Metacomputing with Web Architecture
It is natural to base on either a network of Web Clients or Web Servers
- Not clear if distinction (in capability) between web servers and clients will remain as clients are adding functionality and any PC can run a server as well as a client!
Web Client Models Include SuperWeb (Javelin) from UCSB and are well illustrated by the January 1997 hotwired article “Suck your Mips”.
Greater functionality but less power and pervasiveness is a pure Web Server model as proposed by NPAC
- Can either use in controlled (IntraNets or run a server on every node of your MPP) or uncontrolled (all the world wide web hosts) fashion
- Uncontrolled mode has interesting economic implications and is “controversial” for security and network performance area
Note total compute power in all Web “clients” is about 100 times that in all Central Supercomputers