# Presentation: 218536

## PC Linux Vendor Qualification:Vendor Meeting

- December 05, 2000

## Agenda

- Introductions (Lisa)
- FERMI PC Strategy overview (Lisa)
- FERMI Linux (Troy)
- Vendor Test Software (Troy)
- Procurement Policies (Bill/Byron)
- Rules of Qualification (Steve)
- Q&A
- Tour

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- Background
- Spring ’98 FERMI adds Linux to supported OS list
- Growing acceptance and use in HEP community
- Access to low cost commodity hardware
- Only for desktop and farm use (no server)
- Only support RedHat with FERMI extensions (FRHL)
- Only on Intel CPU
- Provided comprehensive support via
- a site maintained installation server and
- autorpm update mechanism.
- Customized workgroup infrastructure

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- Desktop
- Usage began to grow immediately
- Individual desktop owners were and are expected to maintain their own system in most instances
- Use ranges from basic user computing functions (reading e-mail, web browsing etc) to high-end desktop analysis system

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- Farms
- Utilize dual PII/PIII architecture
- Other hardware components have changed over past 2 years
- Form factor has also changed
- Fall ’98 first production Linux farm
- Summer ’99 first purchase after first qualification round
- Currently 250+ nodes deployed in farm config

## D0      Farms

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- Other uses
- More server configurations
- Physics analysis, Mass storage front end, file servers
- Analysis “cluster”
- Can be Beowulf type w/higher degree of interconnect needed
- Greater IO needs
- Access to large amounts of online data necessary

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- All together > 1050 Linux nodes on site
- > 2x’s more than a year ago
- Linux is “THE” choice for physics analysis computing
- RUN II projects utilizing Linux where ever possible
- CMS (’06 run date) has uses Linux as primary OS
- BTEV, NUMI, SDSS, ....

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- Many more PC vendors now advertise Linux support and installation
- Makes selecting a capable competent vendor much harder
- Makes deciding who to give a bid to much harder as well
- FERMI decided to “qualify” PC vendors in early ‘99
- Similar to the process used for other hardware: disk, tape, etc
- Those on qualified list will be able to bid on large acquisitions and will get to quote on smaller purchases as well

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- What we hoped to gain via Qualification:
- Build a good relationship with a limited set of vendors
- Eliminate those with no PC/Linux knowledge
- Find vendors that can consistently provide a quality product and support
- Find vendors that are sensitive to our needs and requirements

## FERMI PC Strategy: overview

- The ’99 Qualifying Process:
- We give vendor a loosely defined system spec, they build it, we test
- FERMI provided
- the OS to install
- base system requirements: eide system disk, scsi disk, video, fast Ethernet
- test suite
- Vendor builds, tests, delivers, one system that meets or exceeds the requirements
- Vendor also provides documentation and pricing
- FERMI does more tests when the system gets to us and we also test vendor support mechanism
- Limited to desktop and desktop style farms

## Things we have learned...

- Many people reference the qualified vendor list: Lab groups, Universities, Purchasing
- Vendor’s ability to preinstall FRHL is important
- If vendor can provide a system that runs NT and Linux this is a plus
- Continual changes to hardware present continual problems with Linux/PC integration: no vendor is immune

## The FY01 Linux Vendor Qualification

- Process basically the same as ’99 except:
- 2 qualification lists: desktop and 2u
- Vendors may compete in either or both
- 1 eval unit for each category
- Allowing Athlon chip set
- More benchmarks: Farms set plus streams
- Specs written to require new generation motherboards
- More challenging Linux installation

## Post Qualification Projects

- Continued purchases for desktop systems
- Several Farm config purchases:
- Farm/FNALU 2u buy in early winter (~60 node)
- Add on to D0/CDF farm by June ’01 (~100 node)
- Analysis-cluster/Server purchases
- More widely distributed throughout lab
- Negotiation with qualified desktop vendors on “fixed” configuration
- Future Evaluation: laptops and server