"Since their first appearance in 1998 in the list of the Top 500 fastest computers in the world, Linux clusters have risen from an obscure science experiment to the position of today's dominant force in supercomputing technology. In fact, the number of Linux clusters in the Top 500 list has grown from 1 system in 1998 (1 cluster, 1 Linux OS system) to four-fifths of the list in 2008 (400 clusters, 458 Linux OS systems).
"Managing Linux clusters requires a unique set of skills that are not usually found among the single-system or small-networked-systems IT administrators -- it requires an in-depth knowledge of networking, operating systems, and pretty much all subsystems in the architecture.
"But this is not all: It requires a different attitude. It requires laziness above all else. It requires the admin to do what Scrooge McDuck told his nephews in Duckburg: "Work smarter, not harder."
