On Sun, Jun 25, 2006 at 03:52:27PM -0700, Robert Fogt wrote: > Hello beowulf mailing list, > > How much harm does removing the computer case do? I know computer cases are > designed for the air flow, and without them I was wondering if there will be
In theory, computer cases are designed for good air flow. How many of them actually are, well, I don't know. I've certainly never seen an airflow specification for a consumer tower case. > heating problems. My air conditioner will be enough for the amount of heat > generated, but will I need circulation fans in the room also? The short answer is, I don't know. But, why NOT use some fans? Installing a 20 inch box fan to blow directly across each mounted group of N motherboards seems like cheap insurance. According to my Kill-A-Watt, my dirt-cheap 20 inch, 120 V AC box fan uses from 79 to 136 Watts depending on its speed. I assume a better quality fan would be more efficient for the amount of air it moves. > I created a test cluster of 8 nodes, removing all the cases and mounting > everything onto a wire rack. It works fine with no heat problems. But I am > concerned that once I build the entire 100 node cluster there will be > problems. The book I am reading on HPC does not go into that detail. > > I was thinking an air purifier that is always on will slowly circulate the > air when the air conditioner is off. I would not place any bets on "slowly" being good enough. Why would you want to risk it? I'd at LEAST walk around with a temperature probe looking for hot spots. Your current 8 node cluster sounds interesting, particularly for a low-cost do it yourself cluster. Please do find the time to document it on a web page, with some pictures, etc. I wonder about electromagnetic interference. I've heard of genuinely bare-board (nothing at all between the motherboards) clusters that had unstable nodes because of it. If you're serious about mounting 100 bare-board nodes, well, that's an interesting project. Others on the list have lectured about the risks involved in large self-built, self-insured clusters, please do be sure you've read those and understand what you're getting into. And then go for it, and be sure to report back! :) -- Andrew Piskorski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.piskorski.com/ _______________________________________________ Beowulf mailing list, Beowulf@beowulf.org To change your subscription (digest mode or unsubscribe) visit http://www.beowulf.org/mailman/listinfo/beowulf
