What is ROCKS?

Rocks Cluster Distribution (originally called NPACI Rocks) is a Linux distribution intended for high-performance computing clusters. It was started by NPACI and the SDSC in 2000, and was initially funded in part by an NSF grant (2000-2007) but is currently funded by the followup NSF grant. Rocks was initially based on the Red Hat Linux distribution, however modern versions of Rocks are now based on CentOS, with a modified Anaconda installer that simplifies mass installation onto many computers. Rocks includes many tools (such as MPI) which are not part of CentOS but are integral components that make a group of computers into a cluster. Installations can be customized with additional software packages at install-time by using special user-supplied CDs (called Roll CDs). The Rolls extend the system by integrating seamlessly and automatically into the management and packaging mechanisms used by base software, greatly simplifying installation and configuration of large numbers of computers. Over a dozen Rolls have been created, including the SGE roll, the Condor roll, the Lustre roll, the Java roll, and the ganglia roll.

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