Somebody better be writing this down for the next crew

Cluster Documentation Project Remember when you said, I'll get to the documentation later and never did. Well, now it is later and it is time to get the documentation in better shape. After contributing to on-line cluster documentation for years, Cluster Monkey has decided to start a community based project to help make something that is good much better.

The state of HPC and cluster documentation is not bad per-se, but it needs work. Most projects have adequate documentation for experts and many academic text books have good in-depth background. There seems to be a hole however, in the "how-to" type of cluster documentation. In particular, it is often hard for newcomers to the community/market to get a foot hold in the HPC thing as it were. The open source nature of much of the software has created a wide ranging spectrum of resources and critical pathways. The Cluster Documentation Project (CDP) is designed to help improve this state of affairs. Leveraging some past efforts, the current project site has begun, but is far from being complete. For instance it has a unique listing of Open/Freely Available Cluster Applications not found anywhere else.

Because we think this should be a serious effort, we have decided to seek social/community/vendor funding to get the project started. Like many open source efforts, the CDP will be an open resource designed to elevate the community and market. More information can be found at the following sites:

For those that want a quick summary, the brief FAQ will be helpful. Please consult the above references for the full story.

What exactly are you trying to do?

We want to collect, edit, create, and manage content for the HPC market and community. There are plenty of HPC "how-to" web pages and even videos out there. Some are good, others only cover specific cases and many are dated. Out goal it to build and maintain a good general reference set of information to help both new and experienced user and administrators.

How much and for what purpose?

We are raising $20,000 for editors, writers, and graphic artists. We are inviting funds from both users and vendors. Some funds will also go to the production of our first open book: Essential HPC: Practical high performance concepts, techniques, and procedures The book will be pulled from the wiki using the Wikibooks plugin. There will be a limited edition print copy of the book for those that donate $95 or more.

What can I get out of this as a user?

As an end user or administrator the CDP will be a single point of entry for information and questions about cluster HPC. Where possible, it will direct readers to more authoritative sites and bridge the gap between theory and practice. In particular, it will be designed to "fill some holes" in the current documentation that may have held back new users. It is also an opportunity to contribute your experience.

What can I get out of this as a vendor?

As a vendor who supports the CDP, you will be in front of existing and new customers in the cluster HPC market. Our goal is to be the "go to" site for those seeking "how-to" information for cluster HPC. We offer banner advertisements and invite vendor contributions of a technical nature to the site.

In addition, because the content of the CDP is open and shareable, vendors can create their own books or manual for customers (or you can hire us to create it for you!).

Can I help?

We invite content from the community. The best way to start is to join the HPC Writers mailing list. You can propose a topic or respond to our paid requests for writing. Selection of paid writers will depends upon industry experience and your writing ability.

You can also kick in some funds get a book and spread the word.

You have no rights to post comments

Search

Login And Newsletter

Create an account to access exclusive content, comment on articles, and receive our newsletters.

Feedburner


This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

©2005-2023 Copyright Seagrove LLC, Some rights reserved. Except where otherwise noted, this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International. The Cluster Monkey Logo and Monkey Character are Trademarks of Seagrove LLC.