Bell Labs grid resources

1. What is it?

Bell Labs provides fourteen 500MHz/64MB Celerons running Plan 9 as resources for The 9grid started at LANL. The systems are named a.grid.bell-labs.com through n.grid.bell-labs.com.

1.1 file service

9fs file service is provided on TCP port 564 by the system a.grid.bell-labs.com. The file system is 3.5 gig and is not backed up; all files are considered temporary and can disappear at our discretion.

1.2 user authentication

Plan 9 shared key file authentication is provided on TCP port 567 by a.grid.bell-labs.com. The authentication domain is grid.bell-labs.com, requiring the following in your /lib/ndb/local file: 

auth=a.grid.bell-labs.com authdom=grid.bell-labs.com

1.3 secure store

A secure store is provided on TCP port 5356 by a.grid.bell-labs.com.

1.4 remote execution

Systems b.grid.bell-labs.com through n.grid.bell-labs.com provide Plan 9 cpu service on TCP port 17010. They allow users to import the local name space via the exportfs service on TCP port 17007.

1.4 other services

All the systems will answer ICMP pings and offer the TCP echo and discard services on ports 7 and 9 respectively. These are primarily to help people debug connectivity problems. Anyone logged on can announce other services, though we'll consider blocking some to avoid spoofing.

2. How do I get an account?

We have temporarily suspended creating new accounts. Our long term intention is to set up a grid of cpu servers around the country (LANL and U Calgary are also providing machines). All our users must explicitly agree to the Acceptable Use Policy.

3. How is it constructed?

The system a.grid.bell-labs.com actually runs in a separate authentication domain than the rest of the grid systems. It is in the cs.bell-labs.com domain used by the bulk of the Plan 9 systems at Bell Labs. Thus we can easily administer and maintain it.

a runs two separate fossil file systems. The first is the file system it runs from and is not exported.

The second fossil is the one exported and used as the file system for all the other grid computers. That fossil is started with its own factotum and is in the grid.bell-labs.com authentication domain.

The a system runs both TFTP and DHCP servers and boots the other machines from kernels in its own private file system.

Comments to gridmaster@plan9.bell-labs.com.
Copyright © 2004 Lucent Technologies. All rights reserved.