Thread Subject: MATLAB on Solaris x86 using brandz

As of the 08/2007 release of Solaris x86/x64 it is now possible to run the
Linux version of MATLAB in a branded zone on this platform. The branded
zones are an extension of the Solaris Containers.

A Solaris Container is a complete runtime environment for applications,
somewhat like a virtual machine, although all of the containers run under a
single instance of the Solaris kernel. Containers are very quick to setup,
and may each be given resource limits (CPU usage, memory, swap etc).

From the Solaris Containers administration guide:

The Solaris Containers for Linux Applications uses Sun's BrandZ technology
to run Linux applications on the Solaris operating system. The Linux
applications run unmodified in the secure environment provided by the
non-global zone feature. This allows you to use the Solaris system to
develop, test and deploy Linux applications.

You can read more on the topic at:

http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/brandz/

There are some limitaions in this version. In particular, you can only run
32 bit applications, and the effective Linux kernel is 2.4.21,
corresponding to glibc version 2.3.2. For MATLAB users, this means that
you can run MATLAB versions up to R2006a (7.2). There is work underway to
allow 64 bit applications, and to provide the system calls for later Linux
kernels. See the above URL for details, but note that at this stage you
will need to be running later builds of Solaris than the official 08/2007
build.

For those who are already running Solaris x86, the effort required to set
this up is quite minimal. If you don't already have a Linux distribution
at hand, there is one for download from the above URL. You can have a
working MATLAB in under half an hour.

I would be interested to hear from others who are using this technology.


--
Dr Tristram J. Scott
Energy Consultant

what's the performance of MATLAB in solaris x86? The
brandz certainly have system overhead introducted.


tristram.scott@ntlworld.com (Tristram Scott) wrote in
message <ojFlj.44739$ov2.41551@newsfe5-win.ntli.net>...
> As of the 08/2007 release of Solaris x86/x64 it is now
possible to run the
> Linux version of MATLAB in a branded zone on this
platform. The branded
> zones are an extension of the Solaris Containers.
>
> A Solaris Container is a complete runtime environment
for applications,
> somewhat like a virtual machine, although all of the
containers run under a
> single instance of the Solaris kernel. Containers are
very quick to setup,
> and may each be given resource limits (CPU usage,
memory, swap etc).
>
> From the Solaris Containers administration guide:
>
> The Solaris Containers for Linux Applications uses Sun's
BrandZ technology
> to run Linux applications on the Solaris operating
system. The Linux
> applications run unmodified in the secure environment
provided by the
> non-global zone feature. This allows you to use the
Solaris system to
> develop, test and deploy Linux applications.
>
> You can read more on the topic at:
>
> http://www.opensolaris.org/os/community/brandz/
>
> There are some limitaions in this version. In
particular, you can only run
> 32 bit applications, and the effective Linux kernel is
2.4.21,
> corresponding to glibc version 2.3.2. For MATLAB users,
this means that
> you can run MATLAB versions up to R2006a (7.2). There
is work underway to
> allow 64 bit applications, and to provide the system
calls for later Linux
> kernels. See the above URL for details, but note that
at this stage you
> will need to be running later builds of Solaris than the
official 08/2007
> build.
>
> For those who are already running Solaris x86, the
effort required to set
> this up is quite minimal. If you don't already have a
Linux distribution
> at hand, there is one for download from the above URL.
You can have a
> working MATLAB in under half an hour.
>
> I would be interested to hear from others who are using
this technology.
>
>
> --
> Dr Tristram J. Scott
> Energy Consultant

Yong <yong.lei@gmail.com> wrote:
> what's the performance of MATLAB in solaris x86? The
> brandz certainly have system overhead introducted.
>
>

I believe that the overhead is not that much, maybe 5% or so. I don't have
both Linux and Solaris on the same machine to do a proper comparison.

I have this working on my laptop (old and not so good) and on a server
(remote location, slow connection). The server is a SunFire x2100 M2, and
gives a bench score of:

                         Version 7.2.0.294 (R2006a)
>> bench

ans =

    0.4407 0.5685 0.3488 0.8205 0.6841 0.0089

Ignore the graphics as I started with -nodisplay. I have found it quite
good for getting work done on client site using my laptop.

You can only use 32 bit versions of MATLAB, and R2006a is the latest you
can use because of library issues.

Still, it only takes ten minutes to set it up on a working Solaris machine,
so I urge you to give it a try. I did this from scratch again this
afternoon, with very little effort.

My understanding is that the current plan from The MathWorks is to do
nothing with regards to Solaris x86 support. I believe they are awaiting
significant customer feedback, so let them know that you would like it, and
very soon please.

