This guide describes the installation, configuration, and administration of Load Sharing Facility (LSF). It should be read by system administrators before installing LSF. You will find all the information you need to configure and maintain your installation.
LSF consists of the base product, LSF Base, and a suite of individually licensed products, including LSF Batch, LSF JobScheduler, and LSF MultiCluster.
LSF commands and concepts covering LSF Base, LSF Batch, and LSF MultiCluster are explained in greater detail in the LSF User's Guide, while LSF JobScheduler is discussed in the LSF JobScheduler User's Guide. Depending on the products you are installing, you should also read the LSF User's Guide or the LSF JobScheduler User's Guide beforehand.
This guide assumes you have knowledge of common system administration tasks such as exporting and mounting Network File System (NFS) partitions.
This guide may also be read by users who wish to understand the details of how LSF operates.
Unless explicitly mentioned, all concepts and administrative tasks on LSF Batch also apply to the administration of LSF JobScheduler.
The installation chapters describe the system requirements that must be met to install and operate LSF and the component products, and then the procedure for installing. The operations chapters describe common administration tasks, explain how LSF works, and show how to configure LSF Base, LSF Batch, LSF JobScheduler, and LSF MultiCluster. The reference chapters give a complete description of all configuration options.
Chapters 1 and 2 cover the initial installation of LSF. These chapters do not describe all possible configuration options. You should read Chapter 1 to determine the requirements and follow the procedures given in Chapter 2 to install your system. Also see Appendix B for an example of an LSF installation session.
Chapter 3 describes quick configuration steps to get a simple LSF cluster up and running and some very basic commands to test the installed cluster.
After reading chapters 1, 2, and 3, you should be able to set up an LSF cluster with a default, simple configuration.
Chapter 4 gives background information and discusses important concepts about LSF. This chapter may be read as a whole or used as a reference to support the material in later chapters.
Chapter 5 describes the issues involved in managing the LSF Base cluster.
Chapter 6 describes the configuration, maintenance, and operation of the LSF Batch system. Note that this chapter also applies to LSF JobScheduler administrators.
Chapter 7 describes the concepts and configuration issues specific to the LSF JobScheduler product.
Chapter 8 discusses the procedures to enable and maintain the LSF MultiCluster product.
Chapters 9 and 10 contain detailed descriptions of all LSF Base and LSF Batch configuration options. You should read these chapters before modifying LSF and LSF Batch configuration files. These chapters should be read by LSF administrators of both LSF Batch and LSF JobScheduler.
Appendix A contains troubleshooting tips and techniques, plus a list of messages that may be logged by the LSF daemons, along with brief explanations.
Appendix B shows the output from an example LSF installation session.
Appendix C lists the various directories used by the LSF system, their modes and contents.
Appendix D describes how LSF can be configured to support processor sets such as IRIX 6. It also shows configurations to support IBM SP-2, Cray Research NQS, and Atria Clearcase. This appendix does not apply to LSF JobScheduler.
Appendix E describes issues involved in running LSF in a Windows NT environment.
Appendix F describes the new features of LSF version 3.0.
The LSF User's Guide explains a number of important concepts and gives examples of how to use LSF.
The LSF JobScheduler User's Guide describes production job scheduling, events, and calendars.
The LSF Programmer's Guide describes how to write application programs using the LSF API.
The LSF User's Quick Reference provides a summary of user's commands and related information, while the LSF Administrator's Quick Reference provides a summary of administrator's commands and related information. Also see the LSF Installation Quick Reference for a summary of basic installation procedures.
The on-line manual pages contain detailed descriptions of all LSF commands, daemons, functions and configuration files. The lsfintro(1), lsbatch(1), lslib(3), lsblib(3), lim(8), res(8), and mbatchd(8) manual pages include references to all other LSF-related manual pages.
The xbsub, xlsmon, xlsbatch, and xlsadmin graphical user interface applications are documented with the on-line help available through the Help menu of each application.
If you need any technical assistance with LSF, please contact your reseller or the Technical Support Department at the following address:
LSF Technical Support
Platform Computing Corporation
5001 Yonge Street, Suite 1401
North York, Ontario
Canada M2N 6P6
Tel: +1 416 512 9587
Fax: +1 416 512 8976
Electronic mail: support@platform.com
Please include the full name of your company and your support code.
You may find the answers you need from the Platform Computing Corporation home page on the World Wide Web. Set your browser to http://www.platform.com.
If you have any comments about this document, please send them to the address above to the attention of: LSF Documentation, or send electronic mail to: doc@platform.com.
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