Setting up a leveler:
Obtain the latest TacoPleX distribution. The tarball contains a kernel patch, source for all of the TacoPleX binaries, a startup script for the TacoPleX daemon, sample configuration files, and some additional documentation. Take a look at the README file for distribution specific details. Uncompress the distribution into a working directory in preparation for building and installing the system.
Leveler machines must be able to run Linux kernel 2.2.13 and have two network interfaces. In general, the better your hardware, the more performance you will get out of a leveler machine. The most likely bottlenecks in a leveler are processor and network communication speed. System RAM and disk access are not as important considerations. Some Linux network drivers can optimize NIC to NIC transfers. Cards with these drivers are best suited for use in levelers.
Install a Linux distribution. TacoPleX is known to operate under RedHat 6.1. The distribution installation process can be a bit involved. More than adequate documentation is available from RedHat. It is likely (but untested) that TacoPleX will work smoothly with other Linux distributions with some changes in configuration.
Install a clean Linux 2.2.13 kernel. The Linux kernel HOWTO document can tell you everything you need to know about installing, configuring, patching, and compiling a kernel. It is likely (but untested) that the TacoPleX kernel patch will operate in concert with other kernel versions and patches. Please let the author know about any successful alternative installations.
Apply the TacoPleX kernel patch. You will probably want to drop the first four levels of directory naming (-p4) from the source patch. The patch will make changes to not only the kernel source but also to files used to configure and compile the kernel.
Configure the kernel. There are some kernel options that must be selected for the TacoPleX patch operate properly:
General Setup
Networking support
Sysctl support
Networing Options
Packet socket
Unix domain sockets
TCP/IP networking
IP: hash router
IP: aliasing support
Filesystems
/proc filesystem support
You must enable IP forwarding in the kernel in order for your machine to act as a router. You should configure your system to enable IP forwarding as part of its startup configuration. IP forwarding can be activated with this command:
% echo "1" > /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward |
TacoPleX is known to work with a "standard" set of kernel options. It is possible that some options will interfere with its operation. It is best to avoid experimental or exotic options in the leveler kernels.
Compile and install the new kernel. Harken back to the aforementioned HOWTO for some pointers. The compilation process could take some time depending on your platform. Once the new kernel is in place, reboot your system.
Install mon. Documentation and installation instructions come with the mon distribution. You will be called upon to install Perl 5 (if you haven't already) and some additional Perl modules required by mon.
Build the source code for the userland tools.
Run
% ./autogen.sh |
Run
% make |
Setting up a server:
Server machines can be just about any hardware/software combination that you desire. The only restriction is that they all must be configured with a common IP address.