Rating: 
Summary: Software bundle is terrible
Review: After purchasing this book and reading a few chapters I was real excited about building a cluster only to discover the numerous errors and the software bundle included a complete waste. I really wonder if those who rated this book 5 stars actually tried building the cluster with the enclosed software?? The Perl scripts for populating the database are missing, the web pages are all wrong, the apache configuration is also wrong. Many of the cgi scripts do not work properly. I sure hope O'reilly does a better job of checking this stuff out before they sell it. If you're good a hacking and want a challenge this may be a good start.
Rating: 
Summary: Great introduction to Clustering and Parallel computing
Review: Building Linux Clusters by David HM Spector describes how Beowulf software can be used to turn network clusters of ordinary PC's into a virtual supercomputer. The first four chapters are a good introduction to the concept of effeciently connecting numerous computers together to act as a single computer. The author goes into useful detail about how a multiprocessor environment can use parallelism to get the most out of CPUs, high speed cache memory and slower main memory, refresh rates, wait states, bus speeds, and other machine level topics such as syncronization. There is detailed information about what kinds of hardware is and is not recomended for clusters. The software used to harness the parallel power of the cluster is also introduced in detail, discussing different technologies such as Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP), Multiple Instruction Multiple Data (MIMD), and others. The basics of Ethernet, TCP/IP, and routing are reviewed and applied to Clustering. There is lots of intersting information about network speed and configuration as is applies to clusters, such as Cube and Hyper-cube clusters. Software included with Beowulf to provide RAID support accross the hard drives on the cluster is explained, and comes with good advice about how to handle storage on the cluster as a whole rather than on individual machines. There are examples of applications that run on clusters, such as MUDs, POVRAYs, and MP3 crunchers, and parallel programming and compilers. This book was easy to read and very informative, and has put me well on my way to building my own hetrogeneous cluster. I have always wanted to study parallel computing and programming, and now I will have a chance.
Rating:
Summary: Deception or Incompetence?
Review: Buyer Beware! Having tried to actually build a linux cluster using David Spector's book - I am disappointed and concerned. I wish to add to the other negative reviews (has there been a positive review?) and submit the proposal that either the author is only out to sell books under the false pretense that his "How To" book can actually lead the reader to success, knowing that the instructions and software enclosed don't work; or that he has attempted to publish a book based on limited subject matter understanding of building linux clusters. Deception or Incompetence...or maybe just poor editing? I do want to try and make this linux cluster thing actually work so if anyone out there has encountered problems and has overcome them, please send me an email. This invitation also extends to the author, David Spector, of course.
Rating:
Summary: Deception or Incompetence?
Review: Buyer Beware! Having tried to actually build a linux cluster using David Spector's book - I am disappointed and concerned. I wish to add to the other negative reviews (has there been a positive review?) and submit the proposal that either the author is only out to sell books under the false pretense that his "How To" book can actually lead the reader to success, knowing that the instructions and software enclosed don't work; or that he has attempted to publish a book based on limited subject matter understanding of building linux clusters. Deception or Incompetence...or maybe just poor editing? I do want to try and make this linux cluster thing actually work so if anyone out there has encountered problems and has overcome them, please send me an email. This invitation also extends to the author, David Spector, of course.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much on building/not enough on using
Review: concentrated too much on how to build a machine from scratch. he could have spent more time describing different uses of clustered machines (there is more you can do on them than just run long jobs). check out jolt.linux.com magazine on clusters much more informative on the 'using' side
Rating:
Summary: Too much on building/not enough on using
Review: concentrated too much on how to build a machine from scratch. he could have spent more time describing different uses of clustered machines (there is more you can do on them than just run long jobs). check out jolt.linux.com magazine on clusters much more informative on the 'using' side
Rating: 
Summary: Hard Road
Review: I just wanted to make sure that people understood there were problems with the example provided in this book before they bought it. There are errors and acknowledge problems (see O'Reilly). I am still trying to work through the example and estimate that if everything was correct in the book, this would have only taken me about 16 hours Max to set up. I am now on 24hrs and estimate it will take another 24 hrs to setup. This is not a book for people with just some experience with Linux. If not experienced, you had better be ready to spend a lot of time figuring things out and debugging. The sad and frustrating part about this book is that the author came so close to a great book. There were so many examples of scripting and using Linux included in this book and on the CD-ROM I would have highly recommended people to use this book as an intermediate learning tool. But because of the errors in the book and scripts I think someone at a beginning-intermediate level would become totally frustrated. The authors writing style and presentation are excellent. Unfortunately the information is crippled. I would strongly encourage the author to finish what he started. This could be a classic example of how to write a How-To. My guess is a deadline required the book be published before it was thoroughly proof read and tested.
Rating:
Summary: Hard Road
Review: I just wanted to make sure that people understood there were problems with the example provided in this book before they bought it. There are errors and acknowledge problems (see O'Reilly). I am still trying to work through the example and estimate that if everything was correct in the book, this would have only taken me about 16 hours Max to set up. I am now on 24hrs and estimate it will take another 24 hrs to setup. This is not a book for people with just some experience with Linux. If not experienced, you had better be ready to spend a lot of time figuring things out and debugging. The sad and frustrating part about this book is that the author came so close to a great book. There were so many examples of scripting and using Linux included in this book and on the CD-ROM I would have highly recommended people to use this book as an intermediate learning tool. But because of the errors in the book and scripts I think someone at a beginning-intermediate level would become totally frustrated. The authors writing style and presentation are excellent. Unfortunately the information is crippled. I would strongly encourage the author to finish what he started. This could be a classic example of how to write a How-To. My guess is a deadline required the book be published before it was thoroughly proof read and tested.
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother with this book
Review: I never thought I'd find an O'Reilly book that wasn't worth even a look, now I have. The errors are too numerous to count, the scripts do not work and the setup is ridiculous. Stick to the primers on the web, this book is a waste of trees. There are much better resources for beginners on the web. It is harder to build a cluster using the methods in the book (I've done a few and am always after easier ways) Now you know. (cross-posting to O'Reilly web site to save others the trouble)
Rating:
Summary: Don't bother with this book
Review: I never thought I'd find an O'Reilly book that wasn't worth even a look, now I have. The errors are too numerous to count, the scripts do not work and the setup is ridiculous. Stick to the primers on the web, this book is a waste of trees. There are much better resources for beginners on the web. It is harder to build a cluster using the methods in the book (I've done a few and am always after easier ways) Now you know. (cross-posting to O'Reilly web site to save others the trouble)
| 
