Implementation of Simple XSEDE-Like Clusters

The Extreme Science and Engineering Discovery Environment (XSEDE) has created a suite of software that is collectively known as the XSEDE-Compatible Basic Cluster (XCBC). It is designed to enable smaller, resource-constrained research groups or universities to quickly and easily implement a computing environment similar to XSEDE computing resources. The XCBC system consists of the Rocks Cluster Manager, developed at the San Diego Supercomputer Center for use on Gordon and Comet, and an XSEDE-specific "Rocks Roll", containing a selection of libraries, compilers, and scientific software curated by the Campus Bridging (CB) group in the XSEDE project, kept current with those implemented on XSEDE resources. The Campus Bridging team has helped several universities implement the XCBC, and finds the design to be extremely useful for resource-limited (in time, administrator knowledge, or funding) research groups or institutions. Here, we detail our recent experiences in implementing the XCBC design at university campuses across the country. These XCBC implementations were carried out with Campus Bridging staff traveling on-site to the partner institutions to directly assist with the cluster build. In implementing XCBC on campuses, we found that number of the needs described by campus communities as well as the broader cyberinfrastructure community are solved by technical means, although financial issues remain. The remaining issue to be addressed is technical interoperation between systems, and we describe efforts to improve here.