Condor for Windows

Condor is a specialized workload management system for compute-intensive jobs. Like other full-featured batch systems, Condor provides a job queueing mechanism, scheduling policy, priority scheme, resource monitoring, and resource management.

Users submit their serial or parallel jobs to Condor, Condor places them into a queue, chooses when and where to run the jobs based upon a policy, carefully monitors their progress, and ultimately informs the user upon completion.

While providing functionality similar to that of a more traditional batch queueing system, Condor's novel architecture allows it to succeed in areas where traditional scheduling systems fail. Condor can be used to manage a cluster of dedicated compute nodes (such as a "Beowulf" cluster). In addition, unique mechanisms enable Condor to effectively harness wasted CPU power from otherwise idle desktop workstations. For instance, Condor can be configured to only use desktop machines where the keyboard and mouse are idle. Should Condor detect that a machine is no longer available (such as a key press detected), in many circumstances Condor is able to transparently produce a checkpoint and migrate a job to a different machine which would otherwise be idle. Condor does not require a shared file system across machines - if no shared file system is available, Condor can transfer the job's data files on behalf of the user, or Condor may be able to transparently redirect all the job's I/O requests back to the submit machine. As a result, Condor can be used to seamlessly combine all of an organization's computational power into one resource.

The ClassAd mechanism in Condor provides an extremely flexible and expressive framework for matching resource requests (jobs) with resource offers (machines). Jobs can easily state both job requirements and job preferences. Likewise, machines can specify requirements and preferences about the jobs they are willing to run. These requirements and preferences can be described in powerful expressions, resulting in Condor's adaptation to nearly any desired policy.

Condor can be used to build Grid-style computing environments that cross administrative boundaries. Condor's "flocking" technology allows multiple Condor compute installations to work together. Condor incorporates many of the emerging Grid-based computing methodologies and protocols. For instance, Condor-G is fully interoperable with resources managed by Globus.