MATLAB: Can I use MATLAB Distributed Computing Engine to do idle-cycle computations or cycle donation similar to SETI@Home

computeridleMATLAB Parallel ServerParallel Computing Toolboxsaverscreenworker

I would like to configure a group of machines so that they can be used as standard machines by interactive users, but act as cluster nodes when they are idle. I would like them to switch between modes automatically based on their idle status.

Best Answer

The ability to automatically start and stop workers based on the idle status of the machine is not available with the MathWorks job manager that is provided with MATLAB Distributed Computing Engine.
To work around this issue, you might be able to use idle-node features of a third-party scheduler, either one that is directly supported by MATLAB Distributed Computing Engine, or one that is accessed via the generic scheduler interface.
This would require extensive knowledge of the third-party scheduler, and possibly significant amounts of coding to interface to some schedulers.
You can find a list of supported schedulers at the following address:
https://www.mathworks.com/help/releases/R2009a/toolbox/distcomp/bqur75w-7.html
Refer to the scheduler's documentation for details on any idle-cycle capabilities.
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