The distributed C/C++ compiler distcc and compiler cache ccache was installed on the linux cluster fimm.bccs.uib.no. Both are by default calling the system 'gcc' compiler, but can also call other compilers.

distcc will speed up compile jobs by distributing the build over a cluster of nodes (currently 3 dual cpu Pentium4 Xeon nodes = 12 virtual cpus). To speed up builds using distcc, simply specify 'make -j12 CC=distcc'.

ccache will keep a cache of object files generated during builds, and re-use them when it sees that the exact same source is being rebuilt using the exact same compiler switches. If you're doing lots of "make clean; make" on the same sources, ccache will speed it up a lot! All you need to do is to specify 'make CC=ccache'.

distcc and ccache can also be used together via 'make -j12 CC="ccache distcc"'.