

Bright Cluster Manager offers a choice of installation methods for maximum flexibility and efficiency. All methods start with the booting of the head node from the Bright Cluster Manager DVD. This loads the installation welcome screen (see screenshot), from where three different installation options are available.

Normal Installation

The Normal Installation option is the default. It takes you through a number of screens where parts of the installation can be configured (see left column in the screenshot):

• Welcome — gives an overview of version number, license information, installation process and method.
• License — requests acceptance of the End User Licence Agreements.
• Kernel Modules — allows configuration of additional modules, module load order and module parameters.
• Hardware Info — displays detected hardware.
• Nodes — allows configuration of rack and node quantities, node basename, node numbering scheme and hardware manufacturer.
• Network Topology — allows selection of a network topology for the cluster.
• Additional Networks — allows configuration of InfiniBand, IPMIThe Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) specification defines a set of common interfaces to a computer system which system administrators can use to monitor system health and manage the system. and iLOIntegrated Lights-Out Management (iLO) is an embedded server management technology exclusive to Hewlett-Packard but similar in functionality to the Lights out management (LOM) technology of other vendors. networks.
• Networks — allows configuration of various IP and other network settings.
• Nameservers — allows configuration of name servers and search domains.
• Network Interfaces — allows configuration of network interfaces for the head node and regular nodes.
• Subnet Managers — allows selection of nodes that should run the InfiniBand subnet manager.
• Installation Source — allows selection of the DVD drive that holds the Bright DVD.
• Workload Management — allows selection and basic configuration of your preferred workload manager.
• Disk Layout — allows configuration of the disk layout of the head node and the regular nodes.
• Time Configuration — allows selection of time zone and time servers.
• Cluster Access — allows enablement of the user portal and configuration of access restrictions.
• Authentication — allows configuration of the cluster and head node names, and the administrator password.
• Console — allows selection of text console or graphical default modes for the head node and regular nodes.
• Summary — shows a summary of some key installation settings.

The installation progress screen of the Bright Cluster Manager Installer.

The installation progress screen of the Bright Cluster Manager Installer.

After going through all screens of the installer, the Installation Progress screen shows each step of the actual installation onto the head node's hard disk, as well as an installation progress bar.

When the head node has been installed and restarted, the regular nodes can be booted. They will automatically discover their IP address and node name, and will start an unattended installation based on information provided during the head node installation.

Express Installation

The Express Installation option allows you to load all configuration information from an XMLXML (Extensible Markup Language) is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. file and thus skip most installation screens. Each time a Normal Installation is performed, an XML file is saved that contains all provided configurations. This file can then be modified and used as the input for an Express Installation.

The Express Installation option can be a huge time-saver, especially when multiple, similar installations need to be performed.

Remote Installation

The Remote Installation option allows installation to be carried out by an administrator over a secure connection from anywhere else in the world. All that is needed with this option is for someone physically at the cluster to boot the head node from the Bright Cluster Manager DVD. The DVD then guides the person at the cluster on filling in the network parameter details so that it is able to connect to the internet. The remote administrator then takes over control of the installation process.

The Remote Installation option is ideal for installations in remote locations where no qualified personnel is available, or for installations in locations with restricted access or an unpleasant environment, such as a cold and noisy data center.