Firewire Cluster?

lil_drummaboy · 07-16-2005, 02:07 AM

Hi,

I really like OpenSSI (www.openssi.org) as a clustering suite and am currently running it. I have never used firewire in linux but can it be used as a network interface like in windows xp? i would like to connect two nodes together using firewire. So basically, can Linux recognize a firewire card as a network interface so i can use it with OpenSSI?

Thanks in advance.

demian · 07-16-2005, 07:08 PM

Yes, you can use ip over firewire. The kernel module is called eth1394. As for openssi I don"t see a reason it shouldn't work with ip over firewire. To the userspace the firewire device looks like any other network card.

That being said I'd go with reguler ethernet cards. Even a 100MBit card seems to generate more throughput than a network of firewire devices. I get about 4-5MB/s on an ip over firewire network while a regular ethernet connection give me 10+MB/s. (This is from a linux box to a powerbook.)

lil_drummaboy · 07-17-2005, 05:18 PM

hmmm, that sounds quite a bit slower. Well, what i want to do is have the two servers connected without a switch. I just discovered i have a 64bit Compaq (Intel Chip) Server Gigabit NIC and a 64bit Compaq NC6136 Gigabit Fibre Channel NIC. Seeing that firewire is slow i think i'll rule it out. But which of the two gigabit options should i go for gigabit ethernet or gigabit fibre? I will just buy a second card of whichever media i end up using. I am open to suggestions although both medias are said to be the same speed.

MS3FGX · 07-17-2005, 07:17 PM

I would do a cross-over Cat6.

Should be the cheapest and easiest route to get 1 Gbps.

In fact, I think you can do short-range 1 Gbps speed over Cat5e, but I have not personally tried it.