[distcc] Gentoo distcc with a bootable CD solution

AthlonRob AthlonRob at axpr.net
Mon Dec 1 07:23:14 GMT 2003


On Sun, 2003-11-30 at 22:19, Bill Chmura wrote:

> #1
> I have been searching hi & lo for a bootable CD that has distcc on it
> and a version of gcc that is the same as what the gentoo 1.4 comes with
> (3.2.3-r3).   I've checked distccKnoppix, Knoppix, Gentoo LiveCD +
> KDE... and so far none are a good match.  Some have an older version of
> gcc, while some have a version that is newer and still listed as being
> in testing on the gentoo site.

You might be able to use LNX-BBC's gar system to build yourself an ISO
with GCC 3.2.3 on it... maybe even with the Gentoo patches?  -r3 is
current in Gentoo, IIRC.  That would give you a fairly minimalistic CD,
perfect for such a situation.

> #2
> I have read that the machines doing the compiling should be the same
> architecture and have the same exact gcc compiler.  When it comes to the
> architecture is a p3 considered different than a p4?  Can a P4 compile
> okay for a p3 machine?  Can a Celeron compile for a p3?  Is there a rule
> of thumb?

Where did you read that?

I have an Athlon XP compiling Pentium 4 optimized code via distcc all
the time and haven't run in to any issues from it.  The Athlon's gcc
version is the same as the P4's, but the P4's is patched by Gentoo while
the Athlon's is the default GCC from my Slackware 9.1 install.

Read the FAQ at the distcc website, there are several entries which
should help you get a better grip on how distcc is able to cope with
differing architectures and gcc versions.

To answer your specific questions - yes, a P3 is different from a P4, a
P4 can run P3 optimized code, though.  A P3 can compile for a P4, a P4
can compile for a P3.  A Celeron can compile for all three.  An Athlon
XP can compile for them all, too.  Heck, that old 486 you have in your
closet can compile for them, too... it would just take a few months for
it to finish.  :-)

> #3
> Can slave machines drop out of the system when its compiling?  For
> example, if one machine goes down out of six, what happens?  Will it be
> alright (be reassigned to another pc)...

Yes, if a system drops out, distcc stops sending work to that system and
the build process continues, reassigning to other hosts, or if there are
no other hosts, just compiling locally.  I *think* distcc uses a timeout
period for hosts that drop out during a build.  After they drop out, the
timeout period begins.  After the timeout ends, it tries again with that
computer... and goes from there.  However, I honestly can't be sure that
is how things work, it's just the way they seem to from the output I see
when I'm compiling things.

Have fun...  happy compiling.  :-)

Rob




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