--
Dr Tristram J. Scott
Energy Consultant

tristram.scott@ntlworld.com (Tristram Scott) wrote in
message <V_%Uj.32039$yq6.27981@newsfe14.ams2>...
> Yong <yong.lei@gmail.com> wrote:
> > what's the performance of MATLAB in solaris x86? The
> > brandz certainly have system overhead introducted.
> >
> >
>
> I believe that the overhead is not that much, maybe 5% or
so. I don't have
> both Linux and Solaris on the same machine to do a proper
comparison.
>
> I have this working on my laptop (old and not so good)
and on a server
> (remote location, slow connection). The server is a
SunFire x2100 M2, and
> gives a bench score of:
>
> Version 7.2.0.294 (R2006a)
> >> bench
>
> ans =
>
> 0.4407 0.5685 0.3488 0.8205 0.6841
0.0089
>
> Ignore the graphics as I started with -nodisplay. I have
found it quite
> good for getting work done on client site using my laptop.
>
> You can only use 32 bit versions of MATLAB, and R2006a is
the latest you
> can use because of library issues.
>
> Still, it only takes ten minutes to set it up on a
working Solaris machine,
> so I urge you to give it a try. I did this from scratch
again this
> afternoon, with very little effort.
>
> My understanding is that the current plan from The
MathWorks is to do
> nothing with regards to Solaris x86 support. I believe
they are awaiting
> significant customer feedback, so let them know that you
would like it, and
> very soon please.

Just out of personal interest, how does the licensing
work? Are you connecting to a remote server, or did you
somehow set up a server in the linux area?

- Steve

Steve Amphlett <Firstname.Lastname@where-i-work.com> wrote:
> tristram.scott@ntlworld.com (Tristram Scott) wrote in
> message <V_%Uj.32039$yq6.27981@newsfe14.ams2>...

[snip]

>> I have this working on my laptop (old and not so good)
> and on a server
>> (remote location, slow connection). The server is a
> SunFire x2100 M2, and

[snip]

>
> Just out of personal interest, how does the licensing
> work? Are you connecting to a remote server, or did you
> somehow set up a server in the linux area?
>

I have done this on two different machines. One is my old Dell C840
laptop, the other is my SunFire x2100 M2 (AMD) server. In both cases the
setup is almost verbatim from the examples in the Sun documentation:
"Solaris Containers: Resource management and Solaris Zones." Part III is
the bit you want to read, on branded zones.

What you end up with is an instance of Linux running under the Solaris
kernel. Solaris is running the global zone. Solaris may also be running
in some other zones. Linux is running in a branded zone. All the process
are scheduled by the Solaris kernel.

So, on my laptop I boot up Solaris, log in to the Solaris desktop, and then
telnet or ssh or whatever to the Linux zone, also running on the laptop.

As for licensing, I assume you are asking from a technical perspective,
rather than a legal one. (My belief is that there is no legal issue with
running MATLAB in this way, assuming I would already be entitled to run it
on a Linux platform.)

On my laptop I have an instance of the FLEXlm license manager running in
the Linux zone. This is just as I would do if I had my laptop running
generic Linux rather than Linux in a branded zone.

For the x2100 server, the license file points to the machine which is my
usual MATLAB license server.

I did ask The MathWorks for a Solaris x86 version of the license daemon,
but that was not something they wanted to do.

Drop me an email if you want more information.

--
Dr Tristram J. Scott
Energy Consultant

tristram.scott@ntlworld.com (Tristram Scott) wrote in
message <FjTVj.108345$SY5.3944@newsfe13.ams2>...
<snip>
 
> As for licensing, I assume you are asking from a
technical perspective,
> rather than a legal one.

Of course. I guess the MAC address will be the same in
both Solaris and Linux areas. Interesting though. I'm not
even sure if FLEXlm has the ability to restrict you to a
particular OS. What's the shelf life of Solaris I
wonder... ;-)

Steve Amphlett <Firstname.Lastname@where-i-work.com> wrote:
> tristram.scott@ntlworld.com (Tristram Scott) wrote in
> message <FjTVj.108345$SY5.3944@newsfe13.ams2>...
> <snip>
>
>> As for licensing, I assume you are asking from a
> technical perspective,
>> rather than a legal one.
>
> Of course. I guess the MAC address will be the same in
> both Solaris and Linux areas.

The MathWorks tend to use IP address rather than MAC address for their
server lines in the license files, but this does depend on what sort of
license you are using. If it is a proper floating license then it will
tend to be tied down to a particular server. For stand alone licenses
under Unix, the restriction is usually with the named users in the options
file rather than on the server. This is the type that I use, so there is
no problem with this setup for the Solaris/Linux laptop scenario.



> Interesting though. I'm not
> even sure if FLEXlm has the ability to restrict you to a
> particular OS.

It does, but TMW don't seem to mind any more. Going back a few years,
though, Unix licenses of MATLAB cost more than Windows ones, and there was
some form of restriction in place. That is sufficiently far in the past
that I don't recall the details...


> What's the shelf life of Solaris I wonder... ;-)

I've been happily using Solaris x86 on my laptop since 2004. From where I
sit it looks better with each new release. I particularly enjoy being
able to compile the same code base for Solaris SPARC and Solaris x86 with
virtually no changes. The only exception I have encountered is with
endianness for networking, but that was to be expected.

Grab yourself a copy, and give it a try. It's free.

--
Dr Tristram J. Scott
Energy Consultant