What is Grid Engine?

Grid Engine is an HPC batch scheduler and resource manager which manages access, reports usage and enforce business policies for a compute cluster. It supports cluster sizes from one to thousands of compute nodes. With the implementation of Grid Engine cluster management software, the challenges of disorganized compute host usage—where hosts can become either overloaded or underutilized—are effectively addressed. The complexity of managing compute node resources and running parallel MPI programs that stretch across multiple computers is significantly reduced. Grid Engine streamlines the process of monitoring resource consumption and imposing restrictions on cluster resource usage, avoiding the difficulties these tasks typically present when managed manually.

Grid Engine enhances the user experience by streamlining application execution, and it offers administrators a refined way to manage cluster resources and policies. With the simplicity of the qsub command-line tool, users effortlessly submit their application start scripts, binaries or containers and Grid Engine takes care of the rest. It intelligently allocates the job to the most suitable compute node and initiates the process. Users maintain visibility and control throughout the job’s lifecycle, monitoring resource usage in real time with the qstat command and having the flexibility to stop, restart, or reschedule their jobs as needed.

For administrators, Grid Engine offers robust management capabilities, like incorporating users into projects and assigning priority levels to users, projects, and departments. This allows the advanced Grid Engine scheduler to make informed, priority-based decisions, ensuring an efficient and optimized allocation of cluster resources in line with organizational objectives.