The Batch System holds each job (pending) until all the resources (CPU, Memory etc) the job requires are available. This ensures each job runs in minimal time because it does not share or competing for those resources. Throughput of jobs is maximised because the system wastes no time swapping processes or memory.
The Batch System also helps ensure fair and equitable usage by assigning "fairshare" job priorities. Batch job priority is calculated using recent past usage.
Sections 2.1 and
2.2 (accessible through
the menu on the left of the screen) describe the two most common batch systems:
LSF (used by Ozone) and PBS (used by Altix16, Altix 64, and the IMB cluster).
Section 2.3 provides a hands-on tutorial on how to use these batch systems,
using a hill-climbing genetic algorithm as and example application.
Section 2.4
describes how to use RSH (the remote shell), for use on clusters (such as hound)
in which no batch system is currently installed.