Can MATLAB Parallel Server be used in a mixed Operating System configuration?

I have a number of computers running different Operating Systems that I would like to utilize with my MATLAB Parallel Server license. Can I use a mix of Operating Systems in my configuration?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

It is recommended that all systems involved in the cluster, including the head node and worker nodes, be on the same Operating System.

Parallel processing constructs that work on the infrastructure enabled by parpool—parfor, spmd, distributed arrays, and message passing functions—cannot be used on a heterogeneous cluster configuration. The underlying MPI infrastructure requires that all cluster computers have matching word sizes and processor endianness. A limited set of functions in Parallel Computing Toolbox can work in heterogeneous cluster configurations.

Please note that while it is recommended that all machines in the cluster are on the same Operating System, this requirement does not pertain to the client machines that are submitting the job to the cluster. The client machine can be running any supported Operating System and still submit to the cluster.

NOTE: Starting in R2019a the following name changes occurred:

• MATLAB Distributed Computing Server was renamed to MATLAB Parallel Server
• mdce_def was renamed to mjs_def
• mdce binary was renamed to mjs