This document is the installation and reference guide for Dolphins software for PCI Express networking. It is structured as follows:
Chapter 1, Introduction & Overview is what you are currently reading.
For those with some experience in cluster management, the abbreviated installation instructions in Chapter 2, Quick Installation Guide might be sufficient. Otherwise, the following chapters cover all details.
Chapter 3, Requirements and Planning discusses the platform support and choice of PCI Express interconnect hardware and is best read before you decide on using PCI Express and SuperSockets. Virtually all x86 and x86_64 Linux platforms are supported by PCI Express and SuperSockets.
If you are installing the Dolphin PCI Express software stack for the first time, you should refer to Chapter 4, Initial Installation for a thorough guide. It explains the automatic cluster installation using the self installing archive (SIA). The Dolphin PCI Express software stack is distributed in this format.
Updating an existing installation with SIA is covered in Chapter 5, Update Installation.
Details of the installation process and procedures how to manually install the Dolphin PCI Express software stack, including platforms that do not support the RPM package format, are discussed in Chapter 6, Manual Installation.
Once the cluster is installed, you will find procedures for typical maintenance tasks and for trouble shooting in Chapter 7, Interconnect Maintenance.
A number features and configuration details that will be helpful for users with special requirements are explained in Chapter 15, Advanced Topics.
Frequently asked questions are answered in Chapter 16, FAQ.
The appendixes provide a reference of using the self installing archive (SIA), the GUI tool for interconnect management, the configuration files of the Dolphin PCI Express software stack, and a listing of known issues with few platforms and the default software limitations.