• MacMPI_X - UCLA AppleSeed
• mpich - Argonne National Laboratory
• MPI-Pro - MPI Software Technology, Inc.
• mpich-gm - for Myrinet hardware from Myricom, Inc.
• LAM/MPI - Pervasive Computing Labs, Indiana University
• MPJ Express - University of Reading and partners (New in 1.7.5)
• Open MPI - Open System Laboratory, Indiana University, and collaborators (New in 1.7.6)

First patented clustering technology on the Mac

First modern user-interface to launch Java-based MPI-like jobs

First to parallelize QuickTime compression from desktop video applications like iMovie and Final Cut

First support Mathematica on clusters using supercomputing-style communication (MPI)

First solution to support Universal Applications on a cluster

First to cluster virtually any combination of Intel or PowerPC Macintoshes, even ones running OS 9

• Classic applications
• Carbon applications
• Universal applications (New in 1.7)
• Cocoa bundle-based applications
• Mach-O executables (in the background or in the Terminal)
• Unix shell scripts (in the background or in the Terminal)
• AppleScript applications

First Universal Application clustering solution

First Mac cluster solution discussed in podcast interview
 

First cluster solution to use Dashboard widgets to monitor cluster and job activity

First cluster solution to use Spotlight to search for data in job files

First cluster solution to view the cluster in three alternative views:

- a Node View for adding news to a job and to display diagnostics about nodes of the cluster

- a Job View to scan the entire network for queued, launching, running, terminated, and aborted jobs and display statistics about these jobs

- a Network View to scan multiple networks simultaneously

First Mac cluster solution to support customized job queuing using Automator

First commercial Mac application to use Xgrid

First Mac cluster solution to be taken on interstate US tour

First Mac cluster solution in an article identified as a "must-read" in an IEEE/American Institute of Physics publication

First Mac cluster solution featured on William Shatner-hosted national television
 

First cluster solution to utilize the "brushed metal" look available in OS X 10.3 and later.

First cluster solution to utilize drawers for commonly used functions:

- the Recent Items drawer displays and recalls recently used app, files, nodes, and nodes of the remote node scan cache

- the Options drawer accesses all the options of the job

• MacMPI_X - UCLA AppleSeed
• mpich - Argonne National Laboratory
• MPI-Pro - MPI Software Technology, Inc.
• mpich-gm - for Myrinet hardware from Myricom, Inc.
• LAM/MPI - Pervasive Computing Labs, Indiana University

First Mac cluster solution with an supercomputing-style advanced queuing and scheduling system for retaining jobs until specific conditions are met

First Mac cluster solution to use a job tracking system designed to monitor the progress and execution of jobs and retain statistics and other historical data about terminated jobs

First Mac cluster solution to provide secure resource management, via a modern graphical user interface, by users and groups, regulating CPU time quotas, job duration limits, and even rollover minutes! (Pooch Pro)

First supercomputer-compatible Mac cluster solution to automatically acquire a specified number of nodes or processors in a cluster

- utilizes Pooch's heuristic algorithms via its "Automatically Acquire Nodes" feature

First cluster solution to be exhibited at WWDC and demonstrated at a WWDC session

First to achieve 1.21 TeraFlops* on 128 dual-processor Xserve G5 cluster at UCLA!

First Mac cluster solution to utilize after-hours computing and unutilized machines

- runs on nodes while they are logged out! (OS X only)

First cluster solution with a modern graphical user interface to cluster the Xserve

First Mac cluster solution to be accompanied by a series of tutorials on parallel computing
 

First to discover, register, and resolve using Bonjour (a. k. a. ZeroConf), then known as Rendezvous, for clustering

- uses Service Location Protocol (SLP) simultaneously

First to recognize and utilize multiprocessor Macs and OS X multitasking for cluster computing by automatically launching multiple tasks on multiprocessor machines (running OS X 10.2.1 or later):

- Parallel applications can use one API to mix parallel computing both inside a box and across boxes

- For examples, see the Power Fractal app and the Fresnel Diffraction Explorer.

First cluster solution to support four different user interfaces:

• Easy-to-use Macintosh graphical user interface (including drag-and-drop)
• AppleScript
• Unix command-line (through command-line suite and customizable plaunch)
• Direct interapplication communication (through AppleEvents)

First Mac cluster solution to support customized job queuing using AppleScript or via Unix command line

First cluster solution to schedule node registration and deregistration

• MacMPI_X - UCLA AppleSeed
• mpich - Argonne National Laboratory
• MPI-Pro - MPI Software Technology, Inc.

First cluster solution to support:

• Cocoa bundle-based applications
• Mach-O executables (in the background or in the Terminal)
• Unix shell scripts (in the background or in the Terminal)

First cluster solution to be featured in MacWorld (on macbeat)

First Mac cluster solution to be taken on Canadian tour

First to achieve over 217 Gigaflops* on a 33-node dual-processor G4/1GHz XServe cluster, the largest calculation then performed using an Xserve cluster - performed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory!
 

First cluster solution on Mac OS X

First cluster solution to install on a node in seconds!

First to employ easy-to-use, modern Macintosh graphical user interface, including drag-and-drop!

First cluster solution to make it possible to build a cluster in minutes!

First cluster solution to use AppleScript

First cluster solution to support:

• Carbon applications
• Classic applications
• AppleScript applications

First Mac cluster application to support the Message-Passing Interface on OS X

First Macintosh solution to win "most innovative" award at IEEE Cluster

First cluster solution to require a minimum of system configuration - similar to a web browser

First to cluster virtually any combination of Macintoshes running OS 9 or OS X

- demonstrated robustness (other clustering solutions have been known to break due to inconsistencies in the kernel version)

First cluster solution to coexist with other applications, such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Office

First cluster solution to not depend on File Sharing, Network File System (NFS), rsh, static host files, mpirun, the command-line, etc.

First cluster solution to not require modification to the hardware or the operating system

First to dynamically discover resources on any TCP/IP network (10BaseT, 100BaseT, Gigabit, Airport, or combinations)

First Mac solution to actively query nodes for current status and other time-dependent attributes

First Mac solution to determine the capability and capacities of compute nodes on demand

First software used by a sixth-grader to build a cluster

First to discover and combine resources over intercontinental distances

- nodes in Munich, Germany, have been combined with nodes 6000 miles away at UCLA

First to discover using Service Location Protocol (SLP) for clustering

Introduced patent-pending technologies!

First to achieve over 233 GigaFlops* using 76-node dual-processor Power Macs at an undergraduate student lab at the University of Southern California!

Further Reading

For documention, including a one-page Pooch Quick Start, see the Manual Page.

You can try out Pooch for yourself starting at the Download Page.

You can also get started at the Mac Cluster Recipe.