What's New
Version 2.4
In the release of the Digipede Network Version 2.4, Digipede has again delivered new features and performance benefits. New features:
- .NET 4.0 Support: The Digipede Network can now host .NET 4 applications, extending compatibility to Microsoft's latest .NET release.
- Core reservation: On multi-core Compute Resources, the Digipede Agent can now be instructed to reserve one or more cores for non-Digipede use. This feature allows better utilization of shared desktops, better performance for I/O-intensive applications, and greater flexibility in resource allocation. This feature can be controlled on groups of Compute Resources through Digipede Control.
- More flexible options for disabling Agents: Users can now choose to let all Agents finish their current work before disabling Agents. This option helps users with long-running tasks minimize time lost to IT functions such as patching, backups, and upgrades.
- API ImprovementsNo Digipede release is complete without extending our award-winning APIs. For example, the new ControlJobs management API allows control of multiple jobs simultaneously.
- Administrative improvements: Admins will appreciate new tools to simplify database maintenance functions. New arguments in our dnadmin tool allow truncation of database tables with BLOB fields, so admins can more closely manage the size of the Digipede database.
Perhaps more important than any individual new feature, we've addressed numerous performance issues reported by Digipede customers who love to push the envelope on grid development and execution. We've reduced database contention issues, tweaked timeouts for Web Services, streamlined internal mechanisms for transistions of jobs from one state to another -- all to deliver better performance for a wide range of customer use cases. While grid performance is highly dependent on the mix of jobs and the specific configuration of each customer installation, our priority throughout the development of new options in Version 2.4 has been to identify and remove potential bottlenecks.
Version 2.1
For the first time, Digipede is releasing add-on packages for the Digipede Network. These optional modules (for Digipede Network Professional Edition) give enterprises the information and security they need for large grids and mission critical applications.
- Reports Package: The Reports Package utilizes Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services to give you critical information about the usage of your grid.
- Failover Package: The Failover Package integrates with Microsoft's Network Load Balancing service to provide automated failover functionality for the Digipede Server.
In addition to the new packages, Digipede Network 2.1 has these new features:
- Job concurrency: The improved Digipede Agent software can manage different applications simultaneously, maximizing utilization of compute nodes on the grid. Users can Job Concurrency values to allow the Digipede Agents to work on multiple jobs simultaneously: designate which applications can safely run with other applications, which applications can run side-by-side with themselves, and which applications are not compatible for concurrent jobs.
- Management APIs: New management APIs give developers programmatic ability to create, modify, and delete resource pools. (Available in Professional Edition only)
- Improved task concurrency: More detailed specification of task concurrency lets you specify the number of cores per task (for multithreaded applications) or the number of tasks per core.
- Run on each agent: This feature allows you to execute a single task on each agent (or each active agent) on a pool, which enables you to perform management of your compute nodes via the Digipede Network.
- Risk-free sharing: "Pool Rank" permits risk-free sharing of resources: you can add your servers to the enterprise grid and ensure that they always work on your jobs first. That means that by joining the grid, you can only improve your application performance. You can donate your cycles when you are not using them without worrying that your application performance will degrade, because you are always guaranteed that your machines will work for you.
Version 2.0
Digipede is pleased to announce the release of the Digipede Network 2.0. Weve worked hard to enhance the industrys leading .NET-based grid computing platform, and weve got a lot of great features for users, developers, and administrators alike.
A more powerful API gives you more control over your distributed jobs and the multi-processor, multi-core machines they run on. Improvements to Digipede Control allow administrators to easily manage far larger numbers of compute resources on a grid. Better integration with Microsoft products like Visual Studio and Active Directory means that the Digipede Network fits even more seamlessly into your Windows-based enterprise.
General Features
- Windows Authentication: The Digipede Network now integrates with your existing security to verify the users on the systemno more Digipede user names and passwords.
- E-mail notification: Users and administrators can now receive e-mail notifications on jobs and tasks.
- Increased performance: You may notice increased performances in some workloads especially short tasks with significant amounts of data.
Digipede Framework SDK Features
- Visual Studio 2005 Debugging Package: The Digipede Framework SDK includes a Visual Studio package that allows developers to debug their distributed processes directly in Visual Studio.
- Finer control of distributed processes: You have more control than ever of how your distributed processes run (in one or multiple processes, per machine or per core), and better control over each thread (allowing you to modify ThreadContext).
- App.config file support: If your distributed process requires an app.config file, the Digipede Network can now distribute that file as part of your .NET application.
Digipede Control Features
- Drop down menus: Digipede Controls main menu bar now puts more options within a single click, including easier ways for users to find out whats happening on the system right now.
- Action buttons: Many pages now feature action buttons that allow single-click control over jobs and compute resources.
- More server configuration: Administrators have more configuration options than ever for administering their network.
- Personalized Menus: Users now have a My menu, with links for their jobs, their pools, and their settings including the ability to customize their view in My Settings.
Version 1.3
Many thanks to our loyal and diverse users, who suggested many of the features included in this release. Don't see your favorite feature? Suggest it! Join the Digipede Community (support.digipede.net/community), and post your ideas in the "Feature Suggestions" thread.
General Features
- Progress reporting: Distributed applications can report their progress during individual tasks. This allows long running tasks to provide information (through Digipede Control or to any master application that's monitoring the job.)
- CCS Integration: The Digipede Network now integrates with the Windows Compute Cluster Server job scheduler. Digipede Agents that are installed on Windows Compute Cluster compute nodes can monitor the CCS job scheduler, only running Digipede jobs when CCS is not using the node. This allows you to "scavenge cycles" from the cluster onto the grid without affecting the performance of cluster jobs.
- Job Execution Option: In addition to the Weighted Average algorithm, administrators now have the choice of running jobs on a First In, First Out basis.
- External Resources: Added concept of External Resources (can be used to limit how many tasks run simultaneously that use an external resource. This enables you to ensure that other resources in your enterprise (e.g., software license, database, file server, etc) are not over utilized by distributed applications running on the Digipede Network.
Changes to the Digipede Framework API
- Pools: Developers now have the ability to get information about pools programmatically.
- Jobs: Developers now have access to all of jobs running on the system. This gives improved ability to get information on running jobs, on completed or failed jobs, and even on job history.
- Helper Methods: There have been many improvements for ease of creating Jobs, Job Templates, FileDefs, and Parameters.
- Asynchronous Methods: The Digipede Framework now features broad support for the IAsyncResult asynchronous pattern.
- Debugging: Debugging distributed applications is easier than ever with improved support for debugging—the Digipede Framework can automatically include debug files on job submission.
Changes to the Digipede Agent
- User Interface: The Agent now reports its status in the System Tray.
- Priorities: Administrators can set the Windows priority at which the jobs are run on agents.
Changes to the Digipede Workbench
- Job Monitoring: Any user can now use the Digipede Workbench to monitor jobs on system—including jobs that weren't submitted with Workbench.
Changes to Digipede Control
- Agents: The Agents page now reports status of agents with higher fidelity.
- Tasks: The Tasks page now reports progress of individual tasks.
