[Condor-devel] Some thoughts on hard coded settings in submit files and win64

[Matt Hope <matthew.hope@xxxxxxxxx>]

I notice in many recent submissions to the users list, and indeed in
my own sub files a common theme for a great many windows submission
files to place in some way

C:\Windows\system32 on the path. normally by:

Environment = PATH=c:\Windows\system32

I think encouraging this is a Bad Idea (tm)

Certainly the use of "c:\Windows" is not nice since there is no need
to use that location at all (and it actually isn't that hard to use
something different).

Sadly the only truly clean way I can avoid hardcoding it in the submit
file is to use a batch file with the line:

set PATH=%PATH%;%SystemRoot%\System32

I am using a bat file anyway but for others this will be a real pain.
Some way of referencing values defined on the execution machine may
solve this (and possibly allow some other useful tricks too)

"\system32" is relatively reasonable since even on the windows x64 OS
this remains the correct location for the system dlls/resources by
default with SysWOW64  for the old 32bit libraries. wow64 in theory
should mean that 32bit apps referencing system32 should get what's in
SysWOW64 anyway.

Now that the windows 64bit versions are RTM I would think there was a
reasonable likelihood of:

1) Calc farm machines explicitly making use of it
2) It being encountered 'in the wild' in a cycle stealing environment

So a few specific questions on that: 

What will the OpSys/Arch value be for these machines (WinXP x64 and
Win2003 server x64 in particular) Since the difference between an x86
on a 64bit capable OS verses a 32bit OS is quite significant in terms
of available ISA if nothing else.

Do you intend to have such systems in the official support list/test farm?

Would there be any benefit to 64bit compiled condor binaries for this platform?

Sorry this might be better on two post but I think they have some
relation to each other.

>From a less win centric POV - how all 64bit/32bit OSes on 64/32
compatible chips* are detailed could probably do with some
documentation.

Matt

*Dual and N-Core parts will be more fun for the future - condor on a
CELL anyone ;)