CSIRO Condor Facility
Specialised High Throughput CPU Cycle Harvesting Computing
Submit jobs to the Condor system which are run using available desktops that are siting idle and are currently not being used by the main user.
Getting Started
Job Submission
Use a submission script outlined in getting started (above) and covered in detail in Condor Manuals (See Help and Resources below).
Constraints
CSIRO's desktop fleet runs Microsoft WinXP and Win7 Operating Systems so your code needs to be able to run in this environment.
If there is Keyboard, mouse or non Condor CPU use detected on a Desktop Condor jobs will not run on that Desktop. This means the desktops are available for short Condor jobs anytime but longer Condor jobs are run over night or on the weekends. Condor jobs need to complete during these time constraints. If Condor jobs are interrupted on any one Desktop they are evicted and need to start on another Desktop.
Options
CSIRO is running two Condor Universes, "vanilla" and "java".
vanilla: to run normal windows executables.
java: to run jobs written in java using java on the execute node.
Stipulate the Condor universe in yourjob.sub your file submission file.
If you need specialist software to run with your Condor jobs it can be handled two ways.
1) Bundle your software and libraries in a zip file to copy to the execute node. Run a batch file as your condor job which extracts the bundle and then runs your job. Note: Only files in the working directory are returned. If you use subdirectories they need to be ziped in a file in the working directory to be returned after the Condor job finishes.
2) Find Desktops with the software installed. You will need to contact Condor Administrators to find these machines and provide you with a constraint option for your submit file.
Debuging
The current Condor execute machines in CSIRO are Desktops with the CSIRO SOE installed. This means that testing of your code can be done from the command line on your desktop. If it runs there and you can copy it to another desktop and it runs successfully it should run well when submitted to Condor.
Help and Resources
For Condor assistance in CSIRO, email: CondorAdministrators@csiro.au
Condor Home Page University of Wisconsin http://www.cs.wisc.edu/condor/
Condor Manuals on University of Wisconsin Condor Manuals
| 