Linux cluster application

I'm writing a parallel/distributed application that assesses the
performance impact of frequent insertions/selects to databases on
parallel file systems in a linux cluster environment. Currently, the
application calls for a database server to be running on each node of
the cluster. Since my end-users may or may not have root access to the
machines in the various clusters being used, I'm installing postgres
from within the user's account to facilitate the starting and stopping
of the postmaster without the need of root access. My general question
is if anyone has experience with such a situation where the database
server would need to be started on each machine in a parallel
environment. If so, are there any suggestions for working with such a
condition?

Thanks.