R 'multicore' package now available (Biowulf)

The R package 'multicore' has been installed on the Biowulf cluster.  
multicore is an R package that provides functions for parallel  
execution of R code on machines with multiple cores or CPUs. Unlike  
other parallel processing methods all jobs share the full state of R  
when spawned, so no data or code needs to be initialized. The actual  
spawning is very fast as well since no new R instance needs to be  
started.

This package should be used to utilize all the processors on a node  
for a single job. Users should be aware that the cluster includes  
single-core (2 processors per node) and dual-core (4 processors per  
node) nodes. It is simplest to assume 4p per node and always submit to  
the dual-core ('dc') nodes.

If you are submitting a swarm of R jobs that each use multicore, each  
node should run only a single R command, since the multicore  
paralellization will utilize all the processors on that node. Thus,  
the swarm command should be :

swarm -n 1 -f myswarmfile -l nodes=1:dc

More information on the Biowulf R page: http://biowulf.nih.gov/apps/R.html