Based on Linux

Bright Cluster Manager® is based on Linux. A choice of x86_64 Linux distributions is available:

1. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) (see this announcement)
2. Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)
3. CentOS
4. Scientific Linux (SL)

SLES and RHEL benefit from the official backing of Novell and Red Hat with enterprise-level support. Furthermore, SLES and RHEL are recommended by many commercial Independent Software Vendors (ISVs), such as ANSYS, CD-adapco or Schlumberger. CentOS and Scientific Linux have the benefit of being based on RHEL while not incurring a license fee.

When we integrate the Linux distribution into Bright Cluster Manager, we make the following improvements:

1. We optimize the Linux distribution for use on an HPC cluster. This means that we optimize the configuration settings of many standard Linux services for optimal performance and stability. Examples of optimized services include NFS, NTP, DHCP and DNS.
2. We optimize the Linux distribution for compliance with the Intel Cluster Ready specification.
3. We remove components not normally required on an HPC cluster, such as Bluetooth and WiFi.
4. We ensure that the Linux distribution is NOT affected in a way that could affect support from the Linux distribution provider. We do NOT normally touch fundamental packages such as Linux kernels or core system libraries.
5. We ensure that the Linux distribution is NOT affected in a way that could affect support from an ISV for that distribution.
6. We ensure that the packages of the Linux distribution can be updated using the regular tools and repositories of the distribution provider.