Book Image

Raspberry Pi Super Cluster

By : Andrew K. Dennis
Book Image

Raspberry Pi Super Cluster

By: Andrew K. Dennis

Overview of this book

A cluster is a type of parallel/distributed processing system which consists of a collection of interconnected stand-alone computers cooperatively working together. Using Raspberry Pi computers, you can build a two-node parallel computing cluster which enhances performance and availability. This practical, example-oriented guide will teach you how to set up the hardware and operating systems of multiple Raspberry Pi computers to create your own cluster. It will then navigate you through how to install the necessary software to write your own programs such as Hadoop and MPICH before moving on to cover topics such as MapReduce. Throughout this book, you will explore the technology with the help of practical examples and tutorials to help you learn quickly and efficiently. Starting from a pile of hardware, with this book, you will be guided through exciting tutorials that will help you turn your hardware into your own super-computing cluster. You'll start out by learning how to set up your Raspberry Pi cluster's hardware. Following this, you will be taken through how to install the operating system, and you will also be given a taste of what parallel computing is about. With your Raspberry Pi cluster successfully set up, you will then install software such as MPI and Hadoop. Having reviewed some examples and written some programs that explore these two technologies, you will then wrap up with some fun ancillary projects. Finally, you will be provided with useful links to help take your projects to the next step.
Table of Contents (15 chapters)
Raspberry Pi Super Cluster
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Setting up our work environment


In order for our devices to communicate with one another, we need to set up the networking hardware and cable connections. We will also need to connect the necessary peripherals in order to interact with the Raspberry Pi's boot loading software.

Provided is a list of recommended and optional items you will need and following this we will discuss each of them in detail:

  • Two Raspberry Pi Model B's, preferred with 512 MB RAM

  • HDMI-capable or VGA/DVI monitor with appropriate adapter or adapter cable

  • USB keyboard

  • USB mouse

  • Two 1A at 5 V Micro-USB power units

  • A desk-mounted power strip with both USB and mains outlets (optional)

  • Three Ethernet/RJ45 network cables

  • A small network switch

  • An existing Internet connection

  • Two SD cards that are compatible with the Raspberry Pi

  • Housing units for the Raspberry Pi boards (optional)

  • USB hard drives (optional)

  • Lego (optional)

HDMI-capable monitor or VGA/DVI monitor and adapter

The Raspberry Pi provides two easy options for connecting visual...