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In Search of Clusters (2nd Edition) (Paperback)

~ Gregory Pfister (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Simon Guerrero (w-beard@netcomuk.co.uk) from Stone, Staffordshire UK ,
04/23/98, rating=10:



Learn about clusters without falling asleep


About a month ago I started work on a project running on a small cluster and
involving the Oracle 8 Parallel Server at a low level (writing the Distributed
Lock Manager support libraries for a certain OS). At this point, I'd never used
(or even seen!) a clustered system, and I knew nothing about clusters at all.
Then a colleague loaned me the first edition of Dr Pfister's book. Unwilling
to be over-eager to learn anything out of 'paid' time, I opened the book with
some trepidation, expecting to find the usual dessicated prose and tons of
TLAs. What a pleasant surprise! From the 'legal stuff' at the front of the book
('a kind of garlic'), right through to the bibliography ('I found this paper
almost unreadable'), the author understands the need of the reader to remain
conscious through what is potentially the dullest of subjects and emerge,
slightly surprised ('Did I actually enjoy that?') at the other end. Thousands
of college lecturers have a lot to learn from this man!



The second edition of the book is more a re-write than an update, and just as
packed with anecdotes, humour (right down to pseudo-Paul Simon lyrics - people
were hanged for less in the Wild West), and at the same time, probably the most
thorough explanations of the why/how/when/wheres of clustering you will find in
any book. As the quote on the back says 'This book is what would happen if
Scott Adams wrote a book on parallel computers'... Full marks!

Product Description

A hardcore guide to parallel computing with clusters (groups of computers linked together to boost performance), this reference is by a leading expert in the field. Revised and updated to cover the latest architectures, the book features a light and approachable writing style described by a reviewer as "what would happen if "Dilbert" creator Scott Adams wrote a book on computer architecture".
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Paperback: 608 pages
  • Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2 edition (December 22, 1997)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0138997098
  • ISBN-13: 978-0138997090
  • Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #306,963 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #37 in  Books > Computers & Internet > Hardware > Parallel Processing Computers
    #62 in  Books > Computers & Internet > Databases > Distributed Databases

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More About the Author

Gregory F. Pfister
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

› Visit Amazon's Gregory F. Pfister Page
Look Inside This Book
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover
Citations (learn more)
36 books cite this book:
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This is the Clustering Bible, December 14, 1999
By A. McKee (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
As other reviewers have said, this is an excellent book and is a *must have* for anyone exploring practically any aspect of cluster computing. Even beyond the quality of the information conveyed, the writing style is wonderful and the author makes an otherwise abstract and cumbersome topic quite readable and quite approachable. This book is regarded as the Clustering Bible worldwide, and I've seen copies placed prominently in the bookshelves of individuals in Beijing, Tokyo, Paris, and the US. Microsoft's own Cluster Server was codenamed 'Wolfpack', as an honerable reference to the cover art of this specific book.


Aaron McKee
Clustering Products Manager
TurboLinux Inc.

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars good technical overview of systems architectures, July 16, 2001
By "alvee" (Corvallis, OR USA) - See all my reviews
This book provides a terrific introduction to the hardware, software, and systems architecture of parallel computing, candidly discussing the issues and trade-offs in various approaches. The emphasis is on clusters, but there is lots of information on the whole continuum from single processor machines to SMPs to clusters to distributed computing. Pfister will leave you with a better understanding of things like how SMP machines keep processor caches coherent, what the differences are between SMP, NUMA, and distributed computing, how various cluster products work, real world cluster issues (like system administration), programming models used in parallel computing, and why programming code that runs efficently on these architectures is usually the hard part.

The book is somewhat dated - nothing about Beowolf for example - but the concepts remain valid. Many of the issues are illustrated with reference to mainframe clusters, especially IBM's 390 sysplex, which I found particularly interesting since I don't have much experience with these systems.

The style is highly readable and informal, but not insultingly non-technical. The book is loaded with opinion and insights - it is not a dry textbook of issues related to clustering. Highly recommended for anyone in the business of creating information systems that need to run fast.

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars An exemplar of how to write a readable technical book, June 10, 1999
By A Customer
Other reviewers, both publishers and individuals, have already said many good things about this book. Believe them all. There's plenty of meat for the greying professional yet it's accessible (and enjoyable) to the relative neophyte.

The author has been compared to Scott Adams. While his style is eminently readable, I think this may not entirely do it justice: I'd be more inclined to liken his ability to present detailed concepts in an approachable manner to that of Richard Feynman - though as a non-neophyte with an intense interest in the subject matter my evaluation may be biased.

If you have an interest in high-performance, high-availability processing and/or SANs (whether you call them 'storage area networks' or 'system area networks'), there may well be no better single source of information. If you simply have an interest in computers in general, you could just read it for fun.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Wish I'd Written It
OK, so perhaps you don't need this book, but you'll enjoy it anyway!
The best review and tutorial on clusters available, this book is also funny
enough that you... Read more
Published on June 4, 2005 by Eoin Woods

5.0 out of 5 stars The best introduction to high perf cluster computing
In a subject which is probably considered dull Pfeister has written a book which is actually entertaining as well as informative. Read more
Published on June 1, 2000 by Dawit Fisseha

5.0 out of 5 stars A disturbingly interesting read .....
While struggling through this book, I spend more time thinking about the characters of this author than about cluster. Read more
Published on August 11, 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Concise, timely and humorous description of OS technology
The revision, like the Original is fresh and engaging - offering complex technical concepts in bite sized, palatable parcels.

Mr. Read more

Published on May 7, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Learn about clusters without falling asleep
About a month ago I started work on a project running on a small cluster and involving the Oracle 8 Parallel Server at a low level (writing the Distributed Lock Manager support... Read more
Published on April 23, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book - A new standard for technical writing!
Mr. Pfister with humor and clarity has explained scalability. His book is insightful, clear and an excellent introduction to the benefits of clustering (that is working together)... Read more
Published on February 16, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive Cluster Coverage
With the advent of the Clustering Technology Formerly Known as Wolfpack, clustering has entered the computing mainstream. Read more
Published on February 12, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars exceptional
Witty, lucid, practical, clear, superlatives fail this book. Excellent intro to Clusters
Published on March 15, 1997

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