MOSIX is a management system that allows a Linux cluster or a Grid of clusters to perform like a single computer with multiple processors. It is particularly suitable to run intensive computing and applications with moderate amounts of I/O. MOSIX works as an extension of the Linux kernel to support scalable cluster computing. The extended kernel allows any size cluster of Pentium/AMD based workstations and servers to work cooperatively as if part of a single system. To run in a MOSIX cluster, there is no need to modify or to link applications with any library, or even to assign processes to different nodes. MOSIX does it automatically - just “fork and forget”, like in an SMP. For example, you can create many processes in your (login) node and let MOSIX assign these processes to other nodes. If you type “ps”, then you will see all your processes, as if they run in your node.
The core of MOSIX are adaptive management algorithms that monitor and respond to uneven resource distribution among the nodes. These algorithms use preemptive process migration to assign and reassign processes among the nodes, to continuously take advantage of the best available resources. The MOSIX algorithms are geared for maximal overall performance, overhead-free scalability and ease-of-use.
Because MOSIX is implemented in the Linux kernel, its operations are completely transparent to the applications. It can be used to define different cluster types, even a cluster with different CPU or LAN speeds.