Step 3: Software Installation

This step describes how to install the necessary software on the nodes (1 Master and N Slaves) of the Low Cost MiniMulticomputer Based on Odroids to make it fully functional. This software can be found in the compressed file (tgz) that you will find in the Downloads section of the main page. Download it and place it in a known directory.

Configure the MiniMultiComputer Master Node

  1. To begin the installation, we must know the IP address of the master node. To do this, we must enter the page of the router to which it is connected. With a computer connected to the same network (WiFi or cable), we will open a browser and put one of the following IP addresses: 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1. First try one address, and if you do not get results, try the other, since depending on the internet provider it can be located in one address or another. The username and password to enter the page is written at the bottom of the router. As a last option, do an internet search for how to access your particular company's router.
  2. Once on the router page, you must find the IP address of the Odroid board that will act as master, which will appear similar to the following. It should be noted that each router is different and can be more or less easy to find. If you can't find the IP address of the Odroid board, don't worry, go to the next point where a possible solution is explained.
  3. To install the software, we must transfer the compressed file that you downloaded in the first point of this section to the board that will act as a master. To do this, you must know the IP of this board. If you have been able to find their IP address you can go to the last point. If, on the other hand, you have not been able to, here we propose a solution:
    1. Run arp -v.
    2. If you don't have it installed, it's inside the net-tools package. Run sudo apt install net-tools and once installed, run arp -v.
    3. This command will display the devices connected to the network. Your computer must be connected to the same router as the master board, and in this way its IP will appear.
    4. If more than one IP appears, you can try to run an ssh root @ IPaddress, replacing IPaddress with the addresses that appear. When you connect with the address of the odroid board, it will ask you for a password (odroid) and by typing it will give you access to the board. This way you will already know the address. Remember it for future connections.
  4. If you already know the IP of the master, then you are ready to install. Go to the directory where you have the compressed file with the software, open a terminal and execute this series of commands (the default password is 'odroid'):
    1. ssh-keygen -R masterIP
    2. scp odroid-cluster.tgz root@masterIP:/root
    3. ssh root@masterP
    4. tar xzvf odroid-cluster.tgz
    5. cd odroid-cluster
    6. ./init_master.sh
  5. After running these commands, the installation and configuration will begin automatically. During the course of it, a minimum interaction will be requested, such as specifying the passwords of the root and odroid users.
  6. Once the configuration is complete, you will have the master board ready to go.

Add and Configure the Slave Nodes of the MiniMultiComputer

  1. To add a node to the MiniMulticomputer, you must go to the /root/odroid-cluster directory as the root user and execute the command ./add_slave.sh odroidX, where X will be replaced by the number of boards you have installed in the system plus 1, that is, if you already have 2 slave nodes configured and you want to add a third one, the command will be ./add_slave.sh odroid3.
  2. During the installation, the passwords of the odroid user and the root user of the new node will be requested. The password of the odroid user is the same as in the master, while the root password will be 'odroid' by default.
  3. After this, the node will be configured automatically. You can check the installation log in the file /var/log/odroid-cluster/init_slave_odroidX.out.

If you want to know how to start using the system, go to Step 4: Usage guide.