Building a SETI@home server stack

Other Chit-Chat
1

Alright, as if I don’t have enough on my plate…

I’m considering building a SETI@home (or would it be SETI@school?) stack for Preston, my residence hall. I looked at http://bhs.broo.k12.wv.us/homepage/staff/seti/farms.htm (which Googling for “seti stack” yields as hands-down as the definitive resource) for some inspiration, but I’d like to build something that can be shown off in a lobby or common area, and not wedged in some back closet.

Does anyone know anything I should be aware of (aside from guarding against students with prying fingers)?

2

This sounds like what Adam Richards was telling me about. I belive he called them beowulf clusters then agian i could be wrong. I really just scanned the article but that site goes more in depth into construction and programming. Also this is a REALLY good tutorial!

3

I’m guessing the biggest problem with a “farm” like those would be heat dispersement from the processors and power supplies…

Aside form that, I can’t think of anything… but I haven’t tried anything like that.

Let us know how you make out.

4

If I were you I wouldn’t go with SETI@Home. I’d put all those cpu cycles to Folding@Home. It goes towards a good cause. http://folding.stanford.edu/

Just my $0.02

5

I agree, SETI researches extra terrestrial planets. Folding@Home, a hot research topic right now deals with trying to figure out how Protein folds. The advantages if this research are huge, if they can understand why a protein folds in a certain direction they will be able to develop protein designed to fight off bacteria and viruses that carry AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and even Cancerous cells. Personally I think thats a better cause then looking out in space.

6

Seti is so…well… 1980 :^)

7

And you would recommend… I talked with my friend and he advised against the SETI he said that the computers must all be the same to be SETI while a Beowulf cluster can be a whole patchwork! If you have access or plan on buying the same computers though go with the SETI because it’s faster.

8

Well, I’m working with SETI@home for a few reasons…

  1. It has more pre-existing support in the building. (Easier to get the team rolling.)
  2. Call it personal bias, but F@H’s client for OS X annoys me.
  3. Preston has some (very distant, but still valid) links to SETI.

As for supply of computers, we’ll be sourcing them from USC’s inventory department. If you know how universities work, you know they buy (and also tend to get rid of) a lot of one computer at a time. I mean, if I can get a few dual-processor G5, then great. But I’m expecting a group of half-decent standard Dells.

The joke’s already circulating in the building that we’re going to add a plaque to this thing…“Searching for communications from intelligent life in the universe, since we can’t seem to find any here.” (It’s a joke, trust me. I know communications from intelligent life happen around here.