HPC Cluster Administration with xCAT

NHR Tutorial (Online - Course language: German)

Friday, 06/10/2022, 9:00 am - 6:00 pm

Speaker: Markus Hilger and Peter Großöhme (MEGWARE)

Setting up and administering an HPC cluster requires special software. xCAT is an open-source tool that allows HPC admins to configure any type of cluster as quickly and easily as possible. In addition, xCAT offers other tools that support administrators in their daily work. In this course, the participants will learn how to use xCAT and will set up a VM-based test environment to familiarize themselves with the individual functions.

Agenda

xCAT introduction (versions, features, architecture, database, services)
Management node preparation
Management Node xCAT configuration
Hierarchy with service nodes
Definition of objects (groups, compute nodes, switches, PDUs)
hardware discovery
Stateless/Stateful os images
node installation
Useful Commands (with Hands-On)
Useful Tables (with Hands-On)

Handouts

The course material (slides) will be made available to the class participants.

HPC-Certification Forum Links

Prerequisites

Linux system administration knowledge (RPM based distros)
Basic knowledge of network services such as: DHCP, DNS and NTP
Basic knowledge of IPMI
Basic handling of VMs for the test environment

Learning Objectives

Understanding of xCAT functions
Setting up an xCAT Management Server
Creation of xCAT system images
Installation of stateless and stateful nodes
Configuration of installed nodes using xCAT
Useful tips and tricks in use

Registration

Link: https://event.zih.tu-dresden.de/nhr/xcat

Important Note:
Only for participants from NHR centers or the associated universities and academic cooperation partners of NHR centers.

Registration is closing on 06/06/2022. The NHR tutorial is limited to 25 participants.
You will receive the access data shortly before the event by email to your registered email address.

Further Information

Course language: German

Target group: HPC Admin

If you have any further questions, please contact Anja Gerbes ().