Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 14:53:07 +0200 From: Ziga BobnarOrganization: Active Tools Inc. To: lwn@lwn.net Subject: release of new software - Clustor 2.0 -----Press release--------- Active Tools unveils new version of Clustor 2.0 with a greatly expanded set of API Commands for Software Developers. Active Tools announces the release of Clustor 2.0 now with a complete set of application programming interface (API) commands for Software Developers. It includes exciting new features that further simplify implementation of high performance distributed applications. With Clustor existing applications can be rapidly adapted for execution using the idle processor capacity of your existing network of PCs. Clustor 2.0 implements a job distribution engine with API commands that allow you to easily incorporate Clustor within other applications. Clustor 2.0 also supports tight integration of Clustor commands with any shell or scripting language. API commands give the operator complete control over the distribution of jobs. The user can add jobs and nodes while executing applications. Clustor 2.0 lets the application decide what resources are available for use. Machines can be added or subtract during processing. Users may choose to enter commands manually or automatically. Clustor 2.0 allows the user to execute one job on all the machines. Status information is available throughout operations. Clustor harvests your computers while they are idle, increasing the utilization of your existing equipment, creating a network of machines that never sleep. Clustor generates jobs, executes them and collects the results distributing them over local area networks or the Internet. Additional security features enhance the operating systems. Clustor also provides extensive logging and diagnostics and includes remote management features. Clustor is based on a simple, yet extremely powerful concept, called parametric execution. Parametric execution is where an application performs the same calculation numerous times with different input parameters, such as Monte Carlo simulations used in Financial Risk Management. To perform parametric executions, the user simply provides the application to be executed on a cluster and values for the parameters. Clustor does the rest. It generates jobs to be computed, manages their execution and collects the results. "Independent Software Developers can now use distributed computing power to deliver their high performance applications to clients on a much more affordable platform.", states Rok Sosic President and CEO of Active Tools Inc. "More importantly our API commands significantly reduces their time to the market. Clustor breaks through the knowledge barrier. You do not have to be an expert in distributed computing anymore. A simple API makes it easy for any programmer to develop suitable high performances applications." Active Tools develops software tools for high performance computing, providing professional consulting services to assist customers in the successful implementation of all phases of cluster computing projects, from justification and design, through to deployment and daily operations. Customers already taking advantage of Clustor include Rockefeller University, Motorola and AMP Asset Management. Visit http://www.activetools.com for more information. ---end of press release-----