[distcc] Web based compiling farm

[Martin Pool]

On Wed, 2005-05-04 at 10:23 +0200, Antenore Gatta wrote:

> My goal is to create a distributed system for compiling software on
> demand for not experienced users.
> In the first stage I'd like to have a web based form where the user
> can choose from a software list and between some different platforms
> (amd, intel, sparc, arm, ..., etc.) after N minutes user should be
> able to download a tar archive with the platform optimized compiled
> version.

I think inexperienced users are probably better off downloading rpm or
deb packages, not tarballs.

> In my secret dreams (a madness!), besides previously described goals,
> I'd like to have a system to compile a complete Linux From Scratch
> system with an iso image as result.

I think it would be technically possible.  Whether there is any value is
another question...  (I think the value in LFS is in what you learn from
doing it.)

> Every users in exchange for compiled software should lend their CPU
> time, so, here finally the questions:

I hope you understand the security problems with that?

> How can I know how far are every hosts between them?
> How can I dinamically group some hosts considering the "network distance"?
> 
> I tried with ICMP and anycast but both doesn't pass trough every routers.
> We have obtained some result sending a little image (png) via ssh
> counting the seconds, b ut sometimes the routing change unexpectedly.
> Perhaps using the same distcc socket the routing should be the same
> (except for router/backbone problems).

You need to consider several variables: latency, bandwidth and compile
speed. 

> Please do you have an idea about this?
> Should be possible and usefull to implement a network distance
> calculator inside distcc?

Perhaps the most useful thing is to have it report on the speed of
compiling on different hosts?

If you're building a whole distribution it may be easier to distribute
whole packages to different hosts.  (But if you're building along the
lines of LFS perhaps that's not possible.)

-- 
Martin

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