JLdL 04Mar05.

The files in this directory contain lists of packages that are appropriate
for the typical systems within a cluster: compute nodes, X11 terminals and
cluster servers. These are basic lists, with the most common packages.

Before anything else you should install the Debian base system, of course.
You should be able to do that following the Debian installation manual. If
you do that, do not use "dselect" or any other tool to install preselected
packages sets. Leave the machine with the Debian base system only.

After the base system is in place, one may install things on a need basis,
as one goes along, and in fact it is not at all a bad idea to do so. These
lists will allow the basic installation to proceed faster though. They are
not to be understood as complete sets of packages in any way but only as a
good starting point for setting up each type of machine, when added to the
Debian base system. Here is a short description of each list:

common-package-list: packages common to cluster servers, compute nodes and
X11 terminals, will not ask any mystifying questions. You will end up with
a little over 300 installed packages, after installing these, because many
other packages that these depend on will be installed as well.

common-package-list-2: also packages common to all machines, but these may
ask quite a number of fairly simple questions, which you may safely answer
accepting the defaults. You will have approximately 370 installed packages
after installing this set.

node-package-list: packages for completing the system of a compute node.
Actually, it contains just one, the cluster-tools-client package.

terminal-package-list: packages to complete the system of an X11 terminal.
There will be configuration questions to answer, in this case, but most of
the necessary answers are reasonably obvious.  In case you do not know any
better, it is safe to choose the defaults given by the packages.  You will
end up with about 850 installed packages after installing these.

server-package-list: packages to complete the system of a cluster server.
This is in fact a subset of the package list for terminals. The situation
regarding the configuration questions is the same.

You can install one of these sets of packages by copying the file with the
list to the machine and issuing there the command

	apt-get install `cat <package-list-file>`

Note the reversed single quotes. Since all the packages on which those in
the list depend will be installed as well, this may take quite a while to
complete, specially for the lists meant for servers and X11 terminals.

Some of these packages may require additional manual configuration, after
they are installed, in order to work properly.  The manual configurations
may be a bit complex in some cases. Packages that not only require manual
configuration but will also ask complex question, during the installation
process, have been left out of these lists. Packages that you may want or
need to install and that will ask configuration questions are:

and, etherboot, etherboot-doc, gpm, libpaperg, lprng, memtest86, mknbi,
raidtools2, syslinux, tftpd-hpa, and unzip.

Some packages which may be essential for your cluster will require complex
manual configuration, such as these:

dhcp, iptables, nfs-kernel-server, nis, ssh, and xserver-xfree86.

These matters relate more to the usual tasks of setting up a server than
to the setting up of the cluster in itself.  In order to handle them you
may have to read the documentation within the packages, find appropriate
HOWTOs and consult other relevant references, such as books about Linux.

