Microwulf: a beowulf cluster for every desk

A Beowulf cluster is a distributed memory multiprocessor built from commodity off-the-shelf PC hardware, an inexpensive network for inter-process communication, and open-source software. Today's multi-core CPUs make it possible to build a Beowulf cluster that is powerful, small, and inexpensive. This paper describes Microwulf, a Beowulf cluster that cost just $2470 to build, but provides 26.25 Gflops of measured performance. (For comparison: a 1996 Cray T3D MC256-8/464 provided 25.3 Gflops.) This makes Microwulf the first Beowulf with a price/performance ratio below $100/Gflop (for double-precision operations). The system measures just 11" x 12" x 17" (27.9 cm x 30.5 cm x 43.2 cm), runs at room temperature, and plugs into a standard wall outlet. These desirable characteristics combine to make Microwulf an attractive design for most computer science departments and/or individuals.