Officially, the Intel Cluster Tools support RPM-based installs only. For a full list of supported OSes, check out our compatibility matrix.

If you’d still like to use the tools on Debian and Ubuntu systems, the following steps can help you in, at least, installing the tools. Note that the process below still requires that a valid license for the desired Cluster Tool is present on the machine.

1. Download the latest version of the Intel® MPI Library for Linux* from the Intel® Registration Center.


2. Untar the package and go down into the newly created directory

   $ tar –xzf l_mpi_p_3.2.1.009.tgz
   $ cd l_mpi_p_3.2.1.009/



3. Create a new directory and extract the RPM files using the provided install.sh script. Note that you’d need a valid license to do so.

   $ mkdir rpms
   
   $ ./install.sh --extract=./rpms
   Extracting components...
   Extracting files... ################################################ [100%]
   Product's rpm and EULA have been extracted in ./rpms
   Please carefully read EULA before using the product
   
   $ ls –l
   

   intel-mpi-em64t-3.2.1p-009.x86_64.rpm	# SDK for the Intel MPI Library for Linux*
   intel-mpi-rt-em64t-3.2.1p-009.x86_64.rpm	# Runtime component of the Intel MPI Library
   mpiEULA.txt	# End-User License Agreement for the Intel MPI Library. # Read before using.
   redist.txt	# List of Intel MPI Library files whose redistribution is allowed



4. Convert the RPM files into DEB files, to be installed on your Debian-based system using the alien utility

   $ which alien
   /usr/bin/alien
   
   $ alien intel-mpi-em64t-3.2.1p-009.x86_64.rpm
   intel-mpi-em64t_3.2.1p-10_amd64.deb generated

   Here note that converting the SDK package for the Intel MPI Library is enough, as the runtime libraries are already contained within.


5. Now that you have the .deb file generated, install using your preferred method. For example, this is how it’s done using the dpkg utility

   # This will use the default /opt/intel installation directory
   $ dpkg --install intel-mpi-em64t_3.2.1p-10_amd64.deb



6. Done! You are now free to enjoy the Intel MPI Library at your leisure.



Even though this example highlighted the Debian-based installation of the Intel MPI Library, the same technique can be applied to the Intel® Cluster Toolkit for Linux*, Intel® Cluster Toolkit Compiler Edition for Linux*, and the Intel® Trace Analyzer and Collector for Linux*.

NOTE: It seems like Ubuntu has changed the default system shell starting with version 9.10. If you're seeing syntax errors, the following article talks about how they can be resolved.

Installation prerequisites
Before using the Intel® MPI Library, make sure that following packages are installed on your system:

• Python* version 2.2 or higher, including the python-xml module. Python* distributions are available for download from your OS vendor or at http://www.python.org† .
• An XML parser such as expat or pyxml
• If using InfiniBand*, Myrinet*, or other RDMA-capable network fabrics, a DAPL* version 1.1 or DAPL* version 1.2 standard-compliant provider library/driver is required. DAPL* providers are typically provided with your network fabric hardware and software.

Installation tips
To install the Intel MPI Library for Linux*, do the following:

1. Obtain a license key. Go to the Intel® Registration Center to obtain the license if you do not have a license key.
2. The installer provides an ability to install the Intel MPI Library on every node of your cluster. To utilize this feature create a machines.LINUX file that lists the nodes in the cluster using one hostname per line before starting the installation process. Make sure that the cluster has ssh connectivity.
3. Install the l_mpi[-rt]_p_<version>.<package#>.tar.gz package by using the following commands:

   # cp l_mpi[-rt]_p_<version>.<package#>.tar.gz /tmp
# cd /tmp
# tar -xzf l_mpi[-rt] ]_p_<version>.<package#>.tar.gz

   The last command will create subdirectory l_mpi[-rt]_p_<version>.<package#>
4. Place the license file for the Intel MPI Library that is provided to you in /tmp/l_mpi_p_<version>.<package#> Do not change the file name as the ".lic" extension is critical. For instance, do the following:commands:

   <# cd cp l_mpi[-rt]_p_<version>.<package#>
# cp <license key>.lic.

   Take into account the following notes:
   • This installation does not overwrite any pre-existing Intel MPI Library you may have installed.
     After installing the Intel® MPI Library you can continue to use the pervious versions of the Intel MPI Library by referring to the original installation directory.
   • The ./install script allows you to avoid modification of the /etc/ld.so.conf file during installation in root mode. Use the --update-ldsoconf option, for example:

     # ./install --update-ldsoconf no

   • You can install the Intel MPI Library as an ordinary user. Run the ./install script and follow the instructions, or add the --nonroot --nonrpm options to the ./install invocation string above to select the non-root, non-RPM installation mode.
   • You can install the Intel MPI Library on a system that does not use the RPM* package manager. Add the --nonrpm option to the ./install invocation string above to select the non-RPM installation mode.
     Alternatively, you can extract the Intel MPI Library RPM* package and mpiEULA.txt file. Use the --extract option and indicate the desired extraction directory, for example:

     # ./install --extract /tmp

   • The ./install script enables you to select the install location on most operating systems. Select the exact same install location when installing Intel MPI Library on each node of your cluster.
   • The default installation path for the Intel MPI Library is /opt/intel/impi/3.2
   • The ./install script has a silent installation mode that can help you to install Intel MPI Library on clusters with many nodes. In order to use this mode, edit the file SilentInstallConfigFile.ini contained in the unpacked package directory. In particular, change the line

     EULA=reject

     to read

     EULA=accept

     Other lines in the file enable you to define the INSTALLDIR, LICENSEPATH, INSTALLMODE, PROCEED_WITHOUT_PYTHON, UPDATE_LD_SO_CONF, INSTALLUSER, ARCH, AUTOMOUNTED_CLUSTER, MACHINES_CONFIG and SKIP_MOUNTED parameters.
     After editing the file use the following command instead of the usual # ./install command:

     # ./install --silent SilentInstallConfigFile.ini

5. Add the following PATH and/or LD_LIBRARY_PATH settings in your .cshrc or .bashrc files so that the settings are visible on all nodes in your cluster:

• Ensure that Python* is in your PATH
• Source the appropriate mpivars.[c]sh script from the Intel MPI Library bin (or, if applicable, bin64) directory
• If using Intel® compilers, source any required *vars.[c]sh scripts
• Set up additional environment variables as needed. See the Intel MPI Library for Linux Getting Started Guide for more information.

Possible installation problems

• If installation of the Intel MPI Library package fails and shows the error message: "Intel® MPI Library already installed" when a package is not actually installed, try the following:
• Determine the package number that the system believes is installed by typing:

  # rpm -qa | grep intel-mpi

  This command returns an Intel MPI Library <package name>.
• Remove the package from the system by typing:

  # rpm -e <package name>

• Re-run the Intel MPI Library installer to install the package.
  TIP: To avoid installation errors, always remove Intel MPI Library packages using the uninstall script provided with the package before trying to install a new package or reinstall an older one.
• Due to an installer limitation, avoid installing earlier releases of the Intel MPI Library packages after having already installed the current release. It corrupts the installation of the current release and requires that you uninstall/reinstall it.

^† This link will take you off of the Intel Web site. Intel does not control the content of the destination Web Site.