Question

We have a few computers that are used for simulations in physics which are run by a few people. I would like to install some queuing system to submit tasks and to fairly share resources. What would you recommend for single machine and for cluster? I'm interested in free solutions.

Answer 1

For a single machine, the at command is probably enough. It allows you to configure your task to only run when your resource usage is low (<0.8) using the -b (batch) switch, or you can specify priority using the letters a-z.

example:

at -q b now /home/myname/script.sh

equivalent to:

batch /home/myname/script.sh

For clusters, use GNU Queue.

Answer 2

In our lab, we use PBS/Torque, and it works fairly well.