Yellow Dog Linux, which already provides extensive support for PowerPC platforms (G4, G5 and Cell) has seen a new incarnation with a version dedicated to the nVidia CUDA API.Based on Red Hat Enterprise, this version requires an x86-64 machine, and (naturally) a CUDA-compatible nVidia graphics card; GeForce 8xxx or upwards.
The distribution comes complete with CUDA development tools and nVidia drivers pre-installed. It integrates the previous three CUDA SDKs (2.2, 2.3 and 3.0) and the tools needed to develop OpenCL-based code. Finally, for Eclipse lovers, that IDE is also included, featuring a plugin which fully supports CUDA development.
Yellow Dog Enterprise Linux for CUDA is free for educational use, but using it to develop commercial applications does require a license, which costs $400 per year.
This distribution could be an ideal candidate for the quick setup and running of dedicated GPU and Linux folding clients (only the CUDA wrapper needs to be installed manually). The terms of use make it very accessible for student use - you must be a student in order to use the free version, otherwise you must pay for access to the commercial version.
The question, however, is whether this distribution is actually faster than other distributions with the execution of CUDA applications.
Source: Fixstars
KaySL
On: 03/04/10
