[distcc] Bootable distcc node

[Dan Kegel]

daPlumber wrote:
>>From: Dan Kegel 
>>Sent: Tuesday, March 16, 2004 11:03
>>To: daPlumber
>>
>>daPlumber wrote:
>>
>>>Has anyone done any work on making an e.g. Knoppix bootable 
>>
>>cd that makes a
>>
>>>distcc daemon and gcc available to the local LAN? This 
>>
>>would be handy for
>>
>>>doing kernel/KDE/GNOME builds in an office full of Windows 
>>
>>PC's for example.
>>
>>No, but I'm putting together a hetrogenous cluster of
>>Windows, Mac OS X, Linux x86, and Linux x86_64 boxes
>>all running the same distcc'd compiler.  Why force
>>people to reboot to Linux if you don't have to
>>to get them into the compile cluster?
>>I suspect it'd be easy to add Solaris machines to
>>the build cluster, too.
>>
>>The trick is getting them all to run the same toolchain.
>>I'll post the script I use once it's all working.
> 
> 
> The advantage is that if one has temporary access to a bunch of desktops,
> which are usually running Windows, a boot-able cd would be ideal combined
> with the distcc "search" script (PERL) :
> http://dev.gentoo.org/~lisa/distcc/distcc-subnetscan/distcc-subnetscan.pl
> 
> The idea is that when I need to recompile, say, KDE, I can use the resources
> available to me without forcing them to run Linux, which is unlikely. The
> systems can then be returned to "normal" use. It also eliminates the issue
> of running the same gcc and toolchain versions.

I can see that not having to install anything on the Windows box is
an advantage for the bootable CD approach.  However, that removes
the Windows box from normal operation.  My approach leaves the box
usable as a Windows box while making it available as a node in
the distcc network.   I haven't verified performance yet -- it's likely
that the cygwin approach isn't quite as fast as the native linux approach --
but the slightly lower performance might be worth it in return for
not having to deprive the Windows box owners of the use of their machines
sometimes.

- Dan
-- 
My technical stuff: http://kegel.com
My politics: see http://www.misleader.org for examples of why I'm for regime change