Bare Metal (PC Farm)
While the majority of DaDesktop environments are powered by virtual desktops, specific tasks demand direct access to physical hardware. In these scenarios, the Bare Metal feature allows each participant to utilize a dedicated physical desktop or server, all managed centrally through the DaDesktop platform.
Dedicated hardware for every user
Participants are provided with their own physical machine, ensuring they are not sharing resources via a virtual desktop.
Remote oversight of physical spaces
Integrate existing classrooms into DaDesktop to administer the machines from a distance, eliminating the need for on-site presence.
Scenarios requiring Bare Metal
- Applications that do not support virtualization, such as ONAP and OpenStack.
- Hardware components that must run natively, including specific GPUs, Mellanox cards, and other network infrastructure.
- Curricula where firmware manipulation or interaction with physical hardware is a core component of the learning process.
- Physical classroom environments that require centralized remote administration.
Operational Mechanics
Every physical machine links to a DaDesktop node using a control cable known as ddnexus. To initiate this setup, choose the "Metal PC" option when provisioning a standalone or fresh-start desktop. This action triggers the direct deployment of the environment onto the physical hardware.
PC Farm Architecture
Existing office desktops can be repurposed to function as bare metal nodes within your infrastructure. In this ecosystem, each individual physical desktop is referred to as a potato. The central server responsible for orchestrating these nodes is known as a pumpkin (also identified as a DaDesktop node, or ddnode). The USB cable used to connect each potato to the pumpkin is designated as a potato stalk.
Potato stalk cables can be sourced from retailers such as eBay and Alibaba.
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