FRIDAY DECEMEBER 5TH 2014
S.M.J Super-computing
Project Charter
Cluster Computing Trial
Stephen Enoh
Matthew Fisher
Jeremy Altin
CLUSTER COMPUTING TRIAL
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................... 2
Project Vison................................................................................................................................ 3
Project Purpose ........................................................................................................................... 4
Problem / Opportunity ................................................................................................................. 4
Project Description ...................................................................................................................... 4
Current Situation .......................................................................................................................... 4
Key Stakeholders ........................................................................................................................ 4
Project Scope .............................................................................................................................. 5
Scope ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Out of Scope ................................................................................................................................ 6
Project Objectives........................................................................................................................ 7
Terminology ................................................................................................................................. 8
Project Team ............................................................................................................................... 9
Project Stakeholders ................................................................................................................. 10
Risk Assessment ....................................................................................................................... 11
Project Schedule ....................................................................................................................... 12
Project Facilities and Resources............................................................................................... 13
Project Budget ........................................................................................................................... 14
Equipment and Facilities ........................................................................................................... 14
Operating Costs......................................................................................................................... 14
Promotion and Communication ................................................................................................ 15
Intellectual Property ................................................................................................................... 16
Offer and Approvals .................................................................................................................. 17
Offer ........................................................................................................................................... 17
Approvals ................................................................................................................................... 17
Project Charter Signoff .............................................................................................................. 17
References ................................................................................................................................ 18
S.M.J. SUPER COMPUTING
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Executive Summary
Our team S.M.J. Supercomputing consists of team members Stephen Enoh, Mathew Fisher and Jeremy
Altin
The purpose of this charter is to provide an overview of the project S.M.J. Supercomputing will be
undertaking, A Cluster Computing trial.
Project Goal:
The purpose of this project is to show that IT resources can be employed more efficiently in a production
environment by making use of computer clustering.
The vision of our project is to build a low cost, highly efficient computer cluster that will be capable of
computing jobs faster and more efficiently than a high-end computer.
This project will involve the combining of multiple inexpensive Parallella boards into one cluster computer
capable of multitasking to the point where high computing task are performed faster. OpenMPI (A Message
Passing interface) will be used to assist with job scheduling and each job will be carried out first on a highend computer and then the results will be compared to that of the cluster computer.
We believe that upon completion of this project we will have built a device which if employed in industry, will
not only save time in the performance of computing tasks, but will also bring in income in the form of
savings by being able to use less hardware and networking resources in performing high computing tasks..
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Project Vison
The vision of our project is to build a low cost, highly efficient tool that security professionals can implement
into their stress testing routine. With completion of our project we plan to have a tool capable of running a
miniature proof of concept cluster computer where we can have multiple virtual machines running on one
computer capable of creating in effect a miniature bot net capable of running small scale DDOS attacks on
targets as well as a device capable of scheduling different jobs/tasks to be completed by these virtual
machines.
Our vision for this project largely depends on how much we can get done in the four month timeframe we
have allotted to us. Basically the sky is the limit when it comes to the tasks a machine of this kind could
implement. We hope to at the very least build something capable of attempting small scale attacks of
various kinds that will allow penetration testers some ease when analyzing by automating the process.
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3
Project Purpose
The purpose of this project is to enable security professionals a little more ease of analysis when it comes to
penetration testing devices for their clients. As well as making it a bit easier and less costly to run a test DDOS attack
on said clients systems.
Our project will officially begin being built the first week of January and we plan on project completion being mid-April.
Once completion of our project has occurred we plan on having a final deliverable being a simple low cost device
capable of saving security companies time, money, headaches when it comes to testing their clients systems.
Problem / Opportunity
The problem being faced is the time consuming process it takes for security system analysts to perform penetration
testing analysis on their client’s computers.
With this comes the added cost to the security company to pay its employees to spend long hours testing systems
against every possible angle of attack that may be used by nefarious individuals.
We believe we can create a device that will help make this process more efficient both time based and cost based.
Project Description
We hope to alleviate this problem by automating this process by using a cluster computer capable of doing these tasks
at the same time. Therefore cutting down on the time needed to perform a clean and efficient testing of the client’s
systems.
Once this project has been completed, we will have a device capable of multi-tasking multiple attacks/tests on a
machine all at once.
Current Situation
As of now we are unaware of any preexisting device capable of what we envision our device to be able to do at such a
low cost.
Thought there are multiple mega million dollar projects that have been set up to do what we plan to do on a much larger
scale.
Key Stakeholders
The following are key stakeholders for this project:
Stakeholders
Project Manager
Client
Performing Organization
Sponsor
CLUSTER COMPUTER TRIAL
Comment
Jeremy Altin, Stephen Enoh, Mathew Fisher
S.M.J. Supercomputing & Sponsors
S.M.J. Supercomputing
Jason Fisher, Colin Chamberlain
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Section
4
Project Scope
Scope
There are several deliverables for this project:
1) Project Charter
2) Completed Project
3) Presentation & Demo for capstone
Our project will be completed in phases which will be completed chronologically.
Phase 1: Planning
What we know we can accomplish and what we may be able to accomplish.
Phase 2: Research
Find out which hardware to use and what software we can implement then figure out how to
mix the two to work together.
Phase 3: Hardware assembly
Attach the boards and connect them together
Phase 4: Initial software setup
Install OS onto boards & make sure they work together then install different server roles
Phase 5: Job scheduling setup and troubleshooting
Test various different job scheduling programs and run tests against the chosen system to
verify what we want to accomplish can be completed
Phase 6: Security Scripts
Make different scripts to run different DDOS attacks.
Phase 7: Finishing touches
Compile final deliverables
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Out of Scope
If possible we will attempt to create multiple different scripts capable of running various different types of
attacks that will require much further investigation.
Anything not directly listed inside our scope will be considered out of scope for now.
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Project Objectives
The purpose of this project is to provide a proof of concept device that may enable system security analysts
an additional tool that will help them when they’re either scheduling jobs/tasks to run against systems.
Also we plan on integrating more complex security attacks into the system if time permits.
These may include small scale bot net DDOS attacks.
Specific: To build a proof of concept device capable of multitasking jobs / tests to be run against a
computer.
Measureable: Using Parallella boards to build a simple cluster computer capable of running multiple tasks
simultaneously.
Achievable: Using the device we create we will be able to run tests against either a virtual machine or
another device to determine if efficiency may be improved or if holes in security can be found.
Realistic: Provided we have the Parallella boards to use, the tests we run can be very simple so this is well
within our range of expertise.
Time-Bound: We believe that the 4 months we have available to us we will be able to complete the
creation of our device.
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Section
6
Terminology
Please find below definitions of some of the terminology used throughout our project for your consideration.
Supercomputer: a particularly powerful mainframe computer.
Cluster computer: consists of a set of loosely or tightly connected computers that work together so
that, in many respects, they can be viewed as a single system.
Pen-test: Penetration testing is an attack on a computer system with the intention of finding security
weaknesses, potentially gaining access to it, its functionality and data.
Job Scheduling: is a computer application for controlling unattended background program execution
(commonly called batch processing). Synonyms are batch system, Distributed Resource Management
System (DRMS), and Distributed Resource Manager (DRM).
DDOS: Distributed Denial of Service attack is a type of DOS attack where multiple compromised
systems -- which are usually infected with a Trojan -- are used to target a single system causing a
Denial of Service (DoS) attack.
DOS: an interruption in an authorized user's access to a computer network, typically one caused with malicious
intent.
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Section
7
Project Team
Please find below a list of the project team members and the roles each will accomplish and manage
throughout the duration of this project.
Member
Jeremy Altin
Matt Fisher
Stephen Enoh
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Role
Hardware expert
Team management
Drafting of documentation
Web Designer
Coding expert
Editor of documentation
Schedule Organizer
Web Designer
Server services expert
Organizational lead (i.e. Agendas & minutes)
Editor of documentation
Web Designer
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Section
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Project Stakeholders
Please find below a list of stakeholders that will have interest in seeing this project succeed.
The three team members of S.M.J. Supercomputing have an interest in completing this project so as to
acquire knowledge for future use in industry.
As well they have an interest in seeing this project completed so as to receive full marks for this project.
Jason Fisher and Colin Chamberlain have interest in seeing this project completed so they have will have
confidence in the three members of S.M.J. Supercomputing when they depart S.A.I.T. and enter industry.
S.A.I.T. Polytechnic also has an interest in seeing this project succeed; knowing the education received by
the three team members of S.M.J. Supercomputing was adequate to complete this task.
Canada as a whole will benefit from the knowledge learned by the members of S.M.J. Supercomputer later
on when these students move on into industry and start to earn money and PAY taxes into government
coffers.
Stakeholder
Jeremy Altin
Stephen Enoh
Matt Fisher
Role or Influence
Key Stakeholder
Key Stakeholder
Key Stakeholder
Jason Fisher
Colin Chamberlain
Advisor
Advisor
SAIT Polytechnic
Canada
Investor
Future benefactor of the income of Key stakeholders
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Section
9
Risk Assessment
Please find below a basic risk assessment chart listing the likely risks our team will face while we work to
complete our project.
These risks include:
-Absentee team members
-Unable to complete project on schedule
-Coding complications
-Schedule Issues
-Scope creep
Project Risk
Assessment
Probability
e.g. High, Medium, Low
Absentee team members
Mitigation Strategy
The event we are unable to
complete project on
schedule
Mitigation Strategy
Coding Complications
Mitigation Strategy
Schedule Issues
Mitigation Strategy
Scope creeps too far
Mitigation Strategy
CLUSTER COMPUTER TRIAL
Impact
Severity
e.g. High, Medium, Low
e.g. High, Medium, Low
Medium
High
High
To mitigate the risks of absentee team members we will write up
an agreement that if any group member is absent their work will
still be completed by them on their own time and on schedule.
Low
High
High
To mitigate the likelihood of our team not completing our project
on time we will assign a basic proof of concept project from the
get go. We will then use scope creep to our advantage by
understanding that once we’ve completed the basics we can
expand our project into more complex avenues as we move
forward.
High
Mediu
Mediu
m
m
To mitigate the possibility that we run into coding complications,
we will keep the requirements basic from the beginning, we will
then move more into complicated coding techniques as we move
forward, again using the scope creep to our advantage. Doing the
simple proof of concept issues first and then expanding into the
tasks we truly wish to explore as we progress.
Medium
High
Mediu
m
To address the issue of scheduling conflicts we will make sure to
set up a contingency plan so that if one of us is unable to
complete work on time we will have a backup replacement
member to pick up their slack.
Low
High
High
In the event our scope creep diverges too far from what we are
capable of we will enact a simple proof of concept project that we
can fall back on to that will still cover all we wish to and have
stated we will construct.
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Section
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Project Schedule
Please find attached our teams Gantt chart for your review.
(This will be provided in hard copy along with this charter)
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ID
Section
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Project Facilities and Resources
Facilities:
-SAIT Polytechnic Project Lab
-SAIT Campus
-Personal Residences
Resources:
-Minimum of 2 Parallella boards
-1 Power supply unit
-1 Monitor
-1 Keyboard
-1 Switch
-1 Client machine
-Cables for multiple connections
[NAME OF PROJECT CHARTER]
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Section
12
Project Budget
To complete our project we believe that a budget of $1000.00 should be sufficient to cover the required
hardware components, this is including a $500.00 slush/contingency fund should anything arise that we
have not accounted for.
As well we have listed operating costs that include the hours our three team members will spend based
upon the work break down structure from our team Gantt chart.
We have combined all operating costs into a single component for ease of reading. This includes 1440
hours of work per individual involved in this project at a cost of $75.00 /per hour.
Equipment and Facilities
Below are the bare basics of what our team will need to complete our project and attain the desired
outcomes.
The majority of the required equipment will be able to be scavenged from personal property already owned
so the only thing our group will need to purchase will be the Parallella boards.
Item
Parallella boards
Description
Parallel processing
boards
1000watts
Power supply unit
Monitor
RAM
Case
Keyboard/mouse
Contingency / slush fund
Quantity
Min. 2
Cost
$195.00 Each
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$0.00
$500.00
$1000.00
Total
Operating Costs
Below is a basic cost outline for the successful completion of this project.
Item
Hardware
Contingency /slush fund
Employee Labor
Hours
1440 hours * 3
Total
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Rate
Cost
$75.00
$500.00
$500.00
$324,000.00
$325,000.00
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Section
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Promotion and Communication
This project will be for S.M.J. Supercomputing as a team and for our project sponsors, we alone will be privy
to any and all processes and outcomes of our project.
This being said, we as a whole will determine what and where information regarding our project will be
dispersed.
The approval process for disbursement of information regarding this project will be done through a simple
majority vote process.
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Intellectual Property
All the Intellectual property rights derived from this project will be split among the team members equally.
Team members for this purpose include, Jeremy Altin, Matt Fisher, and Stephen Enoh.
Your signature on the approval page of this charter verifies your agreement to this claim.
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Section
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Offer and Approvals
Our team S.M.J. Supercomputing, consisting of team members Stephen Enoh, Mathew Fisher and Jeremy
Altin officially request permission to carry out aforementioned tasks and to proceed with all necessary work
to complete our project.
Offer
This project will offer a miniature supercomputer / cluster-computer for the purposes of penetration testing
and or job scheduling. We will construct a device capable of parallel processing and multitasking for the
purposes of a more efficient, streamlined process for a systems analyst to use in their analysis of systems.
Approvals
By signing below, you are confirming your approval of this project to proceed into
construction/implementation phase.
As well, by signing below our team agrees to fulfill all necessary work to bring this project to completion.
Project Charter Signoff
Offering
Signature
Date
Jeremy Altin
Stephen Enoh
Mathew Fisher
Approval
Jason Fisher
Colin Chamberlain
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Section
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[1]
[2]
References
Digikey, "P1601-DK02 Adapteva Inc | 1554-1001-ND | DigiKey," 2014. [Online]. Available:
http://www.digikey.ca/product-detail/en/P1601-DK02/1554-1001-ND/5018662.
Parallella, "Parallella | Supercomputing for Everyone," 2014. [Online]. Available:
http://www.parallella.org/.
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