Nevis Linux Cluster Node Names

These are the names of the computers in the Nevis Linux Cluster.

Some machines that are not listed:

• the systems on the Nevis condor batch farm;
• the student boxes;
• machines that are not part of the cluster (e.g., Windows machines, laptops, some ATLAS, DOE, and Neutrino systems).

student boxes

Each group has an informal naming convention for its machines. The list below includes the different groups with machines in the cluster, the basis for the names, and description of each Linux machine normally used by that group.

ATLAS

Mostly named after members of the Romanov dynasty

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
kolya	ATLAS workgroup server	Dual 3.2 GHz Xeon	4 GB	2.5 TB	Tsar Nikolai II Alexandrovich (1868-1918)
tanya	ATLAS client	3.2 GHz Dual-Core Pentium D	1 GB	60 GB	Grand Duchess Tatiana Nicolaievna (1897-1918)
xenia	ATLAS tier3 server	Quad 2.26 GHz 4-core Xeon	24 GB	15 TB	Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna
karthur	ATLAS/D0 workgroup server	Dual 3.2 GHz Xeon	4 GB	2.5 TB	Arthur Pendragon, Once and Future King
elecsim	Electronics shop chip-design workstation	2.4 Intel Xeon	24 GB	800 GB	Sometimes we have to use a practical name
elecdesign	Electronics shop chip-design workstation	2.8 GHz Pentium 4	1 GB	160 GB

DOE

Named for Chinese imperial dynasties ( pronunciation guide)

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
shang	DOE workgroup server	Dual Intel Xeon E5-2620 2GHz six-core	8 GB	1.8 TB	Shang Dynasty, 16th century B.C. - 1066 B.C.

Neutrino

Named after streets in the area of Columbia University

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
amsterdam	Neutrino file server	AMD Opteron 6128	32 GB	22 TB
bleeker	Neutrino file server	AMD Opteron 6128	32 GB	22 TB	typo when naming; missing a 'c'
houston	Neutrino home directories	Dual 0.8 GHz Eight-core Opteron	16 GB	320 GB
riverside	Neutrino file server	Quad 2.27 GHz Four-core Xeon	12 GB	14 TB
westside	Neutrino file server	Quad 2.27 GHz Four-core Xeon	12 GB	14 TB

VERITAS

Named after characters in the Earthsea books by Ursula K. LeGuin

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
tehanu	VERITAS workgroup server	Dual 2.27 GHz Xeon quad-core	53 GB	13 TB	Tehanu is the fourth book in the series
vetch	VERITAS file server	Four 8-core AMD 6272 processors	64 GB	20 TB	A friend of Ged
ged	VERITAS file server	Four 8-core AMD 6272 processors	64 GB	20 TB	Ged is the main protagonist of the first book
serret	VERITAS file server	Four 8-core AMD 6272 processors	64 GB	20 TB	Daughter of the Lord of Re Albi

Shared between workgroups

Named (initially) for characters and locations from the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling. (The student boxes are also shared, but they're described separately.) The reason for mixed naming scheme is these systems were at one time dedicated to specific workgroups.

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
hogwarts	General shared server	Xen virtual machine			Hogwarts, a school where wizards are trained
ron	Shared client	2 GHz Athlon Duo	2 GB	60 GB	Ron Weasley, one of Harry's friends
harry	Shared client	2 GHz Athlon Duo	2 GB	60 GB	After Harry Potter, the hero of his eponymous series.
lexington	Shared client	2.8 GHz Core 2 Duo	2 GB	60 GB	Lexington Avenue in New York City
leonardo	Shared client	2 GHz Pentium Dual-core	2 GB	130 GB	After Leonardo da Vinci, an Italian inventor and artist.
excalibur	D0 client	2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo	2 GB	60 GB	The legendary sword of karthur... er... King Arthur.

Administrative machines

Named for historical figures who made important contributions to Western thought

Name	Function	CPU	Memory	Disk	Derived from
hypatia	central admin server	Four AMD Opteron 6128 (32 cores total)	32 GB	4 TB	Hypatia of Alexandria (d. 415), a teacher and philosopher who was killed for advocating experimental science and other heresies.
hamilton	virtual name for main sysadmin server				Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), born on the island of Nevis, was the first Secretary of the Treasury.
hermes	Condor, DNS, and print server	Dual-core 1.86 GHz Xeon	1 GB	128 GB	Hermes was the messenger of the gods; a god of intellect, invention, travelers, communication, and many other attributes.
franklin	mail server	Xen virtual machine			Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), who was (among many other things) the first Postmaster General of the United Sates.
ada	web server	Xen virtual machine			Ada Byron, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), the founder of scientific computing.
lincoln	log server	alias for hermes			Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865), lawyer, statesman, and 16th American President; said to have been born in a log cabin.
shelley	backup server	Dual Core 1.5 GHz Intel Xeon 3050	2 GB	4 TB	Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851), writer and philosopher, best known as the author of Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.
sullivan	mailing-list server	Xen virtual machine			Take your pick: From Anne Sullivan, who taught Helen Keller how to communicate; From Sir Arthur Sullivan, of Gilbert and Sullivan, who composed The Mikado ("...he's got 'em on the list...").
notebook	Jupyter server	Xeon E5-2650	32 GB	200 GB	Another dull practical name.
milne	student file server	Xeon E5-2620	32 GB	5 TB	A. A. Milne, creator of characters in the Hundred-Acre Wood
pixel	videoconference system in room 115	2.8 GHz Intel Core Duo	2 GB	60 GB
annex	Annex general-purpose server	Dual 2.4 GHz Xeon	1 GB	12 TB	Sometimes we have to use a practical name.

Why the funny names?

Well, there's the sheer intellectual over-indulgence of it all, but there's also a serious reason: the function of a given computer can change over time; for example, a computer that used to be Jones' Linux desktop client may become an FTP server in the future. If the computer's name was jonespc or d0pc3, we'd want to change it to ftpserver or something like that. If the computer's name was hanuman.nevis.columbia.edu, there'd be no reason to change it, nor any need to update the various databases of names (/etc/hosts, NIS, DNS, etc.).

Obviously, we have this luxury because there are relatively few computers at Nevis. We can configure them individually and know each one by name. If we had a hundred boxes, this would be impossible